By Sophia Rutti
We’ve all gotten used to seeing our old favorite Disney fairy tale classics in live action these last few years, including the traditional “Cinderella” or the musical retelling of “Peter Pan” in NBC’s 2014 “Peter Pan Live!” and the forthcoming movie “Pan,” due out later this year.
Audiences’ excitement doesn’t end at the screen, but it does demand one thing: spectacle. We want to see our fairy tales bigger, brighter and more magical than ever, all of which typically lend themselves to the magic of film CGI. Threesixty Entertainment, however, is premiering a production of “Peter Pan” in an “in the round” environment that is just as immersive and spectacular as any film but is live in Tysons Corner from June 24-Aug. 16.
Charlie Burnell, the founder of Threesixty Entertainment and a producer of “Peter Pan”, is not new to the theater scene. He has worked in theater since 1984, and after spending time as a performer, he set his sights on producing his first play in 1997. Now, Burnell shares his insight on the creative process and unique style behind “Peter Pan.”
What makes this production unique?
We have married two things in this production. The play is very close to J.M. Barrie’s original play and story, but we used 21st-century technology to tell it. It is a mix of the traditional original show and everything that we now have at our disposal, technologically, to tell it.
I think what is unusual about this production is that it is a completely immersive experience. Also, the normal way of doing a show is that you decide to do the play you do, and you choose a theater then produce the show in it. We used a different, holistic approach. We decided on the show, and we built the theater for it. So this environment [was] specifically built to tell the story of “Peter Pan.”
We decided things like putting the support poles on the outside of the structure instead of in the traditional way that a tent is supported. By putting them on the outside, we’ve created a completely structure-free environment inside. The actors can fly in it, and the audience can have the beauty unhindered and have an uninterrupted sight line, which from the beginning was very important to us.
Using the 360 environment, we had the possibility to create a complete virtual theater.
Why did you choose “Peter Pan” to present in the Threesixty environment?
I think there are other stories that would work very well in this environment, but “Peter Pan” led us on its own path really. It is the production and the environment together that allow us to deliver both intimacy and spectacle. Every person in the auditorium can feel close to the actors, but because of the sheer size of the stage, we can do a huge spectacle.
Also, I believe the “Peter Pan” story is just universal. The longstanding appeal of it is because of the fact that J.M. Barrie wove two different stories together. It is a swashbuckling adventure where people fly and there are pirates and a magical land, which of course appeals to the young. [There’s] also the story of young love and not wanting to grow up as well as what one loses when one does grow up, which reveals a deeper level and one that is heartbreaking for adults.
When you put the two together, you get very different reactions from the same story. I think that is one of the reasons for the lasting appeal. It’s really thrilling to be able to tell the story and exciting to see families with kids and groups of adults in their own right watching the production.
Threesixty Entertainment’s “Peter Pan”
Tysons Corner Center
June 24-Aug. 16
Tickets from $25
For more information or to buy tickets, click here.
