Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre prepares to thrill with season opener 'Peter Pan'

Kicking off its 55th Emerald Season this weekend, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will bring magic, pirates and high-flying thrills to the stage with “Peter Pan.” This production is the Pittsburgh premiere of a new interpretation of the classic story, choreographed by Trey McIntyre.

“He tried to bring it back to the book, and he tried to pull a lot of smaller details that tend to get lost out of current adaptations,” said Josiah Kauffman, who will play the title character in this weekend’s show.

The character and story of Peter Pan and his adventures in Neverland were created by Scottish author and playwright J.M. Barrie. The magical boy who never grows up has been the subject of novels, plays, films and other media for 120 years.

McIntyre said that he felt connected to the heart and soul of “Peter Pan” while developing his choreography. “One of the main themes of the story is really about the choices that we make growing up, the decision to remain childlike or the decision to take on the responsibility of adulthood. I think one of the reasons that it resonates with people is because it reacquaints us with that childlike part of ourselves that understands that this is a world of unlimited possibility, and sometimes we get so bogged down with the accountability of being an adult that we forget that anything can happen. A story like this wakes up the magic in all of us,” he said.

“I actually have not done a production of ‘Peter Pan’ yet so this is my first, and it’s Trey McIntyre’s choreography, and it’s really different from any version of ‘Peter Pan’ I’ve seen. It’s very inventive,” said Tommie Lin Kesten, who will play Wendy Darling.

While Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s “Peter Pan” will of course maintain the tale’s fantastical aura, Kauffman and Kesten said that it also has some more grounded, realistic elements.

“It’s just very human. … It’s very genuine and natural. That’s what I love about the way that Trey has choreographed this ballet — there’s so much room for vulnerability and real moments and I think it really helps the audience connect because it’s these human emotions that we all have,” Kesten said.

But there will still be plenty of fighting and flying. Kauffman and Kesten are looking forward to both, especially their interactions with the ballet’s villain, Captain Hook.

“There’s a whole battle scene towards the end of the ballet with Peter and Hook and it’s all very intense sword fighting. That’s very very fun. I’ve never done this level of sword fighting on stage. We have real foil fencing swords,” Kauffman said.

Wendy gets her share of time with the villainous pirate, as well.

“I love the Hook-Wendy pas because it’s very much Hook manipulating me and he’s such a bold character. I think it’s really fun because this Wendy isn’t very timid, she might be scared but she does have a backbone so she kind of fights back,” Kesten said.

Being “Peter Pan,” there is definitely time spent suspended in the air. But McIntyre’s production takes the flight of Peter and the Darlings to a whole new level. Kauffman said that he’ll be spending six or seven total minutes off the ground throughout the hour-and-a-half-long show.

“In the first act, there’s a full two-minute solo where I’ll actually be fully dancing in the air, doing flips and spinning and turning while fully in a harness in the air. I’m super excited to start that,” he said.

Kesten was practically champing at the bit to get into the harness.

“I’m so excited, I’m such a thrill seeker so I’m not scared of heights or anything. … I feel like a little kid again, which will be perfect for my character. It’s my first production I get to fly, so that’s also really exciting.”

McIntyre echoed her enthusiasm. “It’s so thrilling. I’ve flown in the show before and I’m telling you, it’s 10 times more fun than it looks.”

“In this version, Peter Pan is portrayed as very feral. … He was for sure raised by animals in the wilderness. So a lot of the ballet I’m running around almost on all fours or really hunched over. So it’s a whole different posture set that I’m using, a lot of muscles that I’ve never really used before,” Kauffman said.

This is Kauffman’s first time as the lead in a ballet. He joined the Corps de Ballet at PBT in 2020. Kesten — who is from Pittsburgh — has been with the company since 2018 and became a principal dancer in 2023.

McIntyre had nothing but praise for the artists at PBT. “This company in particular has a very talented group of dancers that are amazing artists and performers. They have a lot to give in that way.”

He said that he’ll often come to a new company to help them rehearse the show and he’ll need to fix things and make adjustments. “In this case, that’s not it, it’s building on what they have and deepening the characters, and that, to me, is the ultimate joy.”

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s “Peten Pan” will run from Friday to Sunday at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh. To get tickets, visit pbt.org.