Peter and the Starcatcher at the Boulder Dinner Theater

This year we decided to treat the kids to a new experience - we took them to the Boulder Dinner Theater to see "Peter and the Starcatcher". The play was based on a book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. We've all read the book and really enjoyed this version of the origins of Peter Pan.

We arrived at about 6:10pm to see a crowd in the foyer. Steven picked up out tickets at the desk, and we stood among the crowd for a few more minutes before they opened the doors to the theater at 6:15. As we slowly made our way with the throng to the doors, we admired the posters on the walls, displaying other shows that had been performed. I didn't know there was a play entitled "Chess".

When we reached the doors, we were shown to our seats. There were three levels in the theater. Our seats were on the middle level, at a table set for a six. We could look out over a balcony and see the stage clearly (and fairly close) without having other people in front of us (besides those seated at our own table.) There were probably a couple hundred people in the theater on three sides of the stage, and it was full to capacity.

After a short wait, during which we enjoyed the fresh bread on the table, a waiter appeared to take our orders for dinner. He introduced himself as Jack, and the star of the show we were about to see. We were also served our drinks by Bob, who would play the part of Mrs Bumbrake, a British nanny, in the show. Hannah, Peter and I ordered chicken for our dinner, while Josh and John ordered a cod dish, and Steven ordered pork. We were served salads with a sweet vinaigrette dressing, and then our main dishes were brought. The food was delicious! We had plenty of time to enjoy our meal and order our dessert for later before the lights were dimmed at 8:00 and the show began.

The cast was made up of twelve people - one woman and eleven men, who were on stage pretty much the entire time. When they weren't acting in their main role, they would blend into the background and become an extra sailor or native, or a tree. At one point, while one character was trying doors looking for something, the rest of the cast became the corridor wall and the doors, standing with their backs to the audience, and then suddenly showing what was happening in the room, and then instantly back in their wall formation ready for the next door to be tried.

Another creative thing they did was use lengths of rope to represent small doorways, stairs, and water levels.

There was a lot of music in the play, which was something unexpected, but always enjoyable. There was a live band (consisting of two people - one percussion and one on a keyboard, I think) visible to the left of the stage. They added sound effects as well as accompaniment to the songs.

The play was funny fast moving, and very enjoyable for everyone in our family. One memorable moment was when father and daughter were talking to each other in bird sounds. The squeals and squawks were hilarious!

A twenty minute intermission began at about 9:00, and our desserts were served. Again, the food was absolutely delicious, and it was again served by Jack and Bob, our favorite cast members.

After the intermission we were drawn right back into the show by a fun dance of mermaids (remember - most of the cast was men, at least one with a mustache!)

The show ended and we left the theater about 10:30. In spite of the late night (we didn't get home until about 11:00)  we thoroughly enjoyed the evening and were glad that we were able to take the kids to see it. This was a night we will remember for a long time!