Director’s Notes The River Raisin Ballet Company has performed numerous classical ballets such as Cinderella, Pas de Quatre, Graduation Ball, and Coppelia. We have also added to the repertory our own productions of the Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan, each a unique creation for the RRB.

With two major performances each season, our dancers feel at home on the stage. Rehearsals for Peter Pan began immediately following the Nutcracker Ballet. The collaborated effort of many talented individuals comes together in what we hope is a visual display of beauty and enjoyment. I would like to thank the following people who have accompanied me on this Neverland journey: Julie Merz, our rehearsal assistant, Melissa Moore, the versatile choreographer and fellow Artistic Director; Dyanne Howland, the extraordinary costume designer; John McCarthy, the creative videographer; Lois Morris and Lucy Ingels, artistic set designers; and Mike Trapp, our talented lighting designer. The backstage team of Laurie Langmeyer, Jeff Boze, and Lynn Fedewa, who settle for nothing less than the best, have worked tirelessly to make sure everything is perfect. I would like to acknowledge Jeff in his final stage performance with the RRB. Not only has he been a member of our creative team for over ten years, but he has also danced in numerous productions. He has played the roles of Uncle Drosselmeyer, The Wicked Witch of the West, Dr. Coppelius, The Mad Hatter, the General in Graduation Ball, the Wolf in Peter and the Wolf, the ugly step-sister in Cinderella, and of course, Captain Hook. He will be greatly missed by the RRB audience! However, as a board member of the Ballet Company, we are happy that he will continue to be a part of our creative team.

We would also like to recognize two alumni members who are pursuing professional dance careers. Isabella Ingels will graduate from the University of Michigan this spring with a BFA Dance / BA Psychology. She has studied ballet, modern, composition, and repertory from the acclaimed faculty at the U of M. Isabella will be moving to NYC this fall. Another recent graduate, Katrina Snyder, continues to dance with the Tucson Ballet Company after graduating from Western Michigan University with a BFA Dance / BS Engineering. Whether or not our dancers pursue a professional career, we know that each will remember the positive performing experience they had with the River Raisin Ballet Company.

Gail Choate-Pettit

RRCA Summer Youth Theatre Announce Auditions for

“Footloose” Thursday, May 9th at 7 pm Saturday, May 11th at 3 pm

Show Dates: July 19 - 21

Auditions held at the RRCA

Please be prepared to sing, dance and act.

Please arrive early to fill out audition forms. More info on the RRCA website soon: www.riverraisincentre.org

Director: Tracy Glover

Choreographer: Alyssa Langmeyer

Become a complete performer! All skill levels are welcome!

Certified instructors with Education and theater degrees

Production Staff Artistic Directors Gail Choate-Pettit and Melissa Moore Stage Manager Laurie Langmeyer Rehearsal Assistant Julie Merz Costume Design Dyanne Howland Scenery Design Lois Morris, Lucy Ingels Sets, Props, Costumes Jeff Boze, Lynn Fedewa, Karen Bechard

Angel Biggs, Laurie Langmeyer Jessica Molnar, Janet Murphy, Jim Patton Garth and Diane Slatinski

Stage Crew Lynn Fedewa, Jon and Jessica Molnar Ryan McLeod, Drew Batton, Meghan Boze Jen Bezeau, Josh Mohler, Alex Molnar

Lighting Mike Trapp Videography John and Laura McCarthy Dressing Room Stephanie McLeod assisted by numerous

parent volunteers Concessions Amy Miller and RRB Parents Lobby Mary Jo Stoyanovich, Barbara Harrington

Paul Liedel

The beauty found in every detail of this performance is due to the dedicated volunteers who graciously shared their talent and time –

Thank You.

Echoes of War

Peter Pan Cast Act One – Scene One – The Nursery

Peter Pan Daniel Davenport Tinkerbell Abigail Fleszar (F, Sat a) Lyndsay y Navarre (Sat e, Sun) Wendy Reina Cooke (Sat e, Sun), Anthonette Fedewa (F, Sat a) John Andrew Fogel Michael Gabe Molnar The Darlings Jeff Boze and Jennifer Bezeau Nana the Dog Abigail Costlow (Sat e, Sun)

Autumn Molnar (F, Sat a) Peter’s Shadow Gabe Hileman Night Shadows Reina Cooke (F, Sat a), Gabriella Fedewa , Anthonette

Fedewa (Sat e, Sun), Abigail Fleszar (Sat e, Sun), Emily Hileman, Darcy Howland, Prisca Jentzen, Hannah Kravochuck, Kiera Malone, Lindsay Navarre (F, Sat a), Morgan and MacKynze Slatinsky, Jen Sliwinski

