Peter Pan

Pirates clashing swords, fairies sprinkling pixie dust, crocodiles drooling and children flying around in pajamas; that is what little kids dream about, according to Peter Pan. 

About a month before we arrived in Wisconsin, we were told about the opportunity for Noah to join his cousin Harriet for Prairie Fire Children’s Theater, a company that takes a group of children for 5 days to put together a 1 ½ hour musical. This year they would be acting out the drama of Peter Pan. We took the cue to enjoy the story of the lost boy and his comrades in all of it’s forms: written book, theatrical drama, hollywood movie, and many afternoons of play acting. 

In anticipation of the theatrical performance, I read the book of the original story by J. M. Barrie to the cousins. The book is delightfully written, and very entertaining, but be warned that the pirates are violent, and the way it refers to Indians is disrespectful (as were most classic books from that era).  As I read, I was surprised at how funny some of the scenes were, and how much my heart tugged for Peter and the poor boys. I went back and forth between liking and disliking Peter throughout the book, and saw traits of myself in the woman-child Wendy. The children constantly chanted “I complain of ‘so and so’” at the dinner table, and wept at the end when Wendy grew up and was no longer able to return to Neverland.  I would recommend reading the story, but maybe editing a few words. 

The week of the play started with an evening of “try-outs”, where any student who wished to be a part of the play came to put forth their best effort in hopes of a big role. Noah and Harriet were both cast as Indians, and as Prairie Fire always puts their own spin on a story, they were the Cleveland Indians… baseball players. It was a clever move, and the kids really enjoyed their songs and lines. We saw the performance two days in a row over the weekend, then heard the songs and lines for the next two weeks as Harriet and Noah led the younger cousins in re-enacting the play over… and over… and over. Yesterday I told my children that they were only allowed to act out Peter Pan outside.

After enjoying Neverland through a book and a play, Paul and I showed the Disney version on screen and sang along to all of the nostalgic songs from our childhoods. The kids were rolling with laughter at the slapstick humor, and recognized so many scenes and lines from the book and play. Again, the movie does a terrible job of portraying Indians, (and the pirates are still violent), so watch with caution and a good follow-up discussion. I did notice the twists and turns from the original book, but still enjoyed the story as I remembered it. 

Because we read, acted, watched and played Peter Pan in that order, I felt like both the children and myself gained a really good understanding of the story, something that I lacked when I just watched the movie growing up.  I feel much more confident that Noah and Natalie know what is happening when they experience a story in various forms. We have done this multi-exposure with other stories, as well, with great success: 

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (play, book, music, movie)
• The Secret Garden (book, play-acting, movie) 
• Robin Hood (various books, movie, playing, short stories) 
• Star Wars (MANY books and stories, orchestra songs, legos/action figures, playing, and #4 & #5 movies)
• Mary Poppins (currently reading the books with plans for more)

We are looking forward to living in England next spring, and will have the opportunity to experience many of our favorite stories in yet another context- the original setting! The more exposure and experiences we have to a good story, the greater the understanding and impact it can have upon our lives. This is true about God’s narrative as well, and we hope that as we travel with our family to different areas of the midwest, then Europe, that we will gain a broader perspective of His story as we listen, read, explore, observe and participate in daily life.