“I give myself eight minutes a day to think about him. To remember. Uninterrupted. Without feeling guilty or mad at myself,” Wendy Darling said as she stared off into the darkness of the crowd. Junior Molly Schutzman, completely embodying her role as Wendy Darling, the famous character from Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, crossed the stage. She wrapped herself in a gray cardigan, gazing into the audience with eyes searching for something faraway, almost as if lost in a distant memory.
Lost Girl, written by Kimberly Belflower, focuses on the events after Peter Pan and Wendy’s last encounter in Neverland. The play concentrates on the mental state that Wendy is forced to endure after she returns to the real world and explores the complexities of growing up. Seeking closure and a willingness to move on, Wendy decides that the only way to truly let go of her memories is to find Peter and retrieve her kiss that she had once given him.
The play takes the audience on a journey through the memories of 20-year-old Wendy, featuring the parallels between her 13-year-old self undergoing interviews with detectives and doctors, and her present self struggling to navigate through her new adult life. After searching for Peter and discovering that he has, in fact, grown up, Wendy finally begins to seek the closure that was long overdue and much needed. She finds herself on her own search mission, discovering the other girls that were taken to Neverland, meeting Peter’s current girlfriend, and seeking strength in herself to move forward.
A drastic change from her previous role as Marty in LHS’s fall musical Grease, Schutzman stepped onto the stage, bringing to life Wendy’s fear, confusion, and wish to return to the past. She took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the night, directing them to the hidden compartments of her mind that even she dared not wander in. The audience’s attention never left Schutzman while she remained onstage. With eyes of determination and longing for answers, the young actress transformed each universal overarching sentiment into something uniquely her own.
The famous support system that had stood by Wendy for her dark years were none other than four Lost Boys: Slightly (junior Ryan Dugger), Nibs (junior Nicholas Sferrazza), Toodles (senior Damon Lanzello), and Curly (junior Shawn Sealey). The four boys, who had all grown up themselves, stood by Wendy in her time of longing for Peter. Providing some comedic relief throughout the show, the boys delivered a classic form of brotherly love for one another and truly became a safe space for Wendy. Bickering on stage, making sly jabs, and questioning Wendy’s every decision allowed them to elicit laughter from the audience, allowing for quick breaks in the heavy storyline.
Regardless of portraying themselves as adults, Dugger, Sferrazza, Lanzello, and Sealey balanced the playfulness and slight immaturity of the Lost Boys from the original Peter Pan story. While capturing the desire to help their close friend in a time of struggle, as well as the exhaustion it is collectively causing them, the actors confidently maneuvered the stage, developing the plot of Wendy’s negative headspace, along with representing a contrast to the past-lived memories that were once held in Neverland.
Expanding his role further than just part of the comedic relief, Slightly begins to experience romantic feelings for Wendy, sparking a romantic tension between the two. The air in the auditorium seemed heavier when his feelings were revealed; the emotion and longing in Slightly’s voice that Dugger had created left the room anxious for Wendy’s response. Even though his acts of love and dedication are easily identifiable by the audience, Wendy cannot help but think of Peter and continue her search for him. While the other Lost Boys mentioned that Slightly once knew Peter best, Slightly himself pivots completely, claiming he believes that Peter does not think of anyone but himself, and that Wendy needs to come to terms with Peter no longer needing her.
After meeting the “lost girls,” being introduced to Peter’s current girlfriend who had convinced him to stay, and rejecting Slightly, Wendy began to struggle even more so–she became tired of what the whispers about her were, tired of being depressed and alone, and tired of hiding behind her thoughts. Wendy had broken down on the stage, truly disappointed and lost in herself. Real tears were streaming down Schutzman’s face; at that moment, there was no differentiation between Wendy as only a fictional character or truly a real girl crying on the stage. There was no telling where Wendy ended and Schutzman began, and her hope slipped through her fingers. The helplessness and madness had filled her voice, quiet yet distraught. Her internal monologue that was once recited by ensemble characters had become her own, emphasizing the uncontrolled thoughts running rampant in her mind.
When all hope for closure seemed lost, Peter (senior Jack Ceglie) had finally appeared on the stage. Startling Wendy, Peter explores the stage that is set to be the nursery. Despite searching for him, Wendy tenses and becomes apprehensive about his presence. Keeping true to his character, Ceglie crosses the stage and examines each piece of furniture in a carefree manner, making light of the developing conversation. The anxiousness that was once built up inside Wendy breaks free, with a mix of anger and nervousness in her tone when she asks Peter to leave. When he refuses to, Wendy’s nervousness is quickly shifted to confusion. She began to demand answers: where he lives, why he had changed his mind about growing up, and why he had chosen his current girlfriend.
The shift of the atmosphere follows quickly, with Schutzman’s determination radiating off the stage and Ceglie’s calm manner taking a subtle shift into seriousness. The two actors fill the space with their underlying emotions, not exactly detectable in their actions, but in the tone of their voices. Past chemistry mixed with the feeling of being outgrown is subtly detected between their conversation.
Before saying their goodbyes for a final time, Peter gives Wendy his kiss in return for the one she had given him years ago. Signifying closure, Wendy looks around the nursery one last time before shutting her window and leaving the stage.
Lost Girl was nothing short of a heartfelt story of finding oneself after being lost. Featuring talented young actors who conveyed overwhelming emotions and profound understandings of the play, a story of friendship, love, and self-discovery was told. Lost Girl served as an inspiration and motivational message: that closing the windows of your past helps you open the doors of your future.
