Fairy dust survives devastating fire
By Winkie Lee
Published in News on February 21, 2005 2:03 PM
In the musical "Peter Pan," fairy dust creates a magic that allows children to fly.
In the Stagestruck warehouse, which, like the Paramount Theatre, was destroyed by fire Saturday morning, was a hole in the wall. Just inside that hole was the fairy dust the children's theater planned to use in its production. Unlike most of what was stored in the warehouse, the fairy dust was in good condition.
Call it a sign, if you wish.
Even before it had been found, "Peter Pan" director Holly Mason was promising her young cast that "we can make the magic happen."
Stagestruck volunteers, the cast and community are working hard to make sure that's the case.
This morning, Ms. Mason and co-producers Elizabeth Pelletier and Candy Whitley met with college vice president Ken Ritt and campus information specialist Kay Bradshaw at Wayne Community College to make arrangements to move the play there.
The play will be performed Thursday through Sunday as scheduled with only one time change.
The originally scheduled 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday shows, and the 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday shows will be held in Moffatt Auditorium on campus. Instead of a 3 p.m. Sunday show, there will be one at 2 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. People with 3 p.m. tickets can attend the 2 p.m. show.
Stagestruck officers and crew were appreciative of the help they received from Ritt, Ms. Bradshaw and college president Dr. Ed Wilson. They also were pleased with the assistance given them by the Apollo Show, an annual talent show sponsored by the college's Multicultural Association for Enrichment. The show gave up some of its scheduled time in the auditorium so the children could have it.
Flying by Foy, based in Las Vegas, Nev., made sure that the part of the flying equipment that was destroyed in the fire was replaced. Johnny Pickett, a flying director, drove from Goldsboro to Washington, D.C., to meet a Flying by Foy representative who drove in replacement items from Pennsylvania.
Parents have sprung into action, too. Within hours of the fire, some were making new costumes. This weekend, George Jeffreys allowed parents into his warehouse to begin making new sets.
The sets and costumes will not be as elaborate as the original ones, but they will enable the actors and stage to have a "Peter Pan" look.
Ticket sales had been halted until a new location was found. They are expected to begin again soon.
And on Thursday, Peter Pan will fly.