A presentation of the Kimberley and Scott Sheffield Musical Theater Series

Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP Vinson & Elkins LLPAmerican Airlines HYATT house

Based on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan

Written by Rajiv Joseph

Music by Bill Sherman

Lyrics by Rajiv Joseph and Kirsten Childs

Music Supervision by Alex Lacamoire

Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler

Directed by Jeffrey Seller

JULY 2-AUGUST 18 • WYLY THEATRE AT&T Performing Arts Center

s p e c i a l s e c t i o n b y

Tickets available through DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202

Dallas Theater Center

The Sapphire Foundation

FLY cover Briggs Freeman Paper City.indd 2 5/5/13 6:50 PM

When Fly takes flight in July, Dallas Theater Center Board Chairman Rebecca Fletcher hopes that families are enthralled by much more than the state-of-the-art flying.

“My dream would be for families to talk about the story over the dinner table – talk about the challenges Wendy faced in her journey to grow up and why Peter Pan made his choice to stay in Neverland,” said this mother of two who knows a bit about watching children grow up. “Our greatest goal is for theater to start a conversation, to introduce new ideas and new points of view. Every performance we schedule has that idea in mind.”

Perfectly situated at its location at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas’ popular Arts District, DTC is quite literally at the crossroads of culture and community.

“I think sometimes there’s a feeling that theater is for the elite. That’s one of the reasons we love our location,” said Fletcher. “We’re near beautiful museums and performance venues, but we’re also close

to two of Dallas’ newest and biggest family attractions, the Klyde Warren Park and the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.”

The addition of these two venues in the past year has shifted the landscape of the Arts District, dramatically increasing the number of school-age children coming to play in downtown Dallas. DTC’s vision for family-friendly theater at the hub of Dallas’ multicultural community has come to fruition.

And that’s not the only feather in DTC’s cap this year. Nine Drama Desk nominations for the production of 2012’s favorite musical Giant has put Dallas on the radar of theater critics in New York and beyond.

Giant was a co-production between Dallas Theater Center and The Public Theater in New York. Fletcher attended the Texas premiere at DTC in January 2012 and then the New York premiere later that year. DTC’s efforts were about expanding the conversation, this time to a national audience

“Dallas has come into its own as a thriving cultural center that produces and attracts major performances, exhibits, events and more,” said Robbie Briggs, CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. “Groups such as Dallas Theater Center are at the forefront of connecting culture and community.”

Dallas Theater Center Board Chairman Rebecca Fletcher

Add up the cost of tickets, snacks and parking and a family night at the theater can easily land outside a family’s budget. That’s why folks at the Macy’s Foundation

are sponsoring DTC’s $15 seats for families looking to Fly away to a fun night at Dallas Theater Center. The Macy’s Family Seats are available in Area 4

for each performance. Fly runs July 2 through August 18. Tickets can be purchased online at www.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202.“Each year the Macy’s Foundation gives more

than $24 million to support community efforts across America,” said Joe Vella, director of corporate giving for Macy’s Inc. “Our customers, especially those in the Dallas area, are very involved in making their communities better and stronger, and we’re committed to supporting them in those efforts – especially when they involve culture and education. Fly is a great marriage of both.”A standing ovation goes out to Macy’s for giving

families a chance to be center stage in Dallas. Fly audiences can

also participate in DTC’s Stay Late program, which encourages conversation with cast members after the show.

Macy’s Puts Families Center Stage

and Talk About

THEATRE

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Ask people around the world what they know about Dallas, and you’ll most likely get responses that range

from the Cowboys to J.R. Ewing, second-story hair and margaritas. Not many people will say that Dallas is a cultural destination — at least not yet. “Our goal, and I think we’re well on our way, is to create a strong arts center that people will want to visit as a destination,” says Rebecca Fletcher, Executive Vice President of DTC’s Board of Trustees. “Thirty-five years ago, the opening of DFW Airport transformed Dallas into an incredibly diverse business environment. Arts development fell behind. Now, by incubating original projects like Giant that are getting national attention, we’re elevating the cultural side of our city and showing the real creative heart of our community.” Fletcher says that her greatest dream is for people to visit Dallas as an arts destination the way they do Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. “People think of Lincoln Center in New York and expect Dallas’ Arts District to be just like it. But it took many years for Lincoln Center to be as vibrant as it is today. With all the nearby projects like the Woodall Park and the Trinity River Corridor Project, we expect that the Arts District will change the face of Dallas in just 10 to 15 years,” says Fletcher. Recent figures have shown that a favorable business climate has made North Texas a national hot spot for relocation, with 127 new or expanded corporate facilities established in 2010. Could it be that our growing arts and cultural community is just one more draw for businesses looking to put down a new footprint? Business leaders stress that a favorable mix of work opportunities, great neighborhoods, successful schools and diverse cultural and entertainment options are important for attracting new business to any area. “A thriving arts community increases the quality of life for everyone,” says Robbie Briggs, CEO of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. “We applaud all the dynamic qualities that Dallas has to offer new businesses,