Act One – Scene Two – The Shores of Neverland Captain Hook Pirate Smee

Jeff Boze Josh Mohler

Crocodile Gabriella Fedewa (F, Sat a) MacKynze Slatinsky (Sat e, Sun)

Tiger Lily Darcy Howland (F, Sat a), Prisca Jentzen (Sat e, Sun) Lost Boys Mia Antonelli, Erika Bressler, Derek Hileman, Emma

Germeroth, Nathan Glover, Michael Kelley, Grace Lipford, Caroline and Lydia Miller, Emilia McLeod, Isabella Petrangelo, Sophia Rivard

Woodland Fairies

Claire Bechard with Abigail Costlow, Stormy Davis, Ebony Hudson, Autumn Molnar

Act One – Scene Three – The Island Indian Village The Teepee Reina Cooke (F, Sat a), Toni Fedewa (Sat e, Sun), Darcy

Howland (Sat e, Sun), Prisca Jentzen (F, Sat a), Kiera Malone, Indian Children Claire Bacarella, Alana DeMaggio, Kaylee and Ruby Faulk,

Jessica Foulkrod, Zoe Friedline, Emma Glover, Lia Iocoangeli, Heather Jones, Katya Lewandowski, Cailin Molenda, Mallory Sims, Lily Self, Elise Spears, Evelyn Short, Sarah Taft, Isabelle Wiederhold

Indian Maidens Willow Biggs, Charlie Brown, Makenzie Brown, Sidney Collino, Jolie Cramner, Chloe McLeod, Avery Morales, Brenna Murphy

Indian Drums Claire Bechard, Reina Cooke, Anthonette Fedewa, Abigail Fleszar, Emily and Gabe Hileman, Darcy Howland, Prisca Jentzen, Lindsay Navarre, Kate McLeod, Kiera Malone, Jocelyn and Maddie Rutkowski, Morgan Slatinsky, Jen Sliwinski

The Dance Academy Extends an Invitation to YOU!

RRCA Dance Academy

REAL Dance REEL Music

Annual Spring Performance

May 18th at 6:00 pm May 19th at 3:00 pm

Make your Spring and Summer Sensational

Spring Dance Session Begins: May 27th Summer Dance Session Begins: July 1st

Guest Artists: July 22nd

Train with our Exceptional Faculty

Take Advantage of

Special Class Offerings Workshops Guest Teachers!!

Classes for all Ages Available in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Modern and Ballroom

Fall 2013 Registration Begins: August 12th Classes begin Sept. 3th

Dance Director: Melissa Moore 734-242-7722 or www.riverraisincentre.org

Peter Pan Cast Act Two – Scene One – The Mermaid Lagoon and Cove

Mermaids Emily Hileman (Sat e, Sun), Kiera Malone (F, Sat a) with Claire Bechard, Willow Biggs, Gabriella Fedewa (Sat e, Sun), Kate McLeod, Jocelyn and Maddie Rutkowski, MacKynze Slatinsky (F, Sat a) and Young Mermaids: Charlie Brown, Makenzie Brown, Sidney Collino, Abigail Costlow, Jolie Cramner, Stormy Davis, Ebony Hudson, Chloe McLeod, Autumn Molnar, Avery Morales, Brenna Murphy, Amber Snider

Act Two – Scene Two – The Forest and Hide-Out Pirate Thieves Captain Hook and Smee with Drew Batton, Gabe Hileman,

Alex Molnar Fairy Pixie Dust Pixie Fairy: Claire Bechard with Magic Pixie Dust:

Jessica Costlow, Sarah Daill, Sophia Juhasz, JoAnna Kelley, Claire Lisker, Kiera Motlagh, Hazel Self, Reagan Sermon, Isabella Thornton, Rowan Westerlund

Act Two – Scene Three – The Pirate Ship Pirate Crooks Gabe Hileman, Drew Batton, Alex Molnar Pirate Crew Fortune Teller

Willow Biggs, MaKenzie Brown, Megan Castiglione, Hannah Kravochuck, Ben Molnar, Sophia Petrangelo, Catie Rose Parker, Amber Snider Kiera Malone

Pirate Gypsies Reina Cooke (F, Sat a), Abigail Fleszar (Sat e, Sun), Anthonette Fedewa (Sat e, Sun), Emily Hileman, Darcy Howland (Sat e, Sun), Prisca Jentzen (F, Sat a), Lindsay Navarre (F, Sat a) with Gabriella Fedewa (Sat e, Sun), Kate McLeod, Jocelyn and Maddie Rutkowski, MacKynze Slatinsky (F, Sat a), Morgan Slatinsky, Jen Sliwinski

