“Welcome to HSMSE’s first theatrical production!” Ms. Riedel announced at A. Philip Randolph Theater on Friday, April 17. For the entire second semester, the newly-minted theater elective had been working on Peter and the Starcatcher, the Tony award-winning prequel to Peter Pan, and this performance was intended to be a presentation of the work—the “labor of love,” as Ms. Riedel put it—they’d done. 

Educators note that theater helps develop students’ leadership, disciplinary, and collaboration skills. Students are often boxed in by the opportunities available to them, making it especially important for schools to offer programs like theater. Until 2026, HSMSE was the only specialized school that didn’t offer a theater program. 

Natan Hockenstein (’26) and Andy Dragan (’26) had been pushing for HSMSE to produce a play since the beginning of 2024. “We had met with many teachers and [Principal] Dolcy many times and at first it was that … no one had the time to do this; it’s a big project,” Andy, the Stage Manager, told me. Natan and Andy began speaking with Ms. Riedel right when she first joined HSMSE as a U.S. and AP World History teacher about starting a production. After working with Mr. Dolcy, they decided to create a theater elective, accessible to students who weren’t available after school, and perform the play Peter and the Starcatcher, which has music but isn’t as technically complex as a musical. “It wasn’t our first choice, but it worked out,” Andy admitted. 

With a late start in the second semester and a long wait for rights to come in, HSMSE theater only had around six weeks to assemble the show. The small cast rehearsed every day in C3 during the third period, where they pushed the desks towards the edges of the room to create a stage in the center. As I walked into rehearsal on the Tuesday before their performance, everyone sat atop the desks and hunched over their script booklets, murmuring to themselves or gesturing something with their hands. 

On April 17, a few dozen HSMSE students and teachers walked to APR Theater and were greeted by Jamie Chin (’26) at the door, who told us to sit in the middle of the house. Overlapping lines were projected onto the forestage (the curtains remained closed for the performance). Two chests were on stage, as well as the helm of a ship, and a simple wooden framework with a flag of the United Kingdom hanging from one post. 

The audience gathered in the front and backs of the house, with a range of students and teachers. Yalli Zussman (’28) told me he was “excited; I don’t really know what to expect; I’ve never heard of this play.” Other students echoed his sentiments. After a few minutes of excited chatter, Ms. Riedel walked onto stage to welcome us to the theater. After she left, the house lights flickered on again, before the cast entered and the spotlights focused once again on the stage.

The year is 1885. The illustrious minister Lord Aster, played by Michelle Yeoh (’26), has chartered two ships to sail from England to the imaginary kingdom of Rundoon: The Wasp and The Neverland. The ships split a precious cargo of “starstuff”—an alien substance with the power to grant someone their dreams—that is dispersed to protect it from pirates. Lord Aster boards The Neverland, and sends his thirteen-year-old daughter, Molly (Zahava Kahn (’26)), on The Neverland with her maid, Mrs. Bumbrake (Natan Hockenstein). Also traveling to Rundoon aboard The Neverland are the young orphans Ted, Prentiss, and the nameless “Boy”—played by the expressive Jericho Jose (’29), Chris Ramos (’29) and Luke Duculan (’26).

Confusion unfolds in the first few scenes as pirates commandeer the Wasp and, upon realizing its chest is a replica, chases after The Neverland. The pirates are led by the eccentric Black Stache, whom William Mckernan (’26) unwaveringly embodied, and complemented well by Smee, played by the enthusiastic Daniel Fox (’26). When the ships meet, the [cast members] of each ship line up, facing one another. In the subsequent clash, The Neverland is wrecked, and most of the main cast falls overboard. Large pieces of blue fabric waved back and forth to simulate the ocean, something that was difficult “to hit” during tech week, as Jamie, head of tech, described to me. 

Ms. Riedel announced a five minute intermission. “[They] performed really well,” Mr. Pellegrino commented. Other students stood in groups, talking and laughing. Mrs. Bumbrake’s ethereal singing and the striking tableaus that helped shape the scenery were particularly memorable. 

 Although APR Theater was kind enough to provide face microphones for the actors, “we didn’t have enough time to get things set,” Jamie said. Stage microphones are mixed for an individual’s vocal frequency—cutting off sounds that are outside of one’s range, and only turning on when its user is on stage. The sound booth only had a list of microphones 1 through 19; no names, no script. Throughout both acts, much of the sound wasn’t evenly dispersed, though actors adjusted their voices in response. 

Act II opened with the cast sitting, dispersed, along the sides of the stage, with a colored fan covering everyone’s faces. Black Stache guided another ensemble song; the cast joined him, seated at the sides of the stage. 

Boy—who has now adopted the name “Peter”—along with Ted, Prentiss, and Molly soon find themselves washed up on a desert island and quickly taken captive by the island’s natives, the Mollusks. While escaping, Peter falls into a grotto and meets a mermaid. The mermaid, played by Anna Brosterman (’29) calls herself “Teacher,” and dubs the island as Peter’s family, giving him the last name “Pan.” 

The entire main cast—including the pirates—soon reconvene at one of the island’s beaches. Black Stache excitedly opens the chest, only to discover the starstuff has leaked out into the waters surrounding the island. In his anger, he slams the lid of the chest on his hand, dismembering it. The group deduces that Peter Pan’s submersion in the starstuff-infused waters when he fell into the grotto has given him eternal youth, the ability to fly, and an inability to ever leave the island. Ted and Prentiss agree to stay with him, soon becoming the classic “Lost Boys.” Lord Aster captures a yellow bird that Peter spoke with when he first landed on the island, transforming it into a pixie that will guide Peter through his following adventures. 

As the lights dimmed one final time, the house broke out into applause. Ms. Riedel walked to the front of the stage, encouraging the audience to “continue supporting the arts.” HSMSE Theater’s first performance was hopefully a prologue to the continued flourishing of the arts at MSE. The theater elective is filled with dedicated juniors and underclassmen, led by Ms. Riedel, their devoted advisor, all of whom will hopefully continue this new cornerstone of our community. “We’ve been able to learn so much through the process,” Jamie added, “we have the ability to start earlier now, and it’s going to be so much better with more time, with more knowledge, we can truly only go up from here.” 

“The goal of the show wasn’t to put on some show-stopping performance,” Natan reminded audiences. “It was mainly to create this system at our school, so in coming years—in ten, 15 years—we can come back and … see shows that we helped create, and know that now our school has a theater program.”