and the Arts District is a significant asset to anyone who is living in or moving to Dallas.” With the development of Museum Tower, One Arts Plaza and surrounding residences, DTC Life Trustee Deedie Rose predicts that a growing number of people will not just work in the heart of the arts community but live there as well, bringing more restaurants, shops, entertainment and all-around excitement to the area. “When Southland Corporation chose to relocate, they put themselves right in the middle of the Arts District because they knew it would be vibrant and energetic, and it would be a great place for their employees to experience on a daily basis. That’s a huge statement about the importance of the arts community in attracting new business.”

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GIANT BUSINESS

Love, rivalry, land, oil, racism, conservation, family. The themes that weave through this masterpiece of

Texas brawn and bravado are as pertinent in Dallas today as they were in West Texas in the 1950s. For that reason, arts supporters Lyn and John Muse were among the first to jump on board sponsoring this historic work. “John and I knew from the very beginning that this work was important not just as a theatrical piece but as an overall conversation about issues that were as significant then as they are now,” says Lyn Muse, DTC Board member. “This production is just another way to examine contemporary issues like new wealth, old family rivalries, immigration issues and land use, and to generate conversation and new ideas.” The role of a commissioning sponsor is to support the work as it is being developed. For the Muses, this meant getting on board with the Giant idea as soon as they heard a musical was in the works. “From the very beginning, I felt strongly that this production needed to find its home in Dallas,” Lyn says. “The book is about Texas, the movie was filmed in Texas, and I felt the musical needed to debut in Texas. And, of course, the incredible evolution of the Arts District made Dallas the perfect place to shine a national light on both the Theater Center and the musical. I remember seeing the movie as a young girl, and over the years I’ve come to realize what a strong association it has with all of Texas. So launching Giant in Dallas was, to me, a perfect combination.”

Lyn and John Muse signed on early as commissioning sponsors for Giant, because they wanted to ensure the work had proper roots in Dallas.

ROOTED IN TEXAS

Musical theater is alive and well and blowing into Dallas

on the hot West Texas winds. But great performances do not come cheap, so before Bick Benedict could sing a note, title sponsors Kimberley and Scott Sheffield stepped in to prime the pump and support the creative process. “It was a terrific opportunity to provide seed money for something like this to happen,” says Kimberley Sheffield, who is a DTC Board member. “Shows like this are exceedingly expensive. For us to come in and provide a base to get the project going … it was a way to help support the whole process. It attracts other sponsors and enables the rest of the community to climb on board.” She describes the theater community as being very similar to the oil-and-gas industry. “The oil-and-gas industry in Texas employs huge numbers of people. It’s hard work, not glamorous work. It’s not like you put a spiked heel in the ground and oil comes out. In theater, it takes a lot of work to write and score a musical of this caliber, so we understand the commitment it takes behind the scenes.” The Sheffields also understand the challenge ahead for anyone trying to capture the size and scope of West Texas and bring it to an intimate theater setting. “People, to this day, just don’t understand how big Texas is,” says Kimberley, who has spent plenty of time kicking her boots in the West Texas dust. “They don’t know that everything is at least a two-hour drive away, yet it’s an incredibly nostalgic place where people feel very connected, no matter how far apart they live. Bringing a piece of that to Dallas and then on to New York … It’s a privilege to be able to share that with others.”

Kimberley and Scott Sheffield look to bring a bit of West Texas to the

national theater community. Scott Sheffield is the Chairman and CEO

of Pioneer Natural Resources.

SEEDS OF INSPIRATION

Rebecca Fletcher, Executive Vice President of DTC’s Board of Trustees says, “We’re elevating the cultural side of our city and showing the real creative heart of our community.”

