FEB. 9 - MAR. 3, 2024

Synopsis

“A work that is equal parts dark and light, recalling the ebullient excitement of youth, but also confronting the hard fact of mortality… Ruhl’s imagination is among the most adventurous at play today in the theater.” - The New York Times

When Ann thinks of her father, she immediately remembers playing Peter Pan in her hometown theater in Iowa, and the flowers he delivered after her performance. Her memory is jogged by the fact that she and her four siblings are in their father’s hospital room during his final moments. His death sparks a conversational wake that includes everything from arguments over politics to when each sibling realized that they grew up.

Grab your pixie dust and take flight with Ann and her siblings into uncharted territory as they navigate reclaiming childhood fantasies, unlocking cherished memories, clashing over politics, and grappling with the loss of a parent and the inevitability of growing old.

For Peter Pan On Her 70th Birthday is a loving look at a family’s view of death, life and the allure of never growing up.

A note from the Director:

“What happens when we die? Do we transcend death? How can we find joy while aging?

With For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, Sarah Ruhl has given us a loving examination of a family learning about themselves while becoming orphans that explores these existential questions of life.

Ruhl, perhaps our best living playwright, draws on the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows old, eastern and Western theatre styles, Catholicism and Buddhism, to weave a tale of life, death, and resurrection.

Join us as we ponder these age-old questions, make discoveries, and learn to fly in Neverland.” - Austin Edgington

Cast

Monica Cappuccini... Ann
Bill Davidovich... John
Ronald Feichtmeir... Michael
Tannis Hanson... Wendy
John Mannion... Jim
Ray Renati... The Father
Understudy… Nancy Martin

Production Team

Director: Austin Edgington
Stage & Production Manager: Kelly Weber Barraza
Assistant Stage Managers: Catherine Porter & Skyler Riordan
Set Design: Louis Stone-Collonge
Lighting Design: Carsten Koester
Sound Design: Dan Holland
Costume Design: Greet Jaspaert

Rating

PG

Runtime

Approx. 90 minutes without an intermission.

Press

Pear Theatre show tackles life, death and ‘Peter Pan’ - Karla Kane at Palo Alto Online sits down to discuss For Peter Pan with director Austin Edgington and actress Monica Cappuccini (Ann).

Theatre Eddys: For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday
"...charming, well-directed-and-acted... this Pear production on its intimate stage works delightfully well... The Pear Theatre has figured out how to find the gems within [this play]... well-worth watching and enjoying." - Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys. Read the full review.

Splash Magazines: For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday at the Pear Theatre in Mountain View
"An intimate play in an intimate theatre made for a winning combination... Everyone involved in this play made it appear to us that we were just eavesdropping on a real family. Good theater can make that happen." - Jeryl Moy, Splash Magazines. Read the full review.

“For Peter Pan is simply terrific… Don't miss this chance to connect with marvelous acting and a play that will take you back in time, and then bring you forward again to a fabulous present... The Pear does it again!” - Susan Dunn, SFBATCC

Monica Cappuccini’s (ANN) Bay Area credits include: Over the River and through the Woods (Jewel Theatre), Cyrano (TheatreWorks), Born Yesterday (Center Rep), Show People (Dragon Theatre), The Coast of Utopia (Shotgun Players), Arcadia (The Pear Avenue Theatre), Cinderella and Romeo & Juliet (African American Shakespeare Co.), Master Class, Lettice & Lovage and Leading Ladies (Hillbarn Theatre), The Play about the Naked Guy (Impact Theatre), Eurydice (Palo Alto Players), The Diary of Ann Frank, Top Girls (CustomMade Theatre), Equus (City Lights Theater Co), Lend Me a Tenor (Livermore Shakes).

Bill Davidovich (JOHN) is thrilled to be working with the Pear Theatre again, where he performed in The Illusion and Pear Slices. He has performed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with various theatre groups, among them City Lights Theatre Company, the Dragon Theatre, Arclight Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Players, Hillbarn Theatre, Los Altos Conservatory Theatre and Bus Barn Stage Company. Among his favorite roles have been as the Judge/Caiaphas in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Iago in Othello, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, David Kahn in Social Security, Ken Gorman in Rumors, Bill in Making God Laugh and Jerry in Show People. Bill has appeared in industrial films and has trained at the American Conservatory Theatre and with Voicetrax. He earned his BA in Drama at San Francisco State University.

