Enchanted Forest Cabaret’s “Naughty Pirates of Neverland” takes the audience on yet another adventure to a land far away. A change from previous shows, “Pirates” reveals the wild imagination of leading lady Carmen by sharing her dreamscape set aboard a ship.
“Theatre. Life. Isn’t it all impermanent and illusionary, like a dream?” asked Deborah Sparks, creator and director of the show. “Carmen unfolds her story through metaphors within her dream.”
“Naughty Pirates of Neverland” will run at OffCenter Stage (the black box) at Orcas Center for seven performances over two weekends. Opening night for the musical extravaganza is Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The show will continue on Jan. 13 and 14 as well as Jan. 18–21. Tickets are $17 for adults, $13 for students and $2 off for Orcas Center members. You can purchase them at orcascenter.org, or by calling 376-2281 ext 1, or visiting the Orcas Center box office Wednesday,–Friday from 12–2 p.m. Subsidized tickets are available for $5 from the box office.
The story begins with a sleeping Carmen “waking up” to a rambunctious crew of dancing, singing pirates. Her cohort in misadventure, Dr. Livingston, flies into her dream á la Peter Pan and is magically transformed into Captain Jack Sparrow from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series. And, as always, hilarity ensues from the start.
Twenty-one actors take to the stage, including Grace McCune as Carmen, Jake Perrine as Dr. Livingston and Khadoma Colomby as Lilith, or as she is in this Pan-inspired show – Tiger Lilith. Robert Hall joins the cast this year playing the villainous Captain Hook and Cali Bagby returns to the show as a new character, this year she’s Tinkerbell Barbie.
“I think this year, for the first time, you see a vulnerability in Carmen that hasn’t been seen before,” said McCune, who has brought her character to life since the first Enchanted Forest in 2011. “Her very self-interested perspective is starting to crack, just a little, and she’s realizing that life wouldn’t be the same if she didn’t have all her fantastic playmates about her.”
Also returning this year is set designer and constructor Chris Brems, who has been the creative and constructive mind behind the sets for all of the Enchanted Forest shows.
“What’s designed, I have to know how to build,” said Brems. “With my background, it was an easy segue into this.”
With no background in theater, Brems took his skills from his advertising/marketing experience and molded it to fit the role of set designer. He co-owned a Seattle-based company called Brems Eastman and Partners for nearly 25 years. He explained how he used to design sales displays, which included making scale models of those designs. He said he does that with his sets as well, to give the director a tangible example of what he hopes to create.
“Always so grateful to designer Chris Brems, who has as much fun as I do, as he creates the set and props,” said Sparks. “And Tiffany Loney, our choreographer, who knows how to bring the best dancer out of everyone.”
All of the cast is excited to be as energetic and crazy as they have been in the years prior.
“Something I have learned from Carmen over the years, is that it’s not only okay but fabulous to let your inner freak flag fly!” said McCune. “I think the whole cast gets to do that in this show.”
