For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday
About the show
Playwrights Horizons presents the New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl's play in which five siblings are driven to reconnect with childhood dreams in the wake of their father’s death. More…
Playing Peter Pan at her hometown children’s theater is one of Ann’s fondest, most formative memories. Now, 50 years later, Neverland calls again, casting her and her siblings back to this faraway dreamscape where the refusal to grow up confronts the inevitability of growing old. Ruhl conjures a tender, yearning tale that flies in the face of time in the search for a second youth.
Member Reviews (165)
MEMBERS SAY:
See it if you want to see Kathleen Chalfant at her very best; you remember Peter Pan and want to see how this play involves the original
Don't see it if you don't like plays that deal with the death of someone's father
See it if you are a fan of Chalfant, you like good ensemble acting, you want to see every new play that comes out
Don't see it if you are looking for a play that makes sense or is profound. This one pretends to be profound but doesn't make it. Kind of banal and jumbled.
See it if you love great acting Kathleen Chalfant is terrific. The play is on the verge of saying something profound but never really gets there.
Don't see it if you get bored listening to talky scenes. Also, can be very emotional if you recently lost a parent or loved one.
Also I think what the playwright is trying to explore is that you never ful... Read more Read less
See it if you are interested in issues of what it means to grow up. Good ensemble acting and thoughtful writing/directing. Bit slow and repetitive
Don't see it if "Charming" is not in your vocabulary. This is a thoughtful low-key play about ordinary people dealing with life and not a high energy night
See it if A new play maybe of interest to you dealing with a woman in her youth once played Peter Pan in a school production.
Don't see it if Long scenes of a dying person are disturbing to you. Find plays that are very talkie with little action tedious to watch.
See it if you like a dash of catholics, politics, family conflict, and death all in one. throw in peter pan, does that grab you?
Don't see it if you don't like disjointed shows, don't like peter pan, don't like to watch death on stage, don't like family conflicts that may cut close.
Also Just to see 72 yo Kathleen Chalfant fly as peter pan at the end was di... Read more Read less
See it if Strange scene transitions from a father's deathbed, to a whiskey fueled wake and then Neverland. Chalfant is brilliant always!
Don't see it if not whimsical like the title may suggest; I saw this very early in previews needs more development.
See it if you have an appetite for Ruhl's feeling-structured plays. Little narrative throughline but some marvelously perceptive situations, thoughts
Don't see it if you are put off by a triptych structure that changes tone radically with each section, or if you need to connect with a narrative arc
Also There are some moving and transporting moments here, but it is difficu... Read more Read less
See it if Great Lisa Emery, who can read the phone book, while the legendary Kathleen Chalfant watches her would have been a better play.
Don't see it if This unfocused and very uneven play lacks purpose. I guess the bottom line is that age and death will get us all, one way or the other.
See it if Know Kathleen Chalfont commands any stage. Like real life dialogue , thought provoking play, are OK each character not fully developed.
Don't see it if You have to measure this against Ruhl's other works. Don't have patience for dialogue..and don't know Kathleen Chalfont.
See it if you want intelligent conversations about serious subjects (like caring for parents) and growing up. Wonderful dialogue!
Don't see it if you think theatre should be full of special effects, like a summer movie.
See it if you like great acting, a lot about reacting to death in a family and Peter Pan
Don't see it if you don't want to think about death and family dynamic not thoroughly plotted through.
Also The first half was thoughtful and fairly interesting although slow. Th... Read more Read less
See it if you have siblings or imagine that you have. A delightful and insightful family dialog about..what was it about? Anyway, who wants to grow up
Don't see it if you have no idea who Peter Pan is or every seen a production of the play.
See it if You like a thought provoking play on death and dying as one gets older as contrasted by the never grow up theme of Peter Pan. Poignant
Don't see it if You don't like a death and dying theme or if not a fan of Peter Pan.
Also Well acted and enjoyable. One of my favorite off Broadway plays (I am ... Read more Read less
See it if You want to see Kathleen Chalfant and Lisa Emery flying and David Chandler do a fun Capt. Hook. You like drawn out death scenes & sap.
Don't see it if You want to see tedious death scene & drunken family banter, reminiscences & inside jokes. All this means a lot to Ruhl but nothing to us.
See it if you're game for thoughtfully-experimental, theatrically-adventurous & expertly-acted rumination on aging & mortality; Chalfant rocks
Don't see it if you need your plays to have clearly plotted dramatic trajectories; if you don't want to see another bickering family play
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