Peter Pan before he could fly

“An enormous amount of pressure to get it right” was how Jim Quinlan, Goshen Drama Club Director, spoke of the evening performance of “Peter and the Starcatcher." The honor of being the first performance in the newly dedicated Roy Reese Auditorium came with challenges.

The usual drama club presentations have run the spectrum of comedy to mystery to plain old teenage angst. But this play defied genre, Quinlan said.

“There’s music, but in no way is this a musical," he said. "There’s comedy, but also extremely tender and serious moments as well.”

“Peter and the Starcatcher” was a true ensemble piece, telling the story of how Peter Pan got his name and his quest to learn to fly. Everyone was featured in one way or another making the ability to count on each other an absolute necessity.

"It was an absolute honor to work alongside Roy Reese in preparation for the first performance in the Roy Reese Auditorium," Quinlan said.

There were more 150 lighting cues for this presentation. Quinlan was thankful that Reese was on hand throughout rehearsals to ensure that the tech side of this performance was as close to perfect as possible.

Quinlan and Assistant Director Kristen Scully gushed about all the parties involved on stage and on the crew.

"This was a group that always listened to each other and respected all opinions and ideas," Quinlan said. "I’m so proud to be a part of this team!”