'Peter Pan' to soar for Akron All-City musical

The Akron All-City Musical will soar again this year, back to a full musical format with the beloved family favorite "Peter Pan."

The All-City show, which will again be a full-fledged musical after switching to a scaled-back Broadway cabaret last year due to the pandemic, will run for three performances Friday and Saturday at the Akron Civic Theatre.

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The production, which traditionally features high school students from throughout the Akron region, this year also has 10 middle school performers in the cast. According to producer Val Renner, after seeing all the talented younger boys who tried out for the roles of brothers John and Michael Darling, director Jordan Cooper decided to cast more middle school boys as Lost Boys, pirate and native ensemble members.

The production features 28 actors from 18 schools, as well as a student orchestra of 15 from 11 schools. In this show, kids get to specialize with their talents, including native ensemble members performing ballet en pointe and the famous dog Nana and the Crocodile being played by another ballet dancer  — Lex Zorich of Firestone high school.

"All of us are anticipating getting back and being able to do this full-blown production," said Howard Parr, executive director of the Akron Civic Theatre. "We're bringing back another family musical."

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One of the middle schoolers who's brand new to the All-City musical and ready to hit the Civic stage this weekend is 11-year-old Clarence Bucaro, who plays one of Wendy Darling's littler brothers, John.

Clarence, who will be a sixth-grader at Akron's Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts, is an acting student who also plays piano, trumpet and ukelele and sings. His homeroom teacher, Lori Galambos, knew how much he loved performing and suggested he try out for the All-City show.

"I auditioned and I met everybody and then I got the part," said Clarence, who is one of four cast members who flies in the show.

He's enjoyed acting alongside the high school performers and learning from director Cooper.

"I felt at home because everyone has the kindness and they have the personality that's just so nice, it makes you feel at home because it feels like family," he said of the cast.

Also new to the All-City Musical is Megan Archer, a recent Hudson High School graduate who's starring as Peter Pan, traditionally played by a female.

"Peter's been by far one of the most challenging roles I think I've ever had to play," said Archer, who must continually think about incorporating male body language and manner of walking into her characterization.

She said as a director, Jordan understands how to convey information as a character.

"He's taught me so much," Archer said. "He was really big on character development, which is something that I had dipped my toe into in a lot of shows but he really went in depth, which was really cool for me."

Archer, who has been doing musicals for seven years in Hudson, will study musical theater in the fall at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina.

"I just went in knowing I wanted some experience over the summer before I left for college," Archer said. But she never imagined she'd land the title role in "Peter Pan."

At rehearsal recently, as the boy who never wants to grow up, Archer's Pan proclaimed to Wendy: "I don't want to learn solemn things. No one's going to catch me and make me a man. I just want to be a little boy and have fun."

As Peter, Archer undergoes a transformation into a sprightly boy with the help of a wig that also has her long, blond hair pulled through it. Costume designer Iren Mack-Shafer creates the look for the actress.

"I just let her work her magic," Archer said.

Villain role

Emelia Aceto, who will be a senior at Highland High School, is also embracing a male role as Captain Hook.

"This is my first villain role, which is really, really exciting," she said.

Aceto also plays Mrs. Darling. When switching between roles, she thinks about the parallels between Mrs. Darling being the mother of her three children and Hook being captain of his pirate crew.

With Hook, she's been exploring the villain's comedic side.

"Having to find a way to be very dastardly and sinister but also not make the audience completely hate you, it's definitely a sweet spot to find," Aceto said.

As Hook, she wears a big, curled mustachio, her own dark, curled, long hair and the ubiquitous hook for her left hand. The actress said her character always leads with his hook, which is where his evil stems from. Since Peter cut off that hand and fed it to a crocodile, the hook also stands for vengeance.

"It's almost like he weaponized what Pan did to him to then get back at Pan," Aceto said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Musical: "Peter Pan"

Where: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., Akron

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Onstage: Starring Megan Archer, Emilia Aceto, Hannah Tramonte, Sage Crawford, Clarence Bucaro, Bryson Berthiaume

Offstage: Based on the tale by J.M. Barrie; Morris Charlap and Jule Styne, score; Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics; Jordan Cooper, director; Sharon Alberson, musical director; Brian Murphy, choreographer; Irene Mack-Shafer, costume designer; Brian Murphy, choreographer; Dennis Dugan, lighting designer; Bill Fertig, sound designer; David Banks, orchestra conductor 

Cost: $15-$25

Information: akroncivic.com, 330-253-2488

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Peter Pan' actors in Akron All-City Musical vow to never grow up