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The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, designed by REX/OMA (Joshua Prince-Ramus, partner in charge, and Rem Koolhaas), at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House is reflected in the glass of the Wyly’s Potter Rose Performance Hall.

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Tickets available through www.DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202.

It used to be that only two strong guys, two ropes and a willing actor were needed to make Peter Pan fly across a stage.

Today, the complexities of creating a wondrous flight scene include hundreds of hours of sketching, modeling, computer graphics, blocking and, in this case, about 28,000 linear feet of Mississippi-grown bamboo.

For the team of artisans and technicians charged with designing and staging this summer’s much anticipated performances of Fly, creating a tropical Neverland was a three-dimensional project.

“Every production has its unique qualities, but the flying element of Fly added another layer of difficulty,” said John Slauson, Prop Master for Dallas Theater Center. “The process involved blocking everything on a 3-D grid because we’re working with space both at ground level and 24 feet in the air.”

After painstaking weeks of painting, cutting and assembling the bamboo “wagons” that make up the various set pieces, the

team will spend about 20 days installing the set at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre. Next, the group will block the aerial movement with the help of winches, pulleys and a special track system – all software driven.

“The flying patterns are incredibly sophisticated,” said Eric Tysinger, Production Stage Manager for Dallas Theater Center. “We call it the ‘firefly effect.’ When a bug is hovering, it’s not still. And when it travels, its movements are not limited to horizontal and vertical. The actors in Fly will be able to move three-dimensionally with different speeds, swooping and hovering in a very natural way.”

All of this custom “aerographics” requires millions of data inputs and hundreds of hours of human effort, not including the flying classes the young actors attended to perfect

their hovering and swooping techniques.By combining the latest technology with talented artistry,

Fly promises to set a new standard in aerial acting and, more importantly, leave audiences wide-eyed with amazement.

I Can Fly Making the Magic Happen

DTC technicians and artists handcrafted every element of the Fly set, which replicates a tropical wonderland perfect for the characters’ aerial antics.

briggsfreeman.com

A Wendy We Can Relate To

It’s three weeks out from the first rehearsal of Fly, a new musical based on J.M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan, and director Jeffrey Seller is just back from a trip to Las Vegas, where he was creating the

play’s flying sequences.

Did he get to take to the air?“I didn’t do Peter Pan to not fly like Peter Pan,” he says,

laughing. “I have been waiting my whole life for this.”That’s no exaggeration. Seller says Fly, which premieres

July 2 at Dallas Theater Center’s Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, is the Peter Pan he wanted to see as a boy. He always had a hard time suspending disbelief when he watched previous incarnations of Peter Pan, he says. He just couldn’t picture a middle-aged woman flying across the stage in green tights as a boy who wouldn’t grow up.

He wanted the true adventure – fun, exciting, sad and scary – that Barrie created in 1904 with his play, and then perfected in 1911 with the beloved novel.

“Though some scary things happen in all Peter Pans and lives are in danger, it’s always done tongue-in-cheek. No one is ever worried about the children,” he explains. “I want to create genuine danger, not pantomimed danger. … I think

FLY WELCOME TO A NEW NEVERLAND

T heater has the power to change people’s lives. It can allow them to see the world in a new way or express feelings they’ve felt deeply. It can connect us to each other. And it can be great fun.

Most people who love seeing great theater had their first experience attending plays when they, themselves, were young. For me, it was a production of The Sound of Music. My parents took me to see the show and I was instantly hooked – by the songs (which I then proceeded to sing every day for the next month!), by the story (I desperately wanted Maria to marry Captain von Trapp and be a good mother to those poor lonely children!), and by the experience of sitting in a room filled with people all laughing and clapping together.

One way in which theater captures audience members’ imaginations is by reflecting their own experiences back at

them. For children, this means that it can be very powerful to see young characters portrayed on stage – even more so if those child characters are played by children. This “mirror effect” can be inspiring (“I want to sing and dance like that, too!”) and it can be emotionally moving (“That character feels the same way I do”).

Dallas Theater Center produces professional theater productions for the entire family each summer to inspire a new generation of theatergoers. With Fly, we’re confident that adults will love the breathtakingly talented cast, the hummable songs, the dazzling scenery and costumes, and the magical flying. But we’re also thrilled that young audiences will have the opportunity to see Peter Pan, Wendy and the Lost Boys played by professional child actors, rather than by adults pretending to be kids. When Peter Pan takes flight, a small child in the audience will be able to look up and say, “That could be me.” And, indeed, it could.

