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Article: Stars of Stage and Screen to join Peter and the Starcatcher

 

An all-Australian star cast will bring the 5-time Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher to life for the very first time in a reimagined Australian production. The Broadway smash hit will premiere October 2024 at Canberra Theatre Centre, ahead of a national tour.

Peter and the Starcatcher is the untold story of Neverland. Before Neverland there was an Island. Before Captain Hook, a pirate. Before Wendy, her mother Molly. Before Peter, a nameless boy. 

Originally developed by Disney Theatrical Group and written by renowned stage writer and 4-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice (Water for Elephants, Jersey Boys, The Addams Family), with music by Wayne Barker, this all-new production is directed by Helpmann Award-nominated Australian director and Dead Puppet Society co-founder David Morton (Holding Achilles, The Wider Earth).  

The Australian production features a star-studded ensemble cast including Otis Dhanji from blockbuster Aquaman and Netflix hit The Unlisted as Boy / Peter; one of Australia’s most recognisable comedy faces Colin Lane from duo Lano & Woodley as Black Stache; and television star Olivia Deeble, known for roles on Home and Away, More Than This and Secret Society of Second Born Royals, as Molly.

Also featuring in the Peter Pan prequel story is Ryan Gonzalez (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, In The Heights) as Fighting Prawn; Paul Capsis (La Cage aux Folles, Head On, The Rocky Horror Show) as Slank and Hawking Clam; Hugh Parker (The Office, The Family Law) as Captain Scott; Morgan Francis (Boy, Lost) as Prentiss; and Alison Whyte (Death of a Salesman, Groundhog Day The Musical, The Dressmaker) as Lord Aster.

Completing the company, which inhabits over 100 characters in this production full of fantasy and adventure, is Leon Cain and Benjin Maza, along with offstage covers James Haxby, Erika Naddei and Natasha Veselinovic, and on-stage musicians Annie Silva-McKnight, James Dobinson and Luke Volker. 

Reimagined for Australian audiences, this highly anticipated version of Peter and the Starcatcher blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, traversing oceans of mystical mermaids and lands of curious creatures. 

This production is a major coup for international Brisbane-based production and design house Dead Puppet Society, led by Creative Director David Morton and Executive Producer Nicholas Paine who, in an Australian first, has been granted a license by Disney Theatrical Group and Music Theatre International (Australasia) to stage a new version of the Tony Award-winning production. Dead Puppet Society is joined in presenting this production of Peter and the Starcatcher by the London-based Glass Half Full Productions, currently with major productions running on both Broadway and the West End; JONES Theatrical Group, the team behind the current Australian tour of Chicago and upcoming Sydney season of Book of Mormon; and Damien Hewitt, co-producer for Girl From The North Country and Liz Kingsman: One Woman Show.

Peter and the Starcatcher is written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker. This new Australian production is directed and designed by David Morton with musical direction and additional music by James Dobinson, movement direction by Liesel Zink, lighting design by Ben Hughes, costume design by Anna Cordingley, and sound design by Matthew Erskine. Completing the production team is casting director Michael Topple, creative producer Nicholas Paine and associate director Matt Seery.

Jump on board this theatrical spectacle bursting with 100 unforgettable characters, live music and technical wizardry, and discover the untold story of Neverland.  

Coming to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre from 14 March 2025! 




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