Johnny Cunningham
More Top Picks Best Magnesium Glycinate Supplements For Seniors
`Peter & Wendy’ from the Mabou Mines Theatrical Adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Classic Tale of `Peter Pan’ (Alula) (star) (star) (star) (star)
J.M. Barrie wrote “Peter & Wendy” as a novelized rendition of the Peter Pan story seven years after his play had become a classic. So Mabou Mines’ decision to stage the novel for the 1996 Spoleto Festival was also a verdict about the author’s two versions: This one is darker, more wistful, even tragic. To put music to that vision, and to remain true to Barrie’s Scottish roots, Mabou Mines brought in Celtic master musician Johnny Cunningham, who wrote and arranged every song in this fine score. Here is a musical soundtrack that is both enchanting and haunting, but more important, spiritual. Peter Pan’s refusal to take on adulthood is neither amusing nor merely sad but a catastrophe of the soul. Cunningham’s music, with Susan McKeown on vocals, is at times roaring and other times a mere whisper, but it is always sublime.