Actor Ask steals
the stage as Hook
in ‘Peter Pan’
Elizabeth Harrison stars in the title role, but Randl Ask's broad, over-the-top portrayal of Captain Hook dominates the action in Diamond Head Theatre's Christmas season production of "Peter Pan."
Villains are often more interesting than heroes, and Ask's take on the pirate captain is a perfect example. Why Hook is so driven to destroy Peter Pan's Lost Boys and Tiger Lily's Indians is never explained, and it may not matter. Ask plays Hook as a foppish gay Vincent Price impersonator and owns the stage whenever he's part of the action.
"Peter Pan": Presented by Diamond Head Theatre, continues at 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, with 3 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday matinees, through Dec. 28. Tickets are $12 to $42. Call 733-2074.
He snarls, he mugs, he dances, he bellows malevolently -- and what a voice! Ask has the dominant voice in the show and makes "A Princely Scheme," "Another Princely Scheme" and "Hook's Waltz" show-stopping numbers.
Add his consistently expansive physical performance and series of increasingly flamboyant, vaguely 17th-century costumes, and Ask gives the show a welcome jolt of energy each time he appears.
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Elizabeth Harrison, as Peter Pan, flies with the help of trusty cables during a dress rehearsal for the Diamond Head Theatre production of "Peter Pan."
Ask and his well-drilled pirate crew are consistently entertaining as a tight-knit comic dance troupe, as well.
Greg Zane and DHT artistic director John Rampage share credits as co-directors/co-choreographers of this perennially popular children's fantasy and between them ensure that this three-act musical moves quickly.
The "flying" scenes -- staged by Flying by Foy, the company that allowed Mary Martin to soar in the definitive 1954 Broadway musical version of James M. Barrie's beloved story -- have the familiar to-and-fro look expected of a stage production, and although none of the songs are particularly memorable, musical director Emmett Yoshioka and his crew of "pirates" give the performers ample support from the orchestra pit.
Kristina Sault, as Wendy Darling, gives a charming and nicely shaded performance as a girl on the verge of becoming a woman. Sault's Wendy is still girl enough to play at being the Lost Boys' mother but close enough to womanhood to tentatively reach out to Peter as a boyfriend rather than a platonic pal.
Jenn Harris radiates maternal warmth in a heart-touching performance as the Darling children's mother; F.L. Cabacungan gives a nicely realized portrayal as Hook's trusty sidekick, Mr. Smee; and Harreth Tawfik does a great job on all fours playing the Darling children's canine nanny in Act 1. (Tawfik plays the hungry crocodile in Act 2.)
Lynn Kinoshita is agile and appealing as Tiger Lily. Kim Anderson, last seen as the star of DHT's summer production of "The Wizard of Oz," adds a fine performance in the final scene as Jane, with Harrison and Nicole Marie Sullivan (grown-up Wendy).
Dawn Oshima (set and lighting design) makes her most important contributions by providing Peter Pan's shadow in Act 1 and Tinker Bell (a laser pointer) throughout.
Harrison plays Peter Pan as an ageless boy whose emotional development has stalled at the braggart level. She succeeds in evoking memories of Martin in the flying scenes, pairs nicely with Sault in several of the romantic scenes and interacts beautifully with Ask as Hook pursues a mysterious lady (played by Peter in long veil) but never fully engages our interest or sympathy.
Maybe that's because Peter never really seems to be in danger. Maybe because we older and wiser adults know that no harm will come to him. Or maybe it's because the show lacks any sense of suspense or menace. The Indians are dancers, not fighters, and the pirates are such comic dimwits that they never pose a significant threat, either.
The scene in which the pirates capture the kids is nicely choreographed, but the climactic scene aboard Hook's ship never reaches the point where even a young child would think the kids were in danger. One or two pirates die offstage, and Hook escapes by jumping overboard, but a crocodile on board the ship remains placid, rather than pursuing him.
DHT's "Peter Pan" is safe fare for children of all ages. True, Tinker Bell uses the "A-word" twice, but the usage is archaic, to mean "fool," rather than something more derogatory.
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