Back in 2005, after touring in the part for a little over thirty years, Cathy Rigby played her farewell performance in the title role of Peter Pan. I saw her do it a couple times in those 30+ years, plus I have the DVD of the show, which is a pretty good replica of what they did on stage. (It's out of print but not hard to come by.) The show always had a little of that "bus-and-truck" ambiance that most touring shows have…that feeling that they could pack up all the scenery and be in the next county within an hour. But I thought it was a great presentation, superior — this will come as sacrilege to some but I don't care — to the legendary Mary Martin version.
To me, Mary Martin, as good as she was, never quite became Peter Pan — no youth, no boyishness. She was just somebody's grandmother on a wire, and Cyril Ritchard's Captain Hook was so gay, his feet touched the stage less than Peter's. By contrast, it was possible to pretend for a little while that Ms. Rigby was a boy, and her Hook was suitably villainous.
It was sad when she packed it in and hung up the green tights. In this newspaper interview, she talked about the sense of loss. But after all, she was 51 years old and that's a bit old to be playing a young boy, right? Well, guess where this is headed…
At age 57 (she was born the same year I was), Cathy Rigby is flying again. May 23, she opens a six-month engagement in Branson, Missouri as Peter Pan. At the Mansion Entertainment and Media Center. Eight shows a week.
I don't have a lot else to say about it. I just think it's amazing. She's probably in great shape but heck, even if she's not able to do as many backflips as she used to, big deal. Peter Pan has the secret of eternal youth and so, apparently, does the performer who's played him more than anyone. If I were anywhere near Branson, I'd go. I don't believe in fairies but I do believe in Cathy Rigby.