Most people these days, I imagine, are familiar with Peter Pan in some form. Peter first made an appearance in a section of The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel for adults written by J.M. Barrie. Peter then took to the stage in 1904 as the star of his own show, and the play was adapted into a novel which was published in 1911.

Peter Pan has lived on in countless stage, movie and television productions, most notably the stage/TV version starring Mary Martin and the classic Disney animated movie. The musical is still touring today with Cathy Rigby starring as “the boy who wouldn’t grow up.” But where did Peter Pan come from? How did he meet Captain Hook and Wendy Darling?

Those were the questions posed by writer Ridley Pearson’s daughter one morning, so he and Dave Barry came up with their version of Peter Pan’s origin story with the novel Peter and the Starcatchers (which went on to become a five-book series). The book proved to be popular enough for Disney to take an interest, but instead of going the CG animation route their theatrical division came on board and developed the story for the Broadway stage (and dropped the plural of the title along the way).

Peter and the Starcatcher opened Off-Broadway in 2011, transferred to Broadway on April 15, 2012 (closing January 20, 2013) and played again Off-Broadway from March 2013 – January 2014. And now Peter and the Starcatcher is touring the country, delighting audiences with its clever blend of slapstick, vaudeville, absurdity and heart.

The story is basically a prequel to Barrie’s Peter and Wendy, taking us back to a time in the 1860s where a group of boys in an orphanage are sold to a shady sea captain and are basically held as prisoners on the Neverland. There are actually two ships and two identical trunks, one of which is holding some mysterious treasure, and the other is a decoy. The decoy is supposed to be loaded onto the Neverland, but the ship’s “captain” turns out to be one of a band of pirates who swaps the decoy with the real treasure. It is also revealed that the true captain is the pirate Black Stache, so named because of his Groucho Marx-ish facial hair.

We also meet Molly and her father who are charged with transporting and protecting the precious cargo. Molly befriends the boys, Ted, Prentiss and Boy (he’s been an orphan so long he’s forgotten his name), and their voyage becomes an adventure that becomes a mission to save the world once it’s revealed that the cargo is something called “starstuff,” a magical element that can allow anyone to become whatever it is they dream to be. After the Neverland is shipwrecked, Boy and his friends become the cargo’s protectors until Molly, her father, the pirates and the natives get into the act (and Boy does finally get a name … yes, THAT name).

Peter and the Starcatcher is probably one of the most surprising stage productions I’ve seen this season. I was really expecting a musical, but it’s not. There are two songs, one closes the first act and the other opens the second, done in a true vaudeville style (and you must be in your seat so you don’t miss the second act opener). The story itself is told by a small cast of characters playing multiple roles, although they never really change costumes (although Boy somehow ends up in Act 2 with more clothes on than he had at the end of Act 1), and there is only a single set for each act (a ship interior and an island).

You may think that a single set limits the scope of the storytelling, but the staging and use of props to convey different areas of the ship are extremely creative, using everything from a rope to denote rooms and stairways, to the actors becoming walls and doors. On the island, a string of flags is used to represent a crocodile’s teeth, and mermaids are decked out in what can only be assumed is trash found floating at sea. These use of props and the creative lighting design make Peter and the Starcatcher unlike anything you’ve seen before.

The cast is also magnificent, and while they all play multiple roles, their main characters are impressively brought to life. Joey deBettencourt is very sympathetic as Boy, at first, and he makes you root for him to become the leader of his little group of friends, happy for him when he’s given a name, and then he breaks your heart when he realizes Molly and her dad are going to leave him and his friends on the island at the end, telling them how adults always lie and then they leave.

Luke Smith’s Smee is also a comic standout, and Megan Stern is a plucky Molly. She reminded me a lot of Anna Friel of Pushing Daisies. Benjamin Schrader is also very funny as Mrs. Bumbrake, Molly’s Nana. The show’s scene stealer, however, is John Sanders as Black Stashe. Sanders milks every bit of comedy he can from his role, getting the best lines and giving the best reactions to the activity surrounding him. He also gets the shows biggest laugh in what has come to be known as the “Hand Aria.” Sanders also gets a huge laugh when he’s told the giant crocodile is chewing up all of the scenery, and Stashe runs back to center stage and over-dramatically says, “Not in MY scene.” While everyone in the show is great, Sanders is the show’s MVP in the showiest role.

