Cathy Rigby to play Peter Pan, again
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The character of Peter Pan is a singularly strange theatrical role that knows no boundaries of gender or age. But will the 57-year-old Cathy Rigby be straining the limits of credulity by once again taking on the role of the boy who won’t grow up?
The actress (and former Olympic gymnast) will be reprising her signature role in a new production of ‘Peter Pan’ that is scheduled to tour the country in 2011, followed by a possible return to Broadway in 2012. Organizers said the new staging is set to open at Virginia’s Wolf Trap in September 2011.
Rigby has played Peter Pan in more than 3,000 performances on Broadway and at regional theaters across the country. In 2005, the actress starred in a ‘farewell’ tour of ‘Peter Pan,’ only to reprise the role a few years later. When not traveling the country, the actress heads up McCoy Rigby Entertainment, a live-performance company whose primary venue is the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts south of L.A. (Her husband, Thomas McCoy, is the co-head of the company.)
The role of Peter Pan has been played on stage most famously by Mary Martin and Sandy Duncan. The actresses were in their 40s and 30s, respectively, when they last played Peter on Broadway.
Recently, a high-tech production of ‘Peter Pan’ -- with no relation to Rigby or the previous Broadway incarnations of the musical -- was produced in England and has traveled to San Francisco and Orange County. The show features digital effects and new songs.
-- David Ng
Photo (top): Cathy Rigby as ‘Peter Pan.’ Credit: Craig Schwartz
Photo (bottom): a scene from ‘Peter Pan’ at OCPAC. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times
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