Act Two – Scene Four – The Nursery Telling the Tale The Neverland Cast

Choreography by Melissa Moore and Gail Choate-Pettit Music compilation includes the following composers and artists:

Leo Delibes: Sylvia; Georges Bizet: Carmen; Leon Minkus: Don Quixote, La Bayadere and Paquita; Alexander Glazunov: Raymonda; Ferdinand Herold: La

Fille Mal Gardee; Serge Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet; Igor Stravinsky: Petrouchka, Rite of Spring; Stephen Warbeck: Peter Pan, Northern Ballet Theater Orchestra; Leroy Anderson: Orchestral Music; Karl Jenkins: Amadeus; Christopher Gordon: Master and Commander Soundtrack; James Newton Howard: Peter Pan Original

Motion Picture Soundtrack; Mannheim Steamroller: Halloween; Barrage: Scrapbooks

Gail Choate-Pettit, Diploma Fellow of the Cecchetti Council of America, holds a B.S.

in English from Eastern Michigan University, graduating summa cum laude. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Cecchetti Council of America, a national organization which trains, examines, and offers certification for teachers and students in classical ballet. She is a Permanent Examiner examining ballet students and teachers who are seeking certification, the Summer School Coordinator organizing the two-week intensive ballet program held on the campus of Hope College, as well as the CCA Business Administrator.

Gail received the prestigious Sylvia Hamer/Margaret Marsh Scholarship to study abroad and has attended Cecchetti Ballet Teachers' Courses in England and Canada. She danced with the Detroit City Ballet Company under the direction of Marjorie Hassard and has studied with Dawn Greene, Betty Bandyk, and Marjorie Randazzo.

Gail has presented successful teacher and student candidates through the advanced levels and has trained students who have danced in professional ballet companies, such as Miami City Ballet, Richmond Ballet, North Carolina Ballet; students who have attended year-round pre-professional schools such as the School of American Ballet in New York City and the Virginia School of the Arts; and students who have attended prestigious universities, majoring in dance who are now successfully employed in the dance field.

She is currently on faculty at the River Raisin Centre for the Arts in Monroe where she teaches classical ballet and serves as the Director of the River Raisin Ballet Company setting full-length productions of the annual Nutcracker, Coppelia, Cinderella, Graduation Ball, Peter and the Wolf as well as presenting premiere performances such as The Wizard of Oz. Away from the RRCA, she is a frequent guest teacher for student workshops and teacher seminars across the United States and has been a guest faculty member for Dance Masters of America.

Melissa Moore holds a B.A. in Dance Performance from Western Michigan

University. As a scholarship student, Melissa danced soloist roles in Giselle and in George Balanchine’s, Who Cares? Melissa also attended, on scholarship, the University of Michigan where she studied modern dance with Peter Sparling and Sandra DeYoung.

She performed in the ballet, Carmen, and Raymonda with the Ballet Concerto of Fort Worth, Texas. Melissa has also performed contemporary works at the La Femme Dance Concert in Louisville, Kentucky. She began her early training from Gail Choate-Pettit in Monroe with additional studies at the Kirov Ballet Academy, Cleveland Ballet School, the Milwaukee Ballet as well as studies in England and Denmark. As a member of the Monroe Ballet Company, she performed soloist roles in Nutcracker, Cinderella, Le Sylphide, Coppelia and Graduation Ball. As a part of the River Raisin MusicTheater Company, she has danced in “42nd Street,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and “Chicago.”

Melissa holds the Advanced Professional Certificate from the Cecchetti Council of America and is currently a member teacher of the CCA.

une Peter Pan Synopsis

Act I The Nursery As the curtain opens, Michael and John are listening to one of Wendy’s adventurous tales about the infamous Peter Pan. The children act out a fight between the pirates and Indians and hide a treasure box containing their father’s favorite gold cufflinks! Nana, the family dog, and Mrs. Darling enter to put the children to bed. Mr. and Mrs. Darling are preparing for an evening out, and Mr. Darling is quite upset that he cannot find his cufflinks. Wendy uncovers the boys’ buried treasure for her father, but, to her dismay, she is warned that it is time for her to grow up and leave the nursery. Much to the disappointment of the children, Mr. Darling insists that Nana is not a true nursemaid and must leave the nursery at once. Mrs. Darling tucks the children in bed and reassures them that all will be well in the morning. Before falling asleep, Wendy opens the window just in case Peter should return to reclaim his shadow which Nana grabbed before he could fly away during his last visit to the nursery. Wendy lies awake watching as the night shadows create shapes on the walls of the nursery. A brilliant light enters the room, and Wendy catches a glimpse of Peter chasing his own rebellious shadow across the room. Just about when Peter is ready to give up, Wendy offers to attach the shadow with needle and thread. Peter and Wendy become friends and exchange gifts of a thimble (which Wendy calls a kiss) and an acorn necklace. Tinkerbell, who has been locked inside the toy chest, has jealously watched Peter and Wendy. When she hears Peter inviting Wendy, John, and Michael to fly back with them to Neverland, she whirls into a jealous tantrum. Peter borrows a little pixie dust from his distressed friend, Tinkerbell, and they all fly off to Neverland – an adventurous place where no one ever has to grow up.