Ronald Feichtmeir (MICHAEL) is pleased to return to the Pear again, after a pandemic enforced hiatus. Ronald is a Mountain View native. He is proudly a recent graduate of American Conservatory Theater's (ACT) Summer Training Congress, up in San Francisco. When he's not doing plays he very much enjoys taking acting classes through ACT, and Berkeley Rep Theatre School. Recently he played Edward Markley in Radium Girls, at Foothill College. Credits at the Pear Ave. Theatre include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A Millionth Production of a Christmas Carol, The Tempest, The Cherry Orchard, and Super-Villain!

Tannis Hanson (WENDY) is delighted to be making her return to The Pear Theatre, having last performed as Belinda in Noises Off. Originally from Colorado, she spent the last eighteen years in Los Angeles where she was an active member of the Actor’s Co-op. There she worked as an actor, producer, and artistic chair for the company. Favorite roles: Clara in 33 Variations, Izzy in Rabbit Hole, Rose in Dancing At Lughnasa, Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mary Warren in The Crucible, Wanda in The Baby Dance, and Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest. Commercial work: Chevy, Progressive, Dairy Queen, Kaiser Permanente, La Quinta Hotels, Time Warner Cable. Tannis earned her MFA in Acting from California State University, Long Beach. Currently, she teaches and directs Theatre at Castilleja and is grateful for her amazingly curious students as well as her dedicated and collaborative colleagues.

John Mannion (JIM) is thrilled to perform his debut at The Pear Theatre in this uniquely sentimental piece, while still technically retaining his run of playing villains. John emerged in 2020 from a 20-year off-stage hiatus (toiling away as a B2B advertising/marketing executive and proud, supportive Dad). Since resurfacing, he’s gotten even busier – Sweeney Todd, Big Fish (Sunnyvale), The Producers, Perfect Arrangement, Gypsy (Hillbarn), Rumors, Bright Star (Coastal Rep), Drood, Roe, The Diary of Anne Frank (Foothill), The Odd Couple (Tabard), Shoshana in December (Custom Made + Z Space), All Together Now (Palo Alto Players). Decades ago, John was a musical theater director (Stanford), improv/sketch performer (Mumblypeg, ComedySportz), and rock musician/vocalist. Huge thanks to his talented wife and daughters, mother, in-laws, Studio A.C.T., and treasured friends for their encouragement. Next up, Something Rotten! at Hillbarn.

As one of the founders of the Pear Theatre, Ray Renati (THE FATHER) is thrilled to be back on the Pear stage after a seven-year hiatus. His last appearance was in Anne Nelson’s The Guys with Pear founder Diane Tasca. Other Pear appearances include Lee in True West, Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, Neil in Quality of Life, Gus in CTRL + ALT + DELETE, Arthur in Superior Donuts, as well as several other roles. He also directed award-winning productions at the Pear, including Death of a Salesman, Pick Up Ax, The Baltimore Waltz, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession, among many others. Ray attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he received the certificate for “Acting Shakespeare” and portrayed Antonio in The Merchant of Venice on the RADA stage. In addition to his acting career, Ray is also the host of the Green Room On Air podcast, which you can explore further at greenroomonair.com or rayrenati.com.

Nancy Martin-Kern (UNDERSTUDY) is thrilled to be involved with this incredible production and working at the Pear for the first time. Her last performance was at Pacifica Spindrift Players in Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike as Sonia. Other favorite credits include Lady MacBeth, Madame Ranevskya in The Cherry Orchard, Ruth in Blithe Spirit, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest, Lorinda in It Can’t Happen Here, Dotty in Noises Off and Sister Aloysius in Doubt. Over the holidays, Nancy had great fun co-directing White Christmas with her daughter Emily at Coastal Repertory. She received her education at UCSB with majors in English and Theater and has an MA in Drama Therapy. She is currently teaching 5th and 6th graders at a small Special Ed school in San Carlos and just retired from teaching Drama for 19 years at Carlmont High School in Belmont.