On November 16, the Jonathan Alder theater department completed their final performance of “Peter/Wendy.” This was preceded by two performances on the 13 and 15.
“Peter/Wendy” puts a contemporary spin on the classic tale of “Peter Pan,” it tells the story through a slumber party, where each member of the party performs as a different character.
The lead roles were played by sophomore Haydn Gregory as Peter Pan and junior Sofia McCabe as Wendy. This marks McCabe’s third year in fall play, and Gregory’s first.
Another important role in any theater production at Alder is that of student director, which was filled for “Peter/Wendy” by sophomore Mackenzie Gingrich-Martin. This was Gingrich-Martin’s second production at Alder.
“My role was to help with reading lines when we went off script,” says Gingrich-Martin. “I helped manage the stage during the actual shows, and I read lines for anyone that was missing [during rehearsals]. It was a very big difference because freshman year I was backstage, and I was running around, building, painting… so I was a lot more active my freshman year, but this year I was a lot less active.”
The cast and crew rehearsed every Monday through Thursday from 3-5, and bumped the hours up to 3-9 in the week leading up to the show.
The Nov. 16 performance also marked the final play at Alder directed by Daniel Rodriguez-Hijo. He announced his departure from the program shortly after the show’s completion.
Senior Sam Waugh is extremely grateful for all the time Rodriguez-Hijo has spent at Alder, and is extremely saddened to see him move on. “I’m absolutely really sad, he made theater so much fun,” says Waugh. “He’s the reason I kept coming back… even in rough times. It’ll be hard to have a theater program where he isn’t the director, but we’re all happy to know he’ll still be around and coming to watch.”
After the announcement of his departure, Rodriguez-Hijo handed over the program to his co-director, Alder alumni Adam Wheelbarger. Many people, including Gingrich-Martin, are excited to see what Wheelbarger has in store for the future.
“I was really sad when Danny said he was leaving the program because he’s been my director for the years that I’ve been in it. But I’m glad that we’re going to have Adam as our new director.”
