Ross Petty’s Peter Pan soars above the mundane for its final flight - Theatre Review

Photo by bruce zinger

By: Angela Guardiani

What a joy it was to be back in the Elgin Theatre for the sparkly, warm-hearted camp spectacular of Ross Petty’s annual holiday pantomime. After two years of virtual shows, it’s a bittersweet and brief return to the stage for its final - final! - version. I’m not going to bury the lede on this one; despite some scaled-down production values and minor technical flubs, PETER’S FINAL FLIGHT: The PAN-Tastical Family Musical! is pure delight and a beautiful goodbye to a local tradition.

There’s two types of Torontonians. There are those that have been going to Ross Petty’s pantos since the 1990s as children and have returned, again and again, bringing their own kids and loved ones back with them to wallow in the fun. You can stop reading right now if you’re in that group - you don’t need me to tell you how good a time you’re missing. No, I’m writing for that lucky second group - lucky, because you get to discover this slightly manic, Lord-of-Misrule glitter bomb for the first time, and lucky, because there’s still nearly a whole month to see it before this iteration is gone forever.

Pantomime has a long history in the U.K. as a holiday treat, but its roots go back even further than that, back to the late medieval period when Christmas was a time when the lord of the manor let the servants take control for the day, when normal rules did not apply and cheerful chaos reigned.

Producer Ross Petty has always been very smart in how he and his longtime director (Tracey Flye) and writer (Matt Murray) have maintained the traditions of panto while still keeping the feel contemporary. The plot is always based on a fairy tale or kids’ classic, but the jokes are topical and the moral, if there is one, values kindness. There’s always a dame, a big strapping dude in the most over-the-top drag imaginable, but she is always the maker and never the butt of the joke. You boo for the villain as loudly as you can and he bellows at you to shut up, but both the audience and the actor are basking in mutual love. You have to be there to feel it.

Which brings us to this year’s show. The plot is a twist on Peter Pan, and although panto is not known for its depth, I couldn’t help but feel that the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up had a lot to say about the brief and beautiful nature of childhood and the inner child yearning to let loose inside the most staid of adults. This version’s Peter (Alex Wierzbicki) is a former child star dragged very reluctantly into Neverland with a wannabe influencer (Stephanie Sy) and a very sequinned fairy named Plumbum (the legendary Dan Chameroy combining the sass of Joan Rivers with the amiable vagueness of an absent-minded professor). There are two villains (Ross Petty and Sara-Jeanne Hosie) and a cute little sidekick (Eddie Glen), who dances and sasses back and has an astounding vocal range. There are 1980s anthems and Instagram-famous earworms, including one about a starchy yellow vegetable.

Longtime viewers may notice that two years of pandemic closures have hit the company financially. The set pieces aren’t as big and spectacular, the costumes are fewer in number, the songs aren’t the latest hits, the cast is smaller and the ensemble is down to just six. But the show never feels lacking. It just feels right.

Theatre has been slow to come back to the city after pandemic lockdowns. Looking back on the many reviews I’d written pre-plague, I’m reminded of a feeling that’s been missing lately - a feeling of unity with the players and audience, a bunch of strangers sitting in the dark that are bonded together through story and emotion. Lockdowns kept us safe but they also walled us off.

Sitting in the Elgin on Thursday night, there was a palpable sense of warmth and community. Kids were cheering, chatting, booing, dancing in their seats. Grownups were cackling and singing along. Actors teased the crowd, and the crowd gave one man - the author of all this delightful mess, Ross Petty - a spontaneous standing ovation. Ross Petty’s panto retires after this year. But you still have time to be part of the magic for this one. Let your inner kid out for the evening. I promise they’ll soar.

PETER’S FINAL FLIGHT: The PAN-Tastical Family Musical! plays at the Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge Street) until January 7, 2023. Tickets start at $29 and are available for purchase by phone at 416-366-7723 or online at https://am.ticketmaster.com/tolive/rosspettyproductions-peterslastflight