The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Marcus Lundgren of DuffleBag Theatre didn't lie before the Peter Pan show when he said "we think it's going to be a lot of fun." Beginning to end, the classic children's story was simply enjoyable. The altered Peter Pan show was not to be missed and Lundgren was on the ball when he said this is one "you've never seen before." The improv aspect kept the interest because no one knew what to expect. Jokes were even made about former Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Bob Clarke. The first person pulled from the audience was Melissa Ziehlke, who played Wendy, followed by Ryan Diakow, who was Peter Pan. Becky Hyska played Mrs. Darling, the children's mother, and Ed Jones was Captain Hook. He had a spatula on his left hand just in case things got a little messy. There was only a few moments to break from laughing and the kids were eating it up. The show was interactive as people were encouraged to participate by screaming out 'grow up Peter Pan' and he would say 'never.' Lundgren, who narrated the story, while Karen Parker, Rod Keith and Natalie Robitaille acted on his word, performed incredibly. Whatever their new cast members threw at them, they didn't miss a beat in reacting. See 'You' P.# Con't from P.# Their performance proves how well they can work with a mystery cast. "I'd say it's more fun than challenging," Robitaille says. "You never know what they're gonna do and we've had kids who have just come out of their shell and just been fantastic." This was the case with Diakow, who impressed Lundgren with his abilities, especially after the dance competition against Capt. Hook. "Then sometimes there are kids who ask us if they can sit down, which is fine, that's the fun part - is dealing with that and having to switch kids," Robitaille says. "We've had alien abductions before, we've had stunt doubles, and extreme makeovers, so it's challenging, but a good challenging I would say because it keeps us on our toes." While Peter Pan was very good, Parker, who played Tinker Bell and Robitaille who became a pirate midway through the show, were too funny. Following the show, Hyska said the performance was awesome. "It was really funny," she says. "The spontaniety, it was really different. My daughter was kind of expecting it to be like the real Peter Pan, but we thought it was good." So was she nervous on stage? "Not really, at the beginning of course," she says, with a laugh. Luckily for Flin Flon residence, a second chance to watch this talented group will be. Lundgren said they loved the crowd and being in the community.
