STAGE REVIEW : CATHY RIGBY SOARS IN ‘PETER PAN’

It’s been nearly five years since Sandy Duncan flew into town as Peter Pan, thus putting her own stamp on a role that we all thought Mary Martin owned in perpetuity.

Five years is enough time to make us want Peter all over again. That was the palpable feeling in the audience last Saturday night at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach.

They didn’t want to grow up--at least for two or three hours. But would they want Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan? Another athlete trying to make it in showbiz?

“Peter Pan” is the dream every child has had--that is why, in a strange way, it’s as essential as Shakespeare. Was the Long Beach Civic Light Opera going to turn Peter into a gimmick?

Within seconds of her flight through the Darlings’ bedroom window, Rigby punches out the cynical questions like so many Captain Hooks. She is spunky. She is spry. She is athletic, elastic, almost angelic at the same time. Crucially, she is very boyish, the most boyish Peter Pan in this reviewer’s memory. Her flying, of course, is nonpareil .

But can she sing?

“I Gotta Crow,” responds Rigby, but it feels even better than that. More like “I Love to Crow.” As if Peter Pan isn’t demanding enough as a role, it’s above all a singer’s role, with at least one song (“Neverland”) that is a timeless musical theater masterpiece. Rigby, utterly unintimidated, caresses and personalizes her songs, wiping away all doubts. Sometimes risky casting is inspired casting.

And even though she is surrounded by a thoroughly confident and affable cast--John Schuck’s Hook and Mr. Darling and Marsha Kramer’s Wendy among them--Rigby is the spark plug that makes this production light up. She passes the test of the best Peter Pans: like the little Darlings, we truly miss her when she’s not around.

And this is not just another pickup production, as so many past LBCLO shows have appeared to be. Director Toby Bluth has examined the musical, based on James M. Barrie’s play, and has given it the right storybook touches.

He’s powerfully supported here by designers Michael Hotopp and Paul de Pass, costumer Bill Hargate and lighting designer L.K. Strasburg (the laser Tinkerbell, as in the Duncan production, feels less storybook than George Lucas). Bluth doesn’t manage a path out of the tangles and chasms of the second act, full of those silly Indians and pirates running around--worse, running-dancing around.

But the camaraderie of the lost boys and Rigby get us through to the charms of the closing act, and finally to the more darkly tinged epilogue. Rigby doesn’t let us in enough on Peter feeling cheated that her playmates have grown up. There’s still some growing into the role for this capable actress.

Rigby only has two weeks to do it (the show ends Aug. 24), which is patently absurd. And unfair. And not just to Rigby. Every kid within driving distance of Long Beach should have a chance to see this show, which is the best summer outing imaginable. But they won’t. That’s sadder than seeing Wendy wave goodby for the last time.

‘PETER PAN’ A revival of the musical based on the play by James M. Barrie and presented by the Long Beach Civic Light Opera at the Terrace Theatre, Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach. Producer Martin Viviott. Music Mark Charlap, Jule Styne. Lyrics Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, Adolph Green. Director Toby Bluth. Musical director Steven Smith. Choreographer Dennis Coutney. Costumes Bill Hargate. Sets Michael Hotopp, Paul de Pass. Lights L.K. Strasburg. Production stage manager Eric Insko. Laser performance Laser Media, Inc. Flying by Foy. Cast Marsha Kramer, Dylan Firshein, Candy Sherwin, Adam Byrne, George Radcliff, Belle Callaway, John Schuck, Cathy Rigby, Gina Rose, Glenn Shiroma, Josh Williams, Ryan Byrne, Chris Finch, Kevin Woods Fay, Michael Robert Betts, Trevor Bullock, George Radcliff, Todd Nielsen, J D Rosenbaum, Ira Denmark, Rick Stockwell, Jimmy Burns, Paul Hadobas, Patti Colombo and others. Tickets $11.50-$21.50. Children under 12 half-price. Senior discount 10%. Plays Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8:30 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, and next Wednesday 2:30 p.m.; signed performance for the hearing impaired Aug. 22, 8:30 p.m. Ends Aug. 24 (213-436-3661).