The Department of Theatre will open its last show of the semester this weekend with Peter and the Starcatchers.

The show is a theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling book of the same name. The show is a prequel to Peter Pan, telling the story of how the orphan became the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up – including pirates and tyrants and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher explores the depths of greed and despair as well as the bonds of friendship, duty and love.

Because the show is performed in the style of “story theatre,” which involves a strong ensemble cast who rely heavily on their own imaginations and the imagination of the audience, director Kari Hatfield had to figure out different ways to create magical scenes.

“This has been a wonderfully exhausting challenge for me as a director,” Hatfield said. “It has been one of the hardest productions I have directed…the show itself is deceptively simple. I have had to figure out how many different ways we can use a few crates, some rope, and the actor’s bodies to create fantastical magical scenes and to denote multiple locations from two different ships to several island locales.”

Hatfield said rehearsals began at the end of February and the production team has been building the costumes, sets and props since then. She also said she read Peter and the Starcatchers with her daughter over the summer in preparation for this production.

“This show is very special to me,” Hatfield said. “I love the fact that it is a show with a strong female lead. One of the things that has mattered the most to me during this process is a quote from Ridley Pearson to Rick Elice when he was giving his advice on writing the play script. He said, ‘Make sure Molly stays strong. We wrote this book for our daughters.'”

Though the show is wildly imaginative and very silly, Hatfield said all Peter Pan stories are bittersweet because they explore the tension between longing for childhood and realizing we have to grow up. She also said the show explores some elements of faith, even though it’s not  specifically a Christian show.

“Although I know it was not the original intent of the authors or the playwright to make this a show about the Christian faith in particular, there are very strong themes running through it,” Hatfield said. “The idea of someone lost and alone in the dark who meets a ‘bringer of light,’ learns to live for something bigger than himself, and finds his name and his home in the light is overtly Christian.”

The production is family friendly and includes something for every age group to enjoy – children, college students, parents and grandparents, Hatfield said.

Performances include April 21, 22, 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m., and April 23 and 30 at 2 p.m. in Fulks Theatre. There is also a dinner option for April 22. Students can get half price tickets during the Sunday matinees and at the door for any performance. Tickets can be purchased at the box office between 1-5 p.m., online at www.acu.edu/theatre, or at the door.

“Most of all, I am very much looking forward to coming together in a community and laughing with others in a live audience,” Hatfield said. “There is nothing that can beat that kind of experience.”