Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Joey deBettencourt, who stars in the excellent national touring company of "Peter and the Starcatcher," was, just a matter of months ago, working in such small Chicago companies as the Griffin Theatre. The ease with which deBettencourt assumes the title role in this electric Broadway theatricalization of the Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson prequel to "Peter Pan" is a reminder of the quality of the young talent you routinely can find on neighborhood Chicago stages."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Rick Elice's 2012 prequel to Peter Pan was a Broadway smash and Tony Award winner despite its perfect lack of internal logic. And this touring production lacks all heart. Directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers throw anything makeshift, steampunk, or ironic onto the stage, extracting little but overworked bits and unearned sentiment."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...Colorful and sly, this is a true ensemble piece. Though directly from Broadway, it has a low budget, DIY spirit that is wholly charming. Run to see this piece, as it playing for a very limited time. You will cry with laughter, and sigh with every bit of the lost boy in you."
Chicagoist - Recommended
"...It wouldn’t be Peter Pan without a little bit of sentimentality, but the show’s outrageous humor and slapstick performances help balance out the poignancy with absurdity. Peter and the Starcatcher is both rowdy and witty—it’s theater with a wink. And it’s good to be in on the joke."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It's a great pleasure to see de Bettencourt confidently commanding a house the size of the Bank of America Theatre after seeing him for the last four years in 100-seat joints; he and Megan Stern, as the piece's forceful young British heroine, have a terrific back-and-forth. But it's Sanders's swaggering aspirant pirate Black Stache who steals the show-by design; when his Smee (Luke Smith) suggests a rampaging, overgrown crocodile is "chewing all the scenery," Stache reverses his retreat: No one's chewing this scenery but him. And Sanders tackles this physically and comically demanding role like he hasn't eaten in a week."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...The essence of farce is timing, and movement director Steven Hoggett's highly stylized, one could say intricately choreographed, scenes throughout this show amount to dances of quick-time surprise. Chicagoans may remember Hoggett's name from his choreographic effort in a touring show of the National Theatre of Scotland which came through the Windy City twice - the elegiac "Black Watch," which covered the harrowing history of an elite Scottish fighting force and was viscerally inventive in a completely different way."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...What makes Peter and the Starcatcher possibly worth seeing are the work from the young Chicago talents. Harter Clingman (Alf), Nathan Hosner (Lord Aster), John Sanders (a hoot as Black Stache) – these actors anchored the show. While Megan Stern, as Molly, lead the way for the boys, it was the charming, often charismatic, and fully heartfelt honest turn by Chicagoan Joey deBettencourt that made the otherwise tedious show palatable. Debettencourt, in his first Equity role, commands the stage ias a cute yet plausible boy who eventually emerges as Peter Pan. We do believe that he is the boy who’ll never grow up. Audiences will understand why casting directors come to Chicago to tap into our deep talent pool for national tours. This is a ‘star-making’ role for Joey deBettencurt – he is worth seeing."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Joey deBettencourt (a proud Chicagoan), as the boy who won't grow up, turns in a terrific performance. He is full of angst, heartbreak, naivete and wonder which come together quite nicely to create a Peter Pan we are all truly rooting for. His lost boy sidekicks are embodied to perfection by Carl Howell, as Prentiss and Edward Tournier as Ted. John Sanders prances around the stage and chews the scenery with unending glee, in his showy role as Black Stache. Benjamin Schrader, as Mrs. Bumbrake is side splittingly funny and Luke Smith makes the most of his time onstage as Smee. However, it took me awhile to warm up to Megan Stern's, Molly the Starcatcher. She is written as a strong female character and guide, but I thought she needed a bit more warmth to accompany her strength. Molly and Peter's relationship suffered a bit from a lack of chemistry early on, but by the end when Molly's true identity is revealed we can finally see the beginning of a long, albeit complicated relationship."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Sweeping the 2012 Tony Awards with five wins, this glorious Equity production, in Chicago for only two short weeks, is the play to which every adult should treat his inner child. While older children and teen audiences will find it enjoyable, this is clearly a production aimed at adults. It doesn't contain nudity or foul language, but much of the typically British humor will be better appreciated by the grown-ups, especially those who enjoy the offbeat humor of Monty Python and Benny Hill. Supposing that assorted planks and ropes can turn into a couple of British sailing ships, imagining that a string of white flags can form the toothy grin of a giant crocodile and believing that someone can fly with the help of his friends is what makes this show so special. It's the audience's imagination working in tandem with the onstage artists, and not high tech effects, that make this very special, magical production soar up to the sky."
Huffington Post - Highly Recommended
"...While the the tale of how the lost boys came to be is certainly the narrative focus, the driver behind this magical story is a young woman named Molly (the outstanding Megan Stern) -- a fearless teenager who sets her sights on Peter and helps him out of a sticky situation involving orphan trafficking, while also helping her father, a "star catcher" on a secret mission to transport "starstuff" to the Queen of England. (Ok, so the exposition is a bit convoluted, and it took me a good 20 minutes to track the narrative, but trust me: you will eventually catch up and it's a fun ride to the end)."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...I was about ready to give up on “Peter and the Starcatcher” at intermission. Fortunately, in the final act the show shifted to a higher gear of invention and humor, led by Sanders’s delicious blend of sophisticated comedy and knockabout humor. The audience at my showing was peppered with youngsters, some of whom who may have been out of their depth with this adaptation. It’s always been an open question as to whether “Peter Pan” is really a children’s story, though it’s been so Disneyfied over the decades that the subtleties of Barrie’s Peter Pan concept have been obscured. “Peter and the Starcatcher” is a legitimate addition to the Peter Pan canon, but it thrives best as a romp presented by a stage full of extremely talented and game actors."