First Baptist Academy defeats Hook

By Lisa Emmick

First Baptist Academy’s Theater Club, which consists of ninth-12th grade students, recently presented Disney’s “Peter Pan Jr.” The musical was based on the play by J.M. Barrie and the 1953 Disney film. The high school cast and crew contained 52 students.

Peter Pan is the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. After finding his shadow in the Darling family nursery, Peter teaches Wendy, John and Michael how to fly and sweeps them off to Never Land, where they meet the Lost Boys, Indians, mermaids and pirates.  If the children are ever to return home, Peter must defeat Captain Hook with the help of Tinker Bell and her fairy friends.

This production featured classic songs from the 1953 film such as, “You Can Fly!,” “Following the Leader” and “The Second Star to the Right” as well as songs from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the 2008 Disney film “Tinker Bell.”

Seniors Kennedy Beavers and Davian Galindo served as student directors of the musical, also appearing onstage as Tiger Lily (Beavers) and John Darling (Galindo.)

The Darling family included Sarah Boone as Wendy, Travis Shoemake as Michael, Ryan Givens as Mr. Darling, Katie Smith as Mrs. Darling, and Lauren Munnerlyn as Nana, their nursemaid dog.

The title character, Peter Pan, was played by Jordan Childs, with Kennedy Riggs as the perfect pixie sidekick, Tinker Bell. Her fairy friends introduced the musical and made frequent appearances, finally helping to save the day to defeat Hook and his pirates. Josh Hays played the dastardly Captain Hook, assisted by his first mate, Smee, played by Erik Rogers.

The pirate crew provided much comic relief to the production. Ethan Riggs played the role of the object of Hook’s terror, The Crocodile, and also served as a stage manager and rehearsal assistant to the club director. Nicholas Ogelle was Chief Tiger Bamboo, and his tribe was full of fun as they played, danced and sang with the mischievous Lost Boys. Beautiful, sparkling mermaids added a magical moment to the show. Students were also busy backstage, including seniors Brisa Gutierrez as head makeup stylist and Victoria Waldron, who added artistic touches to the set design. The backstage crew was amazing and made sure that scene changes were quickly and flawlessly executed. Freshman Benji Boone designed the lighting and ran the light board. Adding to the enjoyment of the evening was a dessert bar with a stunning selection of baked treats for patrons to purchase. It was especially fun for the cast and crew to see younger FBA students, including their mentees from the school’s Mentor/Mentee program, in attendance, many of them in costume!

Cast and crew also served on crucial committees or filled important roles including publicity/production, fundraising, costumes, stylists, sets and props, grade captains, dance captains and prompters. Parents, alumni, teachers and administrators were instrumental to the success of the show.