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12 Actors Play More Than 100 Roles In 'Peter And The Starcatcher'

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Bring your imagination to the latest play to hit the Hippodrome stage. Tony-award winning "Peter and the Starcatcher" features a handful of actors who create more than 100 characters.

How is it done? As Gigi Barnett explains, pay attention to the props.

In the Tony-award winning play "Peter and the Starcatcher," props crowd the stage.

A team of 12 actors use almost anything they can get their hands on to tell the story of how Peter Pan became the boy who never grew up.

Joey DeBettencourt plays Peter Pan. Carl Howell is one of the lost boys.

They say the storyline stays true to the funny, fantastical child-like journey of the original "Peter Pan." The props do, too, as plungers and brushes become swords on stage.

"It's very hectic. Hopefully what happens is on stage when people are seeing it, they're seeing this 'How are they doing this?' It's amazing. But for us, it's 'We gotta move this trunk and this rope,'" DeBettencourt said.

Like some of the props, some parts of the set are recycled. The designers wanted to stick to using those other materials that they got from other Broadway plays.

"Our designer said 'Well, let's go shopping. Let's hunt around the city, around the tri-state area in New York and just see what we can find, and we'll use something,'" Howell said.

With all those props, the cast of a dozen create more than 100 characters. Some of them don't move.

So, bring your imagination.

"The show is not a show that allows you to sit back and relax watching it. It really makes the audience an active participant. We encourage and we challenge the audience to play along with us," Howell said.

The show is for ages 10 and up, and cast members say they suspect the adults are having more fun than the kids.

"Peter and the Starcatcher" leaves Charm City on May 18.

After a two-week run in Baltimore, the production moves on to Pittsburgh to end its national tour.

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