Rewrite of Wendy character keeps classic Broadway musical from taking flight.
I am a lifelong fan of the 1954 Broadway musical, “Peter Pan,” which has been reimagined and recreated many times over the years, headlining such stars as Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby as Peter. It is a creative masterpiece that brings out the child in us all. So, when I learned that Native American playwright Larissa Fasthorse would be adapting the musical, I was honestly excited. I read about her ideas for eliminating the clearly problematic racial stereotypes toward Native Americans and giving the female characters more character development. Sounds great. But when I went to see the production with optimistic expectations, I found a major problem (“Updated ‘Peter Pan’ without Native American stereotypes launches national tour at Baltimore’s Hippodrome,” Feb. 22).
To me, the story of the musical has always really been about Wendy. It is the story of her internal struggle with desiring to grow up, while simultaneously desiring to remain a child. Even in the make-believe world of Neverland, where she can escape her fears of adulthood, she explores the desire for romance with Peter and the desire to be a mother and take on a caregiver role for those around her.
In Fasthorse’s production, Wendy desires to be a doctor when she grows up, and she never experienced jealousy when Peter begins giving his attention to Tiger Lily. As a result, Wendy’s entire story arc is altered, and the magic falls flat. Now, Wendy must randomly decide she wants to go home over the course of one song, without the build-up of reasons (jealousy, being frustrated with her romance having to be “make believe”) that make this decision feel authentic. Wendy’s desire to be a doctor completely overshadows her internal struggles and turns the tale into a cute little story about friends helping each other. Nothing more.
There is no conflict between Wendy and Tiger Lily, and, instead, the two rescue Peter together. This feels silly. How does young Wendy, who dreams of being a doctor and loves telling stories, suddenly know how to sword fight well enough to defeat pirates? All of the deep questions that the story brings up in Wendy are overshadowed and muddied by the details added in, for the sake of women’s empowerment. In the original, Peter Pan saves Tiger Lily, and Tiger Lily saves Peter Pan. The decision to insert Wendy into their alliance seemed forced and nonsensical. The reluctance to ever let Peter Pan save anyone or show prowess as a fighter left us with an ending in which Captain Hook simply jumped into the water to let the Crocodile eat him. In what world does that make sense? That is not the ruthless pirate captain of my childhood.
I read in an interview that the play was changed to give Wendy a more developed character. However, it’s not that Wendy did not have a strong character arc; the real issue is that Fasthorse must not have liked the character arc Wendy did have, which revolved around an inner-desire for romance and motherhood. Fasthorse felt the need to change the character to an aspiring doctor, which completely changed the point of the story: Wendy’s universally relatable internal struggle with the nature of growing up. The depth of the story was lost. What is wrong with desiring to be a mother? Why is that not good enough? By all means, write new plays about young girls desiring to be doctors when they grow up! It’s a fabulous aspiration. But it is not the story of Peter Pan. As a full-time mother, it does not quite sit right with me.
I love the idea of adapting the story so that tribes and native people groups who are threatened can escape to Neverland to preserve their cultures. Fasthorse certainly had some excellent ideas. But the execution of many of her ideas felt forced and unfit for the flow of the story. The new song, “Friends Forever,” which replaced the song that stereotyped Native Americans, “Ugga Wugga,” was painful to watch. It did not fit the vibe of the show, and the beginning lyrics felt like I was watching an old episode of “Barney,” not a Broadway musical.
Overall, I think Fasthorse had an interesting and commendable concept that fell flat in execution, and, while some short moments were fun and clever, the production as a whole was confusing and lacking.
— Elizabeth C. Hertz, Linthicum
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