Male `Peter Pan’ learns how to fly> Elaborate device allows young actor to soar in production of classic

Lovely thoughts, a sprinkling of fairy dust and a touch of Broadway magic will have Peter Pan flying high above the Waldo Theater stage starting this weekend.

The Midcoast Children’s Theater staging of the James M. Barrie classic opens Friday in Waldoboro for a two-week run in a production that offers special effects never before seen this far north of the Great White Way.

The elaborate conglomeration of overhead tracks, cables, pulleys and harnesses that take Peter aloft is brought to Waldoboro by Peter Foy of New York City, who developed the apparatus for the original Broadway show starring Mary Martin.

Since then, Flying by Foy Co. has flown Martin’s successors, Jean Arthur and Sandy Duncan, along with a host of aerially inclined performers, ranging from Raquel Welch and Louise Mandrell to Garth Brooks and Meatloaf.

Our local Peter is Noah Starr, 14, of Camden, who has the distinction of being the first male ever to play the role using Foy’s invention.

Noah took his first flying lesson Monday night and was well into the swing of things by noon the next day, bouyed up by his own personal happy thought: “Wow, this is really cool.

“It’s not the most original thought, but it’s all I can think about when I’m up there,” he said during a break Tuesday. “I don’t mind rehearsing this at all. I’ll go as many times as I can.”

Noah nearly didn’t get to go at all, as a scheduling conflict threatened to keep Foy’s gear tied up by world-touring superstars. When the adults were unable to straighten things out, Noah took matters into his own hands, calling Foy himself.

Foy arranged to have a subcontracter, Stage Right, take on the job.

“All the kids were really disappointed and upset about not flying, so I thought maybe a kid would soften them up. It worked,” said Noah.

James Leonard, Stage Right’s flying coach, said most of the training goes to the two working the ropes rather than the flier.

“As long as the flier stays relaxed, the illusion will be perfect, if the operators have the right technique,” Leonard said. “We’ve worked with some big stars who are reluctant at first, but everyone’s fears go away as soon as they get off the ground.”

Another bit of technical wizardry in the show is a laser Tinkerbell, able to move around the stage with the ease and realism of an actual sprite.

“We’re very proud to have her here,” said Director Aaron Robinson. “It’s touches like this that show people how magical live theater can be.”

Robinson, a graduate of Medomak Valley High School and a student of musical theater at the Boston Conservatory of Music, said the real magic in the show isn’t the special effects, but the community’s enthusiasm.

“We had more than 100 kids audition, and this is only our second show,” he said. “This all started in 1991 when Ellie Heinds got the idea to bring theater to this area, and now the ball’s really rolling.

“Theater gets the kids off the street, it shows then what they can accomplish,” he continued. “We have the kids do everything; lighting, the whole works. One of our kids, Jeremy Truhel — he plays Capt. Hook — is going to direct a musical next spring. When we started this, we never thought we’d see so much excitement this fast.”

The curtain goes up on “Peter Pan” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The schedule for next week is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children. For more information, call 832-6060.