'Peter Pan Jr.' musical staged at Succop Theater
Young actors will be both on stage and high above it for “Peter Pan Jr.” next weekend at the Succop Theater.
Batavia Studios is presenting four performances of the musical March 15 to 17, with flight needs handled by the company Flying by Foy.
The cast consists of 48 students ages 6 to 17, said studio owner Urmi Batavia.
The four shows are actually double-cast, meaning “they all perform in each show, but some are featured differently in different shows,” Batavia said.
“The kids don't get confused with their two parts. They're great,” she said.
And no understudies are necessary because two actors know the lead roles, in case of illness.
“It happened with my own daughter,” Batavia said. “She had laryngitis and she could do the role but someone else had to sing for her.”
The director of the show, Antonia Botti-Lodovico, said she believes young children should get the chance to do larger roles.
“I'm a big believer that if you set the bar high, they will reach it,” said Botti-Lodovico.
“It gives them a sense of accomplishment. It gives them a life skill to learn to be in front of other people. It gives them confidence,” she said.
The director said the different age levels “do well together. It's a nice environment for the older kids to mentor the younger kids, and it's really nice for the older kids to see the younger kids 'cause they're so uninhibited (when they're acting).”
Batavia started the business from her home in 2001. “I just expected five to seven students. I was still doing my master's. I just got married,” Batavia said.
She got more than 50 students a week so she left school and started the studio, which has been in a building on Crider Road in Mars for about a year and a half now, she said.
“We were almost the first tenants along with the landlord who was the first tenant. There was really nothing around there then.”
The first show was “The Little Mermaid,” she said.
Since then, the studio has produced the junior versions of musicals including “Aladdin,” “Into the Woods,” “James and the Giant Peach” and “Beauty and the Beast.”
Batavia said “Matilda” this coming summer will be the studio's first full show.
The “Peter Pan Jr.” production is Botti-Lodovico's eighth show. She said she will be stepping aside after “Matilda.”
Botti-Lodovico is a resident artist with the Pittsburgh Opera for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons who taught at Batavia Studios for many years.
WHO: Batavia StudiosWHAT: “Peter Pan Jr.”WHEN: March 15 to 17, with curtain at 7:30 p.m. March 15, at 1 and 7:30 p.m. March 16, and at 2 p.m. March 17.WHERE: Succop Theater at Butler County Community CollegeTICKETS: $10EXTRA: A Tinkerbell Magical Dessert pre-party is planned for 5 to 6 p.m. before the March 16 show. A ticket for the party is $30 and includes one ticket for the show.INFO: Call 724-625-6676 or visit BataviaStudios.com.