Jeffrey Seller, Tony Award-winning producer of Rent, Avenue Q and In the Heights, makes his directorial debut at DTC with Fly.

DTC Artistic DirectorKevin Moriarty

F ly, the new musical adaption of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, begins and ends in Wendy’s bedroom – just like the classic.

But the Wendy we see is very little like the original. Manners don’t matter so much to the Wendy of Fly. She talks back. Instead of a very proper, flowing nightgown, she wears an oversized rugby shirt to bed.

This, says Isabela Moner, the 11-year-old actress who plays the role, is portraying Wendy as a real-life kid who’s afraid of growing up.

“Little kids at that age don’t act proper. They talk back,” Isabela says. “She’s very fiery. … She’s very tough. She’s willing to stand up to Peter – and Hook, too. She’s very independent.”

That toughness and independence transform Wendy from a sweet and beloved, but dated, character into a more modern, independent, personification.

“I think girls and women today are going to identify with this new interpretation of Wendy,” says Dallas Theater Center Board Chairman Rebecca Fletcher. “She has a lot in common with girls today who are setting goals and taking on all kinds of challenges.”

When Wendy visits Neverland in Fly, which debuts at Dallas Theater Center on July 2, she (clad in her rugby shirt, of course) finds a wild, jungle landscape. The music is tribal and percussion-driven. The Lost Boys play instruments from nature – banging on trees, splashing up water.

Isabela calls it Peter Pan with a rock-pop twist, and says her friends are so excited to see it. This 11-year-

old lives in Cleveland, Ohio, but spends a lot of time in New York City. She says she is elated to have won the role of Wendy – and a little bit surprised. She thought she was a bit small for the role, and didn’t expect a callback.

Reading the script, she fell in love with Wendy. She first was struck by how much the character had changed from previous productions. And then she was excited to see that Wendy reacted the same as she might have in similar situations. “I think I can relate to the character a lot,” she says. “I myself don’t want to grow up.”

Does it make her nervous, to present such a well-known character in a very different light?

“I feel like she’s just so different,” Isabela says. “I just want to surprise the audience with another Wendy.”

Fly director Jeffrey Seller says this Wendy is very similar in strength and purpose to the girl J.M. Barrie created in the 1911 novel Peter Pan. But her experience in Fly is, perhaps, a little more raw and relevant.

“I think Wendy will be a character that contemporary women – both girls and their mothers – can relate to,” he says.

And, like Barrie’s original Wendy, Isabela’s Wendy must, in the end, change the way she views growing up.

“We should look at growing up as blossoming and not so much a complete change,” she says.

Her sassy Wendy might put it to Peter Pan this way, Isabela says: “I didn’t change. I grew up. You should try it sometime.”

Actress Isabela Moner will portray a new twist on a

classic character when she plays Wendy in Fly.

that’s fun. I love to go to the movies and get scared a little bit.”So, when you hear the name Peter Pan in relation to

Seller’s Fly, erase all visions of Mary Martin in tights. Don’t think of Disney’s redheaded scamp singing “I Won’t Grow Up.” Don’t even consider Robin Williams in “Hook,” though that film had its dark moments.

Instead, you’ll find percussion-driven music, with influences from West Africa and Brazil. The setting is contemporary. Wendy is a 12-year-old girl.

And, Seller says, Peter is actually an 11-year-old boy in the throes of pre-pubescence – someone you can believe is a boy who won’t grow up.

“If we can believe that, we can start to grapple with the questions the play asks. … What is the cost of growing up? What is the cost of not growing up?”

Fly is Seller’s directorial debut. As with Peter and Wendy and the prospect of growing up, Seller says he feels excited and scared about this new role.

“I think that it’s natural that I wake up once in while and say, ‘I hope no one discovers that I’m a fraud.’ I think that has happened at every stage of my life that I’ve taken a giant step forward,” he says.

KEVIN MORIARTYARTISTIC DIRECTOR, DALLAS THEATER CENTER

photo by Karen Almond

NOTE FROM

Imagination takes flight this summer with Dallas Theater Center. The 2013 SummerStage program features a Neverland theme, in conjunction with Fly, a musical that follows classic characters Peter Pan, Wendy and the Lost Boys on an exciting new journey in Neverland.

