Every day is opening night.

“Peter and the Starcatcher” to set sail on national tour in August 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

“ P E T E R    A N D    T H E    S T A R C A T C H E R ”
TO SET SAIL!

BROADWAY’S MOST TONY-NOMINATED PLAY OF THE SEASON
TO LAUNCH NATIONAL TOUR IN DENVER, CO IN AUGUST 2013


New York, NY (May 14, 2012)  – Producers Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price and Tom Smedes announced today that Rick Elice’s new play, Peter and the Starcatcher, will embark on a national tour, opening in August 2013 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, CO.  The play’s Tony Award-nominated directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, will direct the touring production, which will be represented by The Road Company.

“Peter and the Starcatcher has been enthusiastically embraced by the New York theatergoers, and now we are thrilled to be able to take this play with multi-generational appeal to the rest of the country,” producer Nancy Nagel Gibbs said. 

The Broadway premiere of Peter and the Starcatcher opened to rave reviews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47 Street) on April 15, 2012.  The production has garnered nine Tony Award® nominations, including Best New Play, Best Original Score, Best Director of a Play and many more. 

In this innovative and imaginative new play, based on The New York Times best selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, a company of twelve actors plays more than a hundred unforgettable characters, all on a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up?  This epic origin story of one of popular culture’s most enduring and beloved characters proves that an audience’s imagination can be the most captivating place in the world.

The Road Company is a theatrical booking agency that has been distributing world-class musicals, plays and attractions throughout North America for over 14 years. Principles Stephen Lindsay and Brett Sirota exclusively represent the tours of Wicked, Billy Elliot, Bring It On, Sister Act, and Rock of Ages, and the upcoming tours of Broadway's Once and Evita, in addition to Peter and the Starcatcher.

Peter and the Starcatcher is produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, Disney Theatrical Productions, Suzan & Ken Wirth/DeBartolo Miggs, Catherine Schreiber, Daveed Frazier & Mark Thompson, Jack Lane, Jane Dubin, Allan S. Gordon/Adam S. Gordon, Baer & Casserly/Nathan Vernon, Rich Affannato/Peter Stern, Brunish & Trinchero/Laura Little Productions, Larry Hirschhorn/Hummel & Greene, Jamie deRoy & Probo Prods./Radio Mouse Ent., Hugh Hysell/Freedberg & Dale, and New York Theatre Workshop.

A Short History of Peter and the Starcatcher

Peter and the Starcatcher began its journey to the stage in 2003 when Disney Theatrical Productions president Thomas Schumacher discovered the first Barry and Pearson book while it was still in galleys, and its development has been shepherded by DTP ever since.  With just a few scenes outlined, the project received its first lab in 2007 at Williamstown Theatre Festival under the direction of Rees and Timbers.  A full length version of the play was then written by Elice and developed in a Page to Stage production at La Jolla Playhouse in the winter of 2009.  Following further revisions, the play received its first fully staged production with the spring 2011 run at New York Theatre Workshop.

The show opened to rave reviews in March 2011 in its premiere Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop and quickly became the theatrical event of the season.  In The New York Times, Ben Brantley enthused: “I truly felt I was floating. Peter and the Starcatcher sustains a breathless air of adventure and a cocky confidence in its powers to enchant. With grown-up theatrical savvy and a child’s wonder, Peter and the Starcatcher floats right through the ceiling of the physical limits imposed by a three-dimensional stage. While there’s not a body harness in sight, this show never stops flying.” 

The sold-out run was extended by popular demand and set a record for the highest grossing single day in NYTW’s history. The production went on to receive five Drama Desk nominations (and a win for Outstanding Music in a Play); two Obie Awards (for Direction and Design), two Lucille Lortel Awards (for Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Choreography) and a Henry Hewes Design Award for Best Lighting.   

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