'Peter and the Starcatcher' catches magic at Walnut Street Theatre

Star Wars

,

Lord of the Rings

, and the

X-Men

movies prove there's much contemporary interest in the backstories of famous characters. And though it took JK Rowling only a year after her final Harry Potter novel to write a prequel, more than 100 years passed before Dave Barry (yes,

that

Dave Barry) and Ridley Pearson created one for Peter Pan, that other most famous boy from English literature.

Rick Elice's 2009 play Peter and the Starcatcher dramatizes Barry and Pearson's similarly titled novel, which the Walnut Street Theatre's intentionally over-the-top production now brings to life in a fantastical romp through England, Neverland, and the high seas.

Starcatcher begins in 1885, 19 years before J.M. Barrie first staged Peter Pan (nerd alert: the timelines overlap smoothly). Here, we see the as-yet-unnamed Peter (Brandon O'Rourke) sold as an orphan to Bill Slank (Lindsay Smiling), the sleazy first mate of a ship called The Neverland. Lord Aster (Dan Hodge) has entrusted Slank to travel with his daughter Molly (Michaela Shuchman) and to serve as decoy for pirates while he travels on a faster ship to the island Rundoon with the queen's cargo (a trunk full of "starstuff," a magical substance that "makes you what you want to be").

When the pirate Black Stache (Ian Merrill Peakes) pursues, it leads to a hilarious adventure that fleshes out how Hook lost that hand, why Peter visits Wendy 20 years later, and, touchingly, why he may regret having never grown up.

Elice's script intentionally shies away from high-tech stagecraft, giving these actors a chance to beguile us with their talent.

And enchant us they do, with scenes filled with goofy humor, physical gags, and clever turns of phrase. Dave Jadico and David Bardeen steal attention as an alliteration-spouting nurse (Mrs. Bumbrake) and her unlikely paramour Alf. The cast opens Act 2 with a campy vaudeville number (music by Wayne Barker), and the script brims with nimble wordplay, such as nonversation and self-effacing references ("as elusive as the melody in a Philip Glass opera").

O'Rourke and Shuchman deliver winning portraits of childhood innocence debased by adult mendacity, and Peakes drives the show with his bombastic, goofy portrayal that excels with comic timing and sharp ad-libbing.

It's not the Peter Pan that dazzles with flying boys and well-choreographed swordplay. J. Dominic Chacon's elaborate lighting narrows or amplifies the expansive set to create each locale, and the production expects the audience to suspend disbelief and contribute imagination. But the reward is rich in humor and enchantment, whether you care a lick at all about how Peter became Pan.

Through May 1 at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. Tickets: $20 to $85. Information: 215-574-3550 or walnutstreettheatre.org.