Peter Pan

A pantomime

Directed by Janos Zeller
Music Direction by Sarah Nearing
Choreography by Adanna Nawalkowski

Presented at the Pumphouse Theatre
December 12 – 20, 2025

All children, except one, grow up… On the hunt for his pesky shadow, Peter Pan meets the Darling children in their Nursery. With a sprinkling of Tinkerbell’s fairy dust, Wendy, John and Michael leave Nana the Dog behind on a flight to Neverland – a magical place home to lost boys, mermaids and the most villainous pirate of them all; Captain Hook! With Mrs Starkey and her bumbling son Smee by his side, Hook seeks revenge against Peter Pan who fed his hand to a tick-tocking crocodile. Will the boy who never grew-up rid Neverland of Captain Hook forever? Will the Darlings find their way home to London? And, most importantly, do you believe in fairies? Find out in this swashbuckling pantomime that will have you ‘hooked’!

CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS

8 *principals, 13 other named characters (5 Lost Boys), plus Pirates/Neverlanders
Some performers will play multiple characters.

*Tinker Bell A pixie with attitude!

*John Darling Adventurous and pragmatic son of the Darlings

*Michael Darling The youngest of the Darlings

*Wendy Darling The headstrong, eldest of the Darling children

Mrs Darling Mother of the Darlings

Mr Darling Officious father of the Darlings

*Dame Starkey A pirate wench, Smee’s mother. The Dame

*Captain Hook The dastardly gentleman pirate captain of the Jolly Roger

*Peter Pan The boy who never grew up

*Smee The bumbling, lovable first mate of the Jolly Roger

Tiger Lily Daughter of the Chief of the Neverlanders

Neverlander Chief Head of the Neverlander tribe

The Lost Boys Toodles, Nibs, Curly, Slightly, The Twins

Nana the Dog Canine nursemaid of the Darling children

Mermaids Sassy singing sirens Ariel, Persil, and Bold

Pirates, Neverlanders, and The Crocodile

Audition Requirements:

People wanting to be a part of the production are encouraged to sign up for a friendly chat with the Directorial Team (Director, Musical Director, Choreographer, and Stage Manager). We’ll talk to you about your background, what you think your strengths are, and what you’d like to challenge yourself with.

No need to prepare any monologue or song; although those wishing to have a song solo in the show will be asked to sing something, either a song you have prepared or we’ll throw something at you. Whatever makes you comfortable.

Nobody likes auditions and we want to try and remove as much of the stress this part of the process creates as possible.

People asked to attend callbacks will be measured on how they can best be integrated into the show and make everyone look good. The advantages we have with this type of show is that we can tailor our song selections and performances to the desires and talents of the people who come out. It’s a very ensemble type of production where every performer is equally valued. We want to find the best way to showcase your abilities, so let us know what you can do, what you want to do, and we will do what we can to make that happen!

• Audition Chats for Peter Pan will take place In-person in ten minute time-slots.
• Optional – If you are bringing a prepared song, please keep it to 2 minutes or less.  You will also need to bring your music on your phone – we will provide a speaker (if required).
• Auditioners are asked to complete an online audition form, with an acting resume and headshot.
• Selected auditioners will be requested to attend an in-person callback to read/sing/dance with other performers.

Morpheus Theatre encourages individuals of all genders, ethnicities, and abilities to audition. Not a traditional actor?  That is okay, get in touch with us and we will find a way for you to showcase what you have to offer.

Callback Materials

We will be sending out invitations to callbacks by Thursday, September 11th at the absolute latest, which is a fairly tight turnaround; hence, this information!

In the interest of transparency and accessibility, we wanted to make sure that you have a few extra days if you want them to feel prepared, because callbacks can be hard and scary! We as a production team want to emphasize that you are not expected to start working on any of these materials until you know whether or not you have a callback.

If you are invited to callbacks, we will be going over this scene Peter Pan – Callback Scene and you will have the option of singing an audition cut of either:

1) Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) by The Backstreet Boys, Lyrics HERE, Audio HERE

Karaoke Track: https://youtu.be/keejy6-6xt4

or

2) Defying Gravity from Wicked, Lyrics HERE, Audio HERE

Please choose one of these songs; absolutely no need to memorize the lyrics, but be familiar enough with the song that you can have some fun with it! We will likely be asking you to perform these songs in small groups of 3-4, because we want to see how you all play off of each other. You may be asked to perform the song as a character from the show, even if that character might not be singing either of these songs in the show.

The most important thing we will be looking for in callbacks (and auditions!) is your sense of joy and willingness to play; so with that in mind, please, please, please treat preparing music for callbacks as an exercise in HAVING FUN! Part of the reason that we emphasize this is Defying Gravity is a brutally difficult song. As a voice teacher and professional singer, the absolute last thing Sarah wants is for anyone to strain or injure their voices trying to learn this piece. So, particularly if you choose to work on Defying Gravity, be kind to your voice! Sing in whatever octave or register is comfortable for you (you will NOT be shamed for singing the high parts in head voice!), turn it into a dramatic monologue—whatever makes the experience comfortable and fun for you.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.