Peter Pan and Tinker Bell – A Pirate’s Christmas

“Lythgoe Family Productions, which puts on interactive, Broadway-style musicals for kids, is becoming something of a force in live, family-friendly entertainment. Lythgoe shows reinterpret panto — the British Christmas tradition dating to the 1700s of musical comedy that mixes classic fairy tales with modern pop songs.”

“As this is a panto, the show subscribes to the time-honored tradition of reworking a well-known fairy tale and then skewering it with a self-aware, meta-sensibility—throwing in vaudevillian-like gags, light and inoffensive jokes, topical (and, often, location-based) humor, and plenty of audience participation to keep everyone part of the fun. And like most pantos, the show does indeed break the fourth wall at almost every opportunity—and encouraging the audience to be just as much of a participant in the proceedings as the actors are on stage.”

“A panto is an interactive entertainment that starts with a very contemporary retelling of a fairy tale such as Snow White, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, or in this case Cinderella and turns it into a fun imaginative show with music that will appeal to both children and their parents. There’s usually an actor or two in drag, and a villain … and audience are encouraged to root for the heroes and HISS loudly at the villains. It’s all in amusement, of course.”

“It’s cheeky holiday fun for the whole family and a nice transitional theater piece to introduce young audiences to the wonder of live musical theater. That’s a great enough reason to come check out this funny panto.”