Neverland The lost boys are hunting and waiting for Peter to return home. Flying ahead to Neverland, Tinkerbell devises a scheme to get rid of Wendy and tells the lost boys that Peter has ordered them to shoot the “Wendy Bird” which is about to land. When Wendy plummets to the ground, the boys realize they have been fooled. Peter returns and is distraught to find Wendy shot on the ground and demands to know who is responsible. Each boy points directly at Tinkerbell as the troublemaker. Peter is angry and banishes his friend from the secret hideout. Filled with sadness, Tinkerbell calls the woodland fairies to heal Wendy. The lost boys ask Wendy’s forgiveness which is quickly given. Wendy asks Peter to take her to the lagoon to see the beautiful mermaids, and the lost boys ask John and Michael to go on an adventure through the forest to play war games with their Indian friends.

Indian Village When the lost boys arrive, the Indian village is alive with excitement. The Indian Princess, Tiger Lily, has invited everyone to dance. While the young Indian children play war games with the lost boys, no one notices Captain Hook and his thieving pirates lurking behind the trees as they attempt to kidnap Peter’s good friend, Tiger Lily.

Act II The Lagoon At the lagoon, Wendy is surprised to see that, although the mermaids are beautiful, they are not very friendly to her. The Queen of the mermaids adores Peter and tells him that Tiger Lily has been captured. Peter and Wendy head to the cove to watch as Pirate Smee rows Tiger Lily across the lagoon. After playing tricks on the gullible Pirate Smee, Peter engages the infamous Captain Hook, his long-time arch enemy. Everything comes to a halt when a loud ticking clock is heard coming from the very same Crocodile who enjoyed eating Captain Hook’s right hand in a previous encounter. Frozen in fear, Captain Hook stops fighting and quickly runs away, closely pursued by the hungry Crocodile.

The Hideout Peter and Wendy are rewarded by Tiger Lily’s friends, and, after the festivities, Wendy and Peter head back to the hideout to tell the boys of their adventure. The boys head off to bed inside their secret lair to fall fast asleep. Peter and Wendy stay awake a little while longer to share the day’s excitement. Observing from a nearby tree, Tinkerbell is seething and thinking of ways to rid Neverland of Wendy. Meanwhile, Captain Hook and Smee are nearby plotting their own revenge on Peter. Captain Hook and Smee convince Tinkerbell to reveal the secret hiding place by promising to kidnap Peter’s new friend, Wendy. Tinkerbell agrees only after making them vow not to hurt Peter and the lost boys. Captain Hook and the pirate thieves, untrue to their word, capture all the children. Tinkerbell watches as Captain Hook and Smee, unable to find Peter, put poison into Peter’s medicine bottle. The next morning, Peter wakes and finds the medicine with a fictitious note from Wendy telling him to drink it all. Tinkerbell rushes in to save her friend and drinks the poison herself, lifelessly falling to the ground. Magically, all the woodland pixies gather around to bring Tinkerbell back to life. Peter and Tinkerbell, united in friendship once again, fly off to the pirate ship to save Wendy and the children.

The Pirate Ship Thinking that they have outsmarted Peter Pan, Captain Hook and his crew celebrate the final demise of the great Peter Pan. The captured children are brought to the ship and threatened to walk the plank by the end of the day. But when Peter and Tinkerbell arrive, a fierce battle begins. The fighting is soon halted, once again, by the sound of the ticking Crocodile. As predicted by a Gypsy Fortune-Teller, the disoriented Captain Hook jumps wildly into the water . . . followed, of course, by the ever-so-hungry Crocodile. When the victory celebrations are over, Wendy tells Peter that she would like to go home. Disappointed, Peter reluctantly agrees to fly Wendy, Michael, and John back to London.

The Nursery Each evening Mr. and Mrs. Darling look out the window hoping their children will return. Outside, Nana sees pixie dust falling from the sky and happily announces that the children are finally coming home. Wendy, John, and Michael arrive with Peter and Tinkerbell and are very eager to share stories all of their extraordinary friends and incredible adventures in Neverland.