‘Peter Pan’ Soars In Popularity Civic Production Set For 22 Straight Sellouts

No, “Peter Pan” doesn’t have a chance of becoming the all-time box office champ of Spokane theater.

“Les Miserables,” the mega-budget Broadway touring show, has gone over the 60,000 attendance mark in Spokane. Nothing can compete with that.

But “Peter Pan,” has pulled off a feat that may be even more remarkable. By the time the curtain rings down on the revival of this show on Dec. 5, “Peter Pan” will have sold out 22 straight shows at The Met, a 760-seat theater. And it has done so with local actors, a local crew and a local production staff.

This show is staged by the Spokane Children’s Theatre, made up almost entirely of volunteers. Many local shows would be thrilled with an audience of 1,700 - but “Peter Pan” should end up with 17,000, counting both the original 1995 run and this revival.

Consider this:

All six of “Peter Pan’s” public performances this week and next week are sold out, many of them weeks ago.

Six special school-day matinees for schoolchildren are also sold out.

Another 11 sold-out performances were recorded during “Peter Pan’s” original 1995 run at The Met. Every seat of every show was sold before the curtain flew up on opening night.

Tickets started flying out of the box office for this revival as soon as people realized that the cast would be reunited - notably Bobbi Kotula as Peter Pan, Patrick Treadway as Captain Hook and Troy Nickerson as Smee.

The 1995 production of “Peter Pan” was a big, high-flying phenomenon, the perfect way for the SCT to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It had real stage-flying, courtesy of Flying by Foy (national stage-flying experts). It also had elaborate sets and costumes.

Mostly, though, it had excellent performances by Kotula, who made for a wild and irrepressible Peter; Treadway, who made for a comically craven captain; and Nickerson, as the goofy Smee. The pirates all came off as a hilarious cross between a 19th-century biker gang and the Three Stooges.

Director Carmen Farley put all of this together in a way that had both kids and adults howling with laughter.

There is no reason to expect anything less of this production. Farley is back as the director, and the people from Flying by Foy are back to install all the wires and pulleys to make the flying look graceful and real. Most of the young supporting cast is also returning.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: PREVIEW The Spokane Children’s Theatre will present “Peter Pan” tonight through Dec. 5 at The Met. All shows are sold out.