STAGE REVIEW : Rigby, Timeless ‘Peter Pan’ Still Fly at the Pantages

Sir James M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” may be nearing the century mark, but age hasn’t touched the story of the boy who refused to grow up.

And there’s nothing stale about Cathy Rigby’s performance in the production that soared into the Pantages Theatre on Wednesday. The role that she brought to the same theater last summer--which later earned her a Tony nomination--is still a triumph.

You can see the exuberance as this diminutive Olympics champ-turned-actress leaps high against a star-studded black velvet sky or crows and postures with athletic pugnacity.

You can hear it when Rigby lets loose a remarkable voice that can reach the rafters at full throttle and turn poignant enough to prompt surreptitious eye-dabbing.

But Rigby’s not alone. Directed by Fran Soeder, a terrific cast backs her up, starting with J.K. Simmons as the dastardly Captain Hook and spunky Cindy Robinson as Wendy Darling.

Simmons continually seduces the audience into laughter with his foppish grin and pop-eyed glare as he delivers Shakespearean Hookisms with delightful relish--”You puling spawn! I’ll show you now the road to dusty death!” and “Brimstone and gall! What cozening is this?”

But there’s real menace in that sharp and gleaming hook protruding from one ruffled sleeve.

As a matter of fact, there are darker touches here than fans of the Mary Martin version might expect. Hook and his gang’s musical wish list of murder and mayhem is downright bloodthirsty.

The glowing-eyed, toothy Crocodile’s (Barry Ramsey) first frenzied entrance, Hook’s panic and the ensuing gunshot alarmed many very young audience members.

One dark moment could be dispensed with. When Peter, overcome with jealousy, raises a knife as if to stab a sleeping child, there’s a perceptible stilling in the audience, a sudden mistrust. The magic is broken, albeit briefly. Why the knife? In the book, Peter raises a fist. In the Mary Martin TV version, he does neither.

A bit of dialogue also jarred. Captain Hook’s chortling intent to create a “holocaust of children” with an explosion was in the original Jerome Robbins staging. But with the suffering of children in war so evident today, perhaps it’s time to retire that line.

The rest of the production, except for some over-miking, is a treat. Marilyn Magness’ choreography sizzles. Marianne Verheyen’s pirate costumes are a kaleidoscopic delight. The original score remains tunefully fresh under the direction of Brian Tidwell.

The scenery by Michael J. Hotopp, Paul dePass and James Leonard Joy and Natasha Katz’s lighting are pages from a storybook. You don’t have to be 6 to enjoy it.

“Peter Pan,” Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Today, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 and 5 p.m. Also July 30-Aug. 3, 7:30 p.m.; July 31, Aug. 3, 2 p.m.; Aug. 4, 3 p.m. Ends Aug. 4. $17-$35; (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000. Running time:2 hours, 40 minutes.