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J.M. Barrie debuted his play of the same name in 1904, but since then dozens of well-known books, plays and films 鈥� not to mention one iconic 海角社区官网bistro 鈥� have been inspired by this IP.

One of the most enduring is surely the Tony Award-winning musical. Featuring contributions by folks like Jerome Robbins, Jule Styne, and Comden and Green, it originated on Broadway in 1954 as a star vehicle for Mary Martin and has been remounted there a couple of times. I have fond memories of Theatre Twitter, back in the social media platform’s glory days, eviscerating the 2014 鈥淧eter Pan Live!鈥� broadcast featuring 鈥淕irls鈥� star/NBC nepo baby Allison Williams in the lead.

Now the 鈥淧eter Pan鈥� musical is back in a non-Equity national tour. And while some of the show鈥檚 sparkling fairy dust has tarnished with age, its memorable songs, wondrous special effects and book tweaked by contemporary playwright Larissa FastHorse () make it an entertaining enough all-ages spectacle.

Peter (Kruz Maldonado), looking for his shadow, finds it in the Darling family home. While their parents are out, he whisks the children 鈥� eldest Wendy (Aubrie-Mei Rubel), middle child John (Owen Suarez) and youngest Michael (Zaynn Arora) 鈥� off to Neverland, where kids never grow old.

There, Wendy becomes a substitute mother figure to a group of lost boys, who together with Peter are uneasily sharing the island with Tiger Lily (Bailey Frankenberg) and her band of followers. Both groups fear the pirates, headed by Captain Hook (Cody Garcia), who鈥檚 seeking to get back at Peter for causing his arm to be eaten by the Croc (Zanie Love Shaia).

FastHorse, an Indigenous writer from the Sicangu Lakota Nation, has successfully smoothed over some of the rougher and more problematic edges of the tale, particularly around the character of Tiger Lily and her group, who in this version each represent members of different Indigenous tribes in North America.

FastHorse has also granted more agency to Wendy, who in this version is not just a wannabe mother but an aspiring physician 鈥� her scientific knowledge comes in handy in the show鈥檚 plot 鈥� and a decent swashbuckler.

In one of the musical鈥檚 sharpest moments, the lost boys ask Wendy to tell them a bedtime story and she reveals how all fairy tales basically end in the same way, with a passive female character dependent on a prince for her happiness. Clever.

But neither she nor director Lonny Price have solved the problem of how to make the musical鈥檚 second scene 鈥� in which we鈥檙e quickly introduced to three new sets of characters 鈥� work. Sarafina Bush鈥檚 costumes don鈥檛 do enough to distinguish them all; neither does Lorin Latarro鈥檚 merely serviceable choreography.

The music is a lively mix of raucous ensemble numbers (鈥淚 Won鈥檛 Grow Up,鈥� 鈥淚 Gotta Crow鈥�), genre pastiches (Captain Hook and his crew get both a tango and a tarantella) and moving ballads (鈥淒istant Melody鈥�). (The blatantly racist number 鈥淯gg-a-Wugg鈥� has wisely been excised.)

It鈥檚 worth noting that 鈥淲hen I Went Home,鈥� a song cut from the original musical, has been restored, and it adds some much-needed backstory to the capricious character of Peter.

Scenic designer Anna Louizos鈥� sets efficiently establish the show鈥檚 locales, including the children’s bedroom, the lush island and the deck of the infamous Jolly Roger. All of this is enhanced by David Bengali’s projection designs, which bring the worlds to life with colourful vibrancy.

The actors are mostly impressive. Rising star Maldonado has a Broadway belter鈥檚 voice and a boy band frontman鈥檚 charisma. It鈥檚 too bad Price has directed him to sound like a surfer dude when he鈥檚 talking; it detracts from his performance.

Rubel handles the heightened demands of the role of Wendy with aplomb, although some of her line readings feel too broad. And if the casting of a man in the title role means the lesbian subtext is missing between Peter and Wendy, the dysfunctional relationship between Hook (performed by Garcia with panto-like gusto) and his boatswain Smee (a cartoonish Kurt Perry) should please audiences looking for queer-coded content.

Of course, any successful version of the show needs to make us believe in magic and it鈥檚 here that this production soars.

Peter and the Darling kids鈥� flights, choreographed by Paul Rubin, remain jaw-dropping, even when the wires are visible. I鈥檓 especially impressed when Peter flies, tumbles in the air and engages in swordplay. One misplaced prop or stray limb could spell disaster.

Similarly, the appearances of the fairy Tinkerbell, represented by a darting light and musical cues, evoked gasps of wonder from the kids around me.

Sure, we might all be inundated with AI images these days, but this 鈥淧eter Pan鈥� demonstrates that good old-fashioned stage tricks still have the power to enchant us.