‘Peter Pan’ leaves Ellsworth audience believing> This community event is immensely entertaining

Nobody goes to a musical to think. You go to have fun, to be cheered, to laugh and smile and hum a little tune — exactly what you’ll get in Ken Stack’s production of “Peter Pan,” which opened last weekend and plays again April 4-6 at The Grand in Ellsworth. James M. Barrie’s 1904 story about a little boy who doesn’t grow up and the friends he makes when he follows the fairy Tinker Bell into a nursery in London is beloved and amusing.

But “Peter Pan” is hardly a no brainer.

Call me overly sensitive. Go ahead. I’m used to it. But after not having seen this show since childhood, I’m compelled to say that I think “Peter Pan” is not just a sweet little story with charming characters who fly around and sprinkle fairy dust on one another. It’s a major polemic along the lines of men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and — that age-old truism — don’t talk to strangers.

Let’s talk metaphors. (Just go with me on this for a minute.) Peter Pan is a metaphor for the male tendency to not want to grow up. That’s why he lives in Neverland, has attention deficit disorder, and gets very nervous when Wendy wants to play house. Wendy, on the other hand, is the eternal mother. She wants to cook and sew and stand by her man.

At the end of the story, after Wendy and Peter’s adventure has been over for many years, Peter shows up at the window of the nursery once again. And there’s Wendy, the Rock of Gibraltar, sitting in front of the fire sewing away like a good mom. When Peter asks her to fly away with him, she says she has forgotten how to fly.

So what does Peter do? He blithely takes off with Wendy’s daughter, Jane, who is supple, giddy and willing to think of Peter as the sun and the moon and the stars. Which leaves Wendy, a mature woman, alone in the nursery, rejected by the man, replaced by the younger woman, and unable to fly.

C’mon, tell me that’s not some powerful stuff. And it doesn’t even touch on the allegorical meanings of an alligator that has swallowed a clock and is pursuing Captain Hook, or a dog who is called Nana and acts as a nursemaid, or a bunch of little lost boys roaming around an enchanted island.

Barrie’s play is chock-a-block full with all sorts of poignant imagery. Of course, this show is not only a symbolic representation of societal stereotypes. It’s a light and fluffy fantasy, particularly since Eliza Jacobson’s portrayal of Peter is so thoroughly enjoyable and whimsical that you can’t help but be swept up into the magic. Similarly, Megan Weber is a starry-eyed Wendy with a terrific voice and a lightness of spirit that is a treat to watch.

Other swell performances are turned in by the lovely Debra Hangge (Mrs. Darling), the witty Micheal Weinstein (as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook), and the limber Kimberly Horn (Tiger Lilly). Captain Hook’s crew is filled with the most delightful numbskulls, and Tiger Lilly’s Indians are jaunty and cartoonish.

The creative team of Stack, choreographer Judy Savage and music director Robert Bahr has put together an inspired show. It’s the type of experience you want to take the kids to, indeed, should take the kids to.

Technical director Art Bousquet has made an affable contribution with his versatile set that easily moves from a comforting nursery to a path in the woods of Neverland to an underground home and to the deck of the Jolly Roger. Plus he gets people flying, which is always a gas to watch. Costumer Linda Grindle makes no small contribution with costumes that go from riches to rags — and she must have bought out the entire animal-costume shop to suit up an odd collection of forest animals.

This community event is immensely entertaining. It will bring tears to your eyes, fill you with joy, and make you want to follow the second star to the right and go straight on till morning. But, watch out. You may also start thinking on this one.

“Peter Pan” will be performed 8 p.m. April 4 and 5, and 2 p.m. April 6 at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. For tickets, call 667-9500.