playbill vip

Florence + the Machine

Our show's soundtrack features music by the British indie rock band "Florence + the Machine", lead by singer Florence Welch. The music for our show comes from the band's debut 2007 album "Lungs" (Deluxe Edition). This album musically references her Celtic roots through tribal rhythms, lilting vocalization, and instruments like tom-tom and harp. I wanted to use music that would make a nod to Peter Pan's roots in Celitc mysticism and J.M. Barrie's Scottish heritage. Welch's lyrics poetically explore ideas of traumatic loss, tumultuous relationships, all-consuming love, and the experience of womanhood in the contemporary world. In listening to her music I found a lot of resonance between the album and the story of "Peter/Wendy". As you watch our show, pay attention to both the musical themes and the lyrics that are featured. Using the music of "Florence + the Machine" we are hoping to enhance the messages of the show and create a strong aural experience. 

"I was a heavy heart to carry
 My beloved was weighed down
 My arms around his neck
 My fingers laced a crown [...]            

               My love has concrete feet
               My love's an iron ball
               Wrapped around your ankles
               Over the waterfall"

                      - "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence + the Machine

 Picture Frames

You will see frames used throughout the show. The frame of the nursery window, the lighted frames that make up the stars, the golden frame of the stage, and even the proscenium frame of our auditorium. We use picture frames in a variety of ways in the show, and use our imaginations to turn them into many different things. Mr. and Mrs. Darling exist within the societal frames expected of them. Wendy leaves home through the frame of her childhood window, on the precipice of womanhood. Peter has built a frame around the Lost Boys. Their freedom and choices are hedged in by the boundaries that Peter has set in exchange for the promises of Neverland. As Wendy finds her strength as a young woman, she resists the frame of Peter's power and tests the limits of his control over the tribe. Look for the different ways frames play a part in this show, both thematically and aesthetically. Consider the "frames" in our world today. What role do we allow them to play? How do they affect us? And what do we do when we feel we are being "framed in" by others?