Real-life mother-daughter duos cast in Harwich Peter Pan origin story. How to see the show

The show: “Peter and the Starcatcher” by Rick Elice and presented by The Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre

What it’s about:  This fun-loving, fast and funny play offers the origin story of Peter Pan, the boy who never wanted to grow up. A refresher read of the Peter Pan story is helpful but not necessary before seeing this production. A boatload of background and plot set-up is delivered in the first few minutes and away you’ll go, ready or not, into the quirky world of a trio of miserable orphans, a Starcatcher-in-Training, pirates and oddball characters. Molly, daughter of famous Starcatcher Lord Aster, finds she needs to save the world and protect a trunkful of magical star stuff. The evil pirate Black Stache is in hot pursuit of said trunk and it’s up to the kids to outsmart his wily efforts to seize it.

Highlight of the show: Jenn Pina is terrific as villain Black Stache who is a delight to watch and wears her curling mustache proudly. It’s both a sight gag and a basis for lots of puns.

“There I will be,” she threatens Peter, “just under your nose.”

Jess Georges, who most often appears as Stache’s sidekick, Smee, plays several characters and brings on laughs with her facial contortions, nutty lines and constant correction of Black Stache’s mispronunciation of common words.  Director Jane Staab is hilarious as Mrs. Bumbrake who keeps appearing in scenes when we least expect her, entering from one side of the stage and chatting, fretting or flirting as she moves through the action and disappears on the other side.

Fun fact: There are three mother-daughter duos: Jess Georges as Smee (and others) and Cora as the Fighting Prawn, Jenn Pina as Black Stache and Xevi Pina Parker as Sanchez/Grempkin, and Emily Murray as Lord Aster and Phoebe Schuessler as a Mollusk. The considerable cast is female with the exception of the smallest orphan, Toby Goers, who does a fine job playing food-obsessed Ted. There are at least 10 male roles that the women cover with comic bravado and swagger.

Worth noting: Playwright Rick Elice wrote that "Peter and the Starcatcher" is about interconnectedness, being a part of something larger than each of us alone. The takeaway he wants to convey in this whirling dervish of entertainment is that we all must commit to do our best for each other, our family and our community ― and in that giving is the secret to eternal youth. The mother-daughter magic in this play is a great example of youth at any age!

One more thing: Emma Fitzpatrick, as heroine Molly Aster, deserves a shout-out for her portrayal as the know-it-all Starcatcher-in-training who risks her life’s purpose to rescue and care for Peter when he needs it the most.  When both she and Peter experience heartbreak as she leaves Neverland, she delivers a poignant line that hits hard.

“It’s supposed to hurt,” she says.  “That’s how you know it meant something.”

If you go: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through March 12. Cape Cod Theatre Company/HJT, 105 Division St., West Harwich. $35 adults and $18 under 21; capecodtheatrecompany.org or 508-432-2002.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Peter Pan origin: Harwich Junior Theater's 'Peter and the Starcatcher'