As the GA community is settling into a new year, the Belfry Club is getting busy with a new staging for the fall season. This year, the directors have chosen “Peter and the Starcatcher,” a production that is a combination of a play and a musical. It is a prequel to Peter Pan’s story and will be performed on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 in the Arts Center.
It takes the narrative of a group of orphan boys who are being taken to a faraway kingdom on a ship called “The Neverland,” in which they meet a girl named Molly. Her father is aboard another ship called “The Wasp” and is on a mission for the Queen of England, Queen Victoria.
Both ships contain a trunk, one a decoy and the other filled with a material known as “starstuff,” which was originally supposed to be aboard The Wasp for Queen Victoria, but got swapped with the decoy trunk on The Neverland.
However, a group of pirates who are seeking the starstuff find out about the switch and decide to attack The Neverland in hopes of being able to steal the trunk containing starstuff.
“And in the meantime, one of the orphans who’s only called ‘Boy’ in the very beginning of the play, we start to realize he’s finding his identity as who we know as Peter Pan,” Mr. Jared Eberlein, Head Director of the Belfry, said. “It’s all about the origin story of Peter Pan and how he came to be ‘the boy who never grew up.’”
There are many lessons to take away from the story, as the play demonstrates children’s abilities to be responsible and make an impact. Even adults can learn from the orphans by reflecting on their childhood and not underestimating young people.
“I don’t think that [the orphans] know how capable and skilled they are to navigate the world, and I think they discover that along the way,” Mr. Eberlein said. “I hope that people who are their age watch the play and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I am more capable than I thought.’”
The story of “Peter and the Starcatcher” also reflects the ideas of friendship and how people are able to bond together through a shared experience.
“The sense of community in the show is really important,” Lauren Sass ‘26 said. “Through each other, [the orphans and Molly] are all learning about themselves and the world around them, so friendship is a really important part in this story.”
Each part of Belfry, including the cast, crew and directors, is working and collaborating together to make the performance successful.
“Crew was really hard at work. We’re able to see our progress, and it’s really great, it’s nice to really work them all together,” Sass said. “I really think the production crew this year [is] definitely very unified, rooting for each other.”
Being part of a play staging is time-consuming, regardless of the role one plays. However, the students and faculty of GA dedicate themselves and their time nonetheless.
“When I go into rehearsal, I completely switch off my school mode and dedicate 100% of myself with complete focus,” Kyle Guess ‘26 said. “Similar to what you would have to do with any other sport or activity where, if you want to give your best, you gotta give everything you have to.”
The production cast, crew, and directors aim to transport viewers into a world of adventure and fun, re-creating a sense of childhood nostalgia. Using the stage’s space and the actor’s abilities to represent the characters, Belfry hopes to engage the audience’s imagination, no matter the age or background.
“I would hope that people come to it and are open to sort of watching the story [and] having fun, because it’s an adventure,” Mr. Eberlein said. “And also thinking about [the] progression from childhood to grown up, and how they might be able to sort of recapture some of those moments.”