SummerStage is in its 13th year, offering children ages 4-18 the opportunity to explore the world of theater. The program educates students in the fundamentals and techniques of theater, and ignites imaginations to create valuable learning experiences.

“We have teachers focused on everything from vocal training to text analysis, story/drama for the very young, of course acting, and this summer even African dance,” says Rachel Hull, Director of Education and Community Enrichment.

SummerStage encourages students to fully explore what it means to work together. “Theater asks you to create with a team, so there’s an added layer of communication, negotiation and articulation of your ideas,” says Hull. “I think that the arts at the most basic level provide a place for participants to find their voices, and maybe a new way to express their thoughts, hopes and dreams.”

Based on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and directed by Jeffrey Seller, Fly presents beloved characters in a new light. Isabela Moner, who plays Wendy, says her character is quite different from the classic depiction.

“Wendy hates everything about grown-ups – she wears her emotions on her sleeve and is not afraid of showing when she is mad, when she cares about someone, or when she likes a

boy,” Moner says. “She is strong, tough and she swordfights!”

Hull notes that Fly is both a fantastically entertaining show and a discussion of real-life issues. “You pick up the classic themes of not wanting to grow up and finding a place to escape in order to just be a kid,” Hull says. “But Fly takes it a step further, suggesting part of that need is wanting to be able to forget, to let go of the harder stuff, which, even as a grown-up Wendy, is something most of us probably

wish we could do.”

SummerStage sessions begin June 17. For enrollment information, class calendars and tickets to Fly, visit DallasTheaterCenter.org. Fly will run July 2-August 18 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre.

• The Sapphire Foundation

ASSOCIATE PRODUCING PARTNERS• American Airlines• HYATT house

ASSISTANT PRODUCING PARTNERS• Vinson & Elkins LLP• Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP• Macy’s FoundationA presentation of the Kimberley and Scott Sheffield Musical Theater Series

A Christmas Carol By Charles DickensAdapted and Directed by Kevin MoriartyChoreographed by Joel FerrellNov. 21 - Dec. 24, 2013Wyly Theatre

Clybourne ParkBy Bruce NorrisDirected by Joel FerrellOct. 4 - 27, 2013Wyly Theatre

A Raisin in the Sun By Lorraine Hansberry Directed by Tre GarrettSep. 13 - Oct. 27, 2013 Wyly Theatre

Les Misérables A musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel SchönbergBased on a novel by Victor Hugo Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer Adapted and Originally Directed by Trevor Nunn and John CairdOrchestrations by John Cameron Directed by Liesl TommyJune 27 - Aug. 10, 2014Wyly Theatre

Sherlock Holmes: The Final AdventureAdapted by Steven Dietz Based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Directed by Kevin MoriartyApr. 25 - May 25, 2014Wyly Theatre

The Fortress of SolitudeBook by Itamar MosesMusic and Lyrics by Michael Friedman Conceived and Directed by Daniel AukinBased Upon the Novel by Jonathan Lethem Co-produced by The Public TheaterMar. 7 - Apr. 6, 2014Wyly Theatre

Oedipus el Rey By Luis AlfaroDirected by Kevin MoriartyJan. 16 - Mar. 2, 2014Wyly Theatre, Studio Theatre

2013 . 2014 Season FLY (currently playing)Based on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan Written by Rajiv Joseph Music by Bill Sherman Lyrics by Rajiv Joseph and Kirsten Childs Music Supervision by Alex Lacamoire Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler Directed by Jeffrey Seller July 2 - August 18, 2013

Wyly Theatre

A presentation of the Kimberley and Scott Sheffield Musical Theater Series

Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP Vinson & Elkins LLPAmerican Airlines HYATT house

Based on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan

Written by Rajiv Joseph

Music by Bill Sherman

Lyrics by Rajiv Joseph and Kirsten Childs

Music Supervision by Alex Lacamoire

Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler

Directed by Jeffrey Seller

JULY 2-AUGUST 18 • WYLY THEATRE AT&T Performing Arts Center

s p e c i a l s e c t i o n b y

Tickets available through DallasTheaterCenter.org or by phone at (214) 880-0202

Dallas Theater Center

The Sapphire Foundation

FLY cover Briggs Freeman Paper City.indd 2 5/5/13 6:50 PM

TakeFlight

TheaterCenter

Dallaswith

SPONSORS

briggsfreeman.com

Please visit DallasTheaterCenter.org for more information.