Rigby shines as ‘Peter Pan’

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 9:04 a.m.

It is a timeless story worthy of being passed along from generation to generation, and the production playing at the Cashman Center through Sunday may be as good as they come. The musical is based on James M. Barrie's 1904 play of the same name.

It's a well-known tale about a little boy who refuses to grow up -- leading a band of lost boys in Neverland, who spend time fighting pirates and Indians and hoping one day to have a mother.

Cathy Rigby, on her farewell tour as the boy who loves adventures, heads a sterling cast who seem to genuinely love their roles and pour every ounce of energy into their individual performances.

Those who only remember the 5-foot-tall Rigby as a gymnast in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics will be pleasantly surprised to learn that she can sing and act -- and fly.

Rigby, at 50, still has a lot of athleticism, which she demonstrates often during the 2 1/2-hour production -- gracefully flying across the stage, doing handstands and flips and bouncing around rooms.

The entire cast earned the standing ovation it received at the end of its performance Thursday night.

Rigby gave an impressive, and tireless, performance as the lead character, and young towheaded actor, Greyson Spann, and Gavin Leatherwood (a Harry Potter lookalike) were delightful as the Darling brothers.

And Elisa Sagardia was enjoyable to watch in the role of Wendy.

Howard McGillin gave an inspired performance as both Mr. Darling and as Captain Hook, relishing the opportunity to overact in the roles of conflicting characters -- the thoroughly evil pirate and the equally thoroughly good head of the Darling household.

Tracy Lore was superb as Wendy's mother and as an adult Wendy. Dana Solimando as Tiger Lily, Patrick Richwood as Smee -- they and every other supporting member of the cast performed beautifully.

So many things went into making this production so much fun -- Nana the Dog (Ryan Mason), the crocodile (Tony Spinoza), Tinkerbell (a light that flitted about the stage).

All of the classic songs were there -- from "I Gotta Crow" to "I Won't Grow Up" to "Neverland."

The sets -- from the bedroom of a Victorian home in London, to the Lost Boys cave and the pirate ship -- were perfect.

There have been a number of versions of Barrie's play. This one, produced by McCoy Rigby Entertainment, is based on the Broadway play conceived, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins.

The musical has everything to enthrall children -- pirates, Indians, fairies, characters who fly -- but ultimately it is a story that deals with adult subjects in the context of a fantasy world.

Child abandonment, unrequited love, loneliness, fear of the unknown, insecurities -- all of these issues permeate Barrie's story.

But they are issues that children in the audience aren't aware of -- they are more interested in the flying and the singing and the sword fighting.

While there was a large number of children at Thursday's performance, and probably at most performances, the 2 1/2-hour production (which includes two intermissions) might be too long for the attention span of the younger children.

By the time the musical is over, they have almost been there long enough to grow up.