By the end of the show, I had a little tear in my eye (and Sanders, again, injects a comedic moment before things get too sappy) but left the theatre feeling happy and uplifted by the production. I’m not sure the videos I’ve seen online can properly sell the show, and it’s really hard to pigeon-hole the show into a single category. It’s drama, comedy, musical … I think it comes closest to the traditional holiday Pantomimes (or Pantos) that take a traditional story or fairy tale and add some slapstick, over-the-top comedy and pop culture references. Peter and the Starcatcher does all of that, referencing everything from Michael Jackson to cell phones. The modern references help audiences connect to the story, but they never really take you too far out of it either.

Peter and the Starcatcher is ultimately a magical show that tells a story without relying on a lot of fancy stage magic that rewards audiences with a lot of laughter and a very big heart. It’s whimsical, delightful, subversive, and hilarious … and I loved every minute. Peter and the Starcatcher is now playing at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre through May 18, and will run in Pittsburgh at Heinz Hall May 20-25.

In 1940, Woody Guthrie released what is considered to be one of the first, if not the first, concept album, a collection of songs that has a narrative beginning, middle and end. In the years since, many artists from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa have recorded concept albums, and some concept albums have seen life beyond the audio recording on stage and screen. Pink Floyd The Wall became a movie. The Who’s Tommy went from album to movie to Broadway musical. Les Misérables actually started as a French concept album and became one of the most loved musicals in history. And in 2004, Green Day released their concept album (born when the tracks for the album that was in production had been stolen) American Idiot.

In September 2009, after eight months of preparation, the first staged version of American Idiot premiered at the Berkeley Rep to great acclaim, breaking box office records. The show opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway on March 24, 2010 and won two Tony Awards for Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design but lost to Memphis in the Best Musical category. The cast recording also won a Grammy. The show ran on Broadway until April 24, 2011 and the first national tour commenced in December of 2011.

American Idiot has rocked and rolled into Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre (May 7 – May 12), and they are raising the roof. The story focuses on three friends, Johnny, Tunny and Will, young men in a post 9/11 world, stuck in a small town with nothing to do and nowhere to go, wondering if the good guys still wear red, white and blue. The friends decide they have to get out of town to find themselves, but Will finds himself with an unexpectedly expecting girlfriend and is forced to stay behind. Johnny and Tunny find that life in the big city isn’t so great either when you’re flat broke, and Johnny is left alone when Tunny commits the ultimate betrayal – he enlists. Johnny becomes the central character as we follow him through months of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll while Tunny’s and Will’s lives become peripheral but important to the story.

As a rock opera, the show has a surprisingly deep story of love and life, asking the audience to think about how they fit into the world around them, and to examine what paths their lives have taken while Johnny seems to go from one dead end to another, especially after he falls under the spell of St. Jimmy, a pusher who gets him hooked on drugs to help ease the pain of his life. Not even meeting the girl of his dreams can break him out of his downward spiral, but he learns that hitting rock bottom is the only way he can come back out on top … or perhaps just exactly where he started.

I’m no Green Day fan, nor a fan of any hard rock music with a punk edge, but I have to say I was totally enthralled with this production of American Idiot. I can’t imagine the toll singing these songs night after night takes on the cast, but they deliver with all the ferocity, anger, despair and even hope that is required of the material. Alex Nee (Johnny) in particular is just stunning, delivering the leads on the bulk of the show’s songs (his resemblance to Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong is certainly no accident). There isn’t a weak voice in the entire cast from the leads to the co-stars to the rest of the ensemble. And not only do they have to sing, they have to deliver some powerfully intense choreography as well. In one stunning number, Tunny and his “dream girl” do a song and dance while flying high above the stage with some beautifully balletic moves.

The set itself is a character in the show as well. Looking like a three-story warehouse interior with about three dozen video monitors scattered from one end to the other, each character manages to have their own separate unique space on stage even though there are no walls or major set changes save for a rolling staircase and a large structure that is turned on its side and used as a bus for one ingenious number. In addition to the video monitors, which bombard you with various images and graphics, the wall of the set becomes a screen itself when video is projected along its full expanse. It is quite a remarkable set and it’s not hard to see why Christine Jones (set) and Kevin Adams (lighting) won those Tony Awards.

If you’re in the Baltimore area, do yourself a favor and head down to the beautiful Hippodrome before the show closes on May 12. American Idiot is a stunning theatrical experience. Be warned though, the show is loud and contains many scenes of sexuality and drug use as well as a liberal use of the F-word. It’s not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle a rock and roll musical that makes you think and feel, then this is the show for you. The American Idiot tour will continue in Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Tampa through the end of May before heading to San Diego, San Jose, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Seoul (with more dates to be announced). You can get more information about the show and ticket information by visiting the official website.

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