WATA held its first showing of Disney’s Peter and the Starcatcher in Friday, February 2, at 7:00 pm in the PAC, preceding weekend showings Saturday evening at 7:00, Saturday afternoon at 2:00 and Sunday afternoon at 2:00.

Based on the 2004 novel by humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson, playwright Rick Elice’s Peter and the Starcatcher follows thirteen-year-old Molly Aster and three orphan boys who set sail with a trunk of magical star stuff while followed by a crew of pirates. As a prequel to the classic story of Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatcher is a story of friendship, love, greed, and despair amid adventure and magic.

WA’s performance of the Disney play is directed by Luke Jorgensen and features senior Michael Tricca as Black Stache, a role that he said he enjoyed taking on.

“Playing Black Stache is nice just because it’s a really fun role. My inspiration was Jack Sparrow for this outlandish and crazy pirate guy,” Tricca said.

In preparation for the performance, Tricca said that the cast has prepared extensively since first picking it up.

“I feel pretty good [about this weekend]. Unlike a lot of other shows, we’ve actually had a rehearsal process with this show where we’ve been able to run it and practice it many many many times before performing it,” he said.

After a performance of The Little Mermaid in the fall, Peter and the Starcatcher is the second play of the year to attract a younger audience.

According to Tricca; however, the age group for which Peter and the Starcatcher was originally written is no reflection of the play’s emotional depth.

“For the show itself, it seems like it’s just a light children’s play, but then you start looking into it, and you see it, and you read it, and it hits you with these powerful, poignant emotional moments that are heartwarming and gut wrenching at the same time. It’s a beautiful play,” Tricca said.

Tickets for either Saturday or Sunday’s showings of Peter and the Starcatcher can be purchased online at mktix.com/wata