There’s no flying and not a treacly song to be heard in this Aussie take on J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.” Here at the New Victory Theater, the title character isn’t played by a woman in green tights, but by a strapping male aborigine, Meyne Wyatt, in gym shorts and sneakers.
Set entirely in a children’s bedroom in 1980s suburban Australia, this version of the tale of the boy who refuses to grow up — by the same Belvoir theater company that gave us “Exit the King” and “The Book of Everything” — will appeal as much to adults as to its recommended audience of kids 7 and older.
In Robert Cousins’ ingenious set design, various pieces of furniture are reconfigured to resemble everything from a pirate ship to a ravenous crocodile. Running through Tommy Murphy’s adaptation is a cheeky, irreverent humor, as when Wendy pretends to give birth to a teddy bear, only to have it swatted away by her father with a cricket bat.
Wyatt’s hunky Peter exults in his physical prowess, proudly kissing his biceps after making an impressive flying leap. It’s no wonder Wendy (Geraldine Hakewill) is desperate for a kiss.
Charlie Garber’s Captain Hook, looking like an even more hirsute Russell Brand, is a worthy comic foil, at one point engaging Peter in hand-to- hand — make that arm-and-hook — wrestling match.
Clever visual touches abound: The performers don flippers to transform themselves into happily swimming mermaids, and Peter punches his stubbornly resistant shadow (Gareth Davies) in the face.
When Peter angrily addressed the noisy Tinker Bell as “you silly ass,” delighted screams rang out from the schoolkids in the audience. But that didn’t stop them from heeding Peter’s plea and cheering wildly to save her.
Endlessly fun and inventive, this is truly a “Peter Pan” to crow about.