Peter Pan flying into Chicago this spring with a 360-degree twist. The classic created by J.M. Barrie will be performed in a tent at the Chicago Tribune's Freedom Center. Producer Robert Butters puts a spin on the show that will Hook audiences into never growing up.
Windy City Times: Hello, Robert. What is your background?
Robert Butters: I am an accountant by trade and a business person at heart. I fell into theater in the strangest way. I have been into it for 20-plus years.
Windy City Times: How did you get involved in this?
Robert Butters: I was lucky enough to be with the something group and Andrew Lloyd Weber was looking to set up an office in America with Sunset Boulevard. That was when I became involved with it.
Windy City Times: Where are you from?
Robert Butters: London.
Windy City Times: How was it working with Andrew Lloyd Webber?
Robert Butters: It was an amazing experience. He has fantastic shows. Working with Phantom of the Opera, Cats and Sunset Boulevard were great experiences for audiences around the world. I was very fortunate to travel a lot and see the shows in many different countries and languages.
Windy City Times: Explain what 360 Degrees means.
Robert Butters: Basically, it is the name of the company but really an experience. We wanted to have something completely immersive where audiences can go and feel the show is around them. They would be involved in it from the beginning. So we used computer generated images to tell part of that story. It is very visual and very fast. It really is a way to push the spoken word and augment it with things that are on the screen. It is a blend of cinematic theatre.
Windy City Times: So it is for audiences that go out to the movies and to the theatre at the same time.
Robert Butters: Absolutely. We have been very fortunate in other cities and we find that the audience that comes to the show is both a traditional theatre audience and new people. In Orange County we had people that had never been to a show at the Performing Arts Center before. We really are reaching a new audience.
Windy City Times: Where is this unique stage going to be located?
Robert Butters: It is going to be at the Freedom Center North, which is on Chicago Avenue and right by the Tribune building.
Windy City Times: Is there parking around there?
Robert Butters: There are two surface lots. We were actually there today and within a block and a half there is ample parking.
Windy City Times: Are there Chicago people in the cast?
Robert Butters: Yes, there are.
Windy City Times: The show uses household objects?
Robert Butters: All of the puppets are made from things you would find in a nursery. We have an ostrich that is made out of a skipping rope and a shuttlecock. So they really wanted it to feel childlike. They don't want it to feel like a hi-tech production. Our puppeteers are amazing. The goal of any puppeteer is to see them first then it goes away.
Windy City Times: Is this a musical?
Robert Butters: No, it's a play.
Windy City Times: This is a total re-imagining of the show, correct?
Robert Butters: It is a completely new conception.
Windy City Times: Are there more 360 shows in the works?
Robert Butters: Yes. Hopefully, we can announce another one before we leave Chicago.
Peter Pan swoops in from April 27 through June 19 with prices from $20 to $75. Visit peterpantheshow.com and www.broadwayinchicago.com for tickets and information.