Peter and the Starcatcher

About the show

At a bustling port in England, two ships set sail for the kingdom of Rundoon. The Wasp carries Lord Leonard Aster, escorted by a squadron of British navy seamen, led by Lieutenant Greggors. The Neverland, captained by the sinister Bill Slank, carries Lord Aster's daughter Molly, her nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake and three orphan boys: Prentiss, Ted, and a nameless orphan known only as Boy. Each ship has a trunk aboard, one containing precious cargo belonging to the Queen and the other a decoy. After realizing that no one cares enough to say goodbye to the orphans, the Boy proclaims that he hates grownups. Aster places an amulet around his own neck and a matching one around Molly's. He warns her never to take it off or let anyone else touch it, and to use it if she is ever in trouble. Molly says that she is only an apprentice Starcatcher. Once at sea, Lieutenant Greggors reveals that his real name is Smee and the seamen are pirates. Captain Scott and the real seamen have been taken prisoner. Smee introduces Captain Black Stache, who threatens to kill Molly unless Aster gives him the key to the trunk. When Aster refuses, he steals the trunk key. The amulet around Lord Aster’s neck begins to glow. Molly’s matching amulet starts to glow and the boys notice. Molly divulges that her father is on a secret mission for the Queen. It is revealed that Slank swapped the trunks and the Queen's treasure is on board The Neverland. Stache commands that the ship be turned around. The Wasp pursues The Neverland. Lord Aster contacts Molly through the amulet and instructs her to bring the Queen’s trunk to him once the two ships meet. Aster tells Molly that she is now a part of the mission. The Boy overhears and insists that Molly tell him what is going on. Molly tells the Boy about Starcatchers, a handful of people whose sole mission is to protect "starstuff." Molly explains that a Starcatcher’s primary duty to collect starstuff as it falls to earth and dispose of it. Slank catches the Boy and throws him overboard. The Boy starts to drown and Molly saves him. When the two ships meet, Molly asks the Boy to stall the pirates while she gets the Queen’s trunk to The Wasp, and the Boy sits on the decoy trunk to “protect the treasure”. Stache tries to lure the Boy off the trunk by offering him a place on his crew. Stache suggests some piratical names for him. One of them, ‘Pirate Pete’, strikes a chord with the Boy and he chooses a name for himself: ‘Peter’. Losing patience, Stache knocks Peter off the trunk, opens it, and realizes he has been tricked. As Peter celebrates his own cleverness, Stache knocks him overboard. Molly dives into the ocean and swims after Peter. Atop a mountain on the island, Peter absorbs the freedom of open skies and clean air for the first time in his life. A yellow bird flies around his head. Ted and Prentiss arrive, and Peter enlists them in the mission to get the trunk to The Wasp. The island’s natives, the Mollusks, capture the boys. The chief, Fighting Prawn, sentences them to death. They are to be sacrificed and fed to Mr. Grin, the island’s hungriest crocodile. Trapped inside Mr. Grin’s cage, Molly and the boys bicker about what to do. Peter gets Mr. Grin to open his mouth and Molly tosses her amulet in. Mr. Grin grows to an enormous size, bursting out of the cage and floating away as Molly and the boys flee. The Mollusks are furious and pursue them. Peter falls into a lake, where he is greeted by the mermaid who calls herself ‘Teacher’. Teacher and the island give Peter a second name: ‘Pan’. Peter climbs out of the grotto and bolts back up to the mountaintop. The next morning, Smee and Stache try to lure the children into the open. Smee reveals he has taken Mrs. Bumbrake and Alf prisoner. The Mollusks enter with prisoners of their own — Lord Aster and Captain Scott. Mrs. Bumbrake recognizes Fighting Prawn as her long-lost kitchen boy from Brighton. Stache captures Molly with his razor at her throat. Peter realizes the only way to save Molly is by giving Stache the trunk, although this means he will never leave the island. Stache lifts the lid to find an empty trunk. The water that seeped into the trunk has dissolved the starstuff and it is now diffused into the ocean. Frustrated, Stache slams the lid down on his right hand, cutting it off. He vows to be Peter's foe for all eternity. Hearing Mr. Grin approaching, the Pirates feed Stache’s severed hand to the crocodile. Fighting Prawn honors Peter as a true hero and allows the English to leave. Lord Aster makes Molly a full-fledged Starcatcher. Peter mentions his encounter with Teacher. They realize that Peter, by being dunked in the starstuff-infused waters of the grotto, has been transformed and cannot leave the island. Lord Aster captures the yellow bird and turns it into a pixie to protect and guide Peter. As The Wasp sails away, Peter settles into the eternal present of childhood.