Jack Hitt

And the audience is totally in his pocket. He's speaking away and gesturing wildly and going on and on about how bad he is. And then at a certain point... As he gestures, his hook and the entire black casing up to his elbow flings off of his hand and flies into the audience and punches an old lady in the gut. And now – He is bad. Yeah. He had like the worst ad lib I've ever heard.

And the audience is totally in his pocket. He's speaking away and gesturing wildly and going on and on about how bad he is. And then at a certain point... As he gestures, his hook and the entire black casing up to his elbow flings off of his hand and flies into the audience and punches an old lady in the gut. And now – He is bad. Yeah. He had like the worst ad lib I've ever heard.

I mean, what do you say at that point? Because, of course, his hand is now nakedly exposed to the audience.

I mean, what do you say at that point? Because, of course, his hand is now nakedly exposed to the audience.

Captain Hook said, you know, they just don't make those hooks like they used to. That was actually the ad lib. I will never forget it. Then the lights come up, and we are in Never Never Land. In Act 2. Yeah, this is like Act 2. And Captain Hook might have stood in front of this set, but you didn't really see it because he spoke from shadow.

Captain Hook said, you know, they just don't make those hooks like they used to. That was actually the ad lib. I will never forget it. Then the lights come up, and we are in Never Never Land. In Act 2. Yeah, this is like Act 2. And Captain Hook might have stood in front of this set, but you didn't really see it because he spoke from shadow.

And now the lights come up, and this is supposed to be a very dramatic moment. The rumors of all this crew and the painting and everything that was going on and all this construction... all work towards this one moment. Because when the lights came up, here was Never Never Land, this sort of psychedelic set. There were papier-mâché mushrooms everywhere of different sizes.

And now the lights come up, and this is supposed to be a very dramatic moment. The rumors of all this crew and the painting and everything that was going on and all this construction... all work towards this one moment. Because when the lights came up, here was Never Never Land, this sort of psychedelic set. There were papier-mâché mushrooms everywhere of different sizes.

It was absolutely wonderful and surreal. Wow. And there's nobody there. And then from the upper rafters of stage right, suddenly the kids and Peter Pan appear. Flying. Flying. They're flying. And their landing occurs rather rapidly at an angle of about 45 degrees to the stage. They come down basically like, I don't know, lead sinkers on a line and crash to the floor.

It was absolutely wonderful and surreal. Wow. And there's nobody there. And then from the upper rafters of stage right, suddenly the kids and Peter Pan appear. Flying. Flying. They're flying. And their landing occurs rather rapidly at an angle of about 45 degrees to the stage. They come down basically like, I don't know, lead sinkers on a line and crash to the floor.

And then are sort of just dragged across the floor like mops and wipe out all of the mushrooms.

And then are sort of just dragged across the floor like mops and wipe out all of the mushrooms.

Yeah. Yeah, it's clear now that the audience is giving way. Something has been lost. Some sense of decorum, that little bit of forgiveness that the audience has for the actors. And empathy. And empathy. It's beginning to dissipate. Well, there was a split in the audience. The younger people who were the least forgiving, they started to go first.

Yeah. Yeah, it's clear now that the audience is giving way. Something has been lost. Some sense of decorum, that little bit of forgiveness that the audience has for the actors. And empathy. And empathy. It's beginning to dissipate. Well, there was a split in the audience. The younger people who were the least forgiving, they started to go first.

So the high school students, a couple of college students maybe, they started to laugh out loud. I'll be honest, Ira, I might have been one of those first people to laugh. I was in the 10th grade. It was hard to not laugh at this.

So the high school students, a couple of college students maybe, they started to laugh out loud. I'll be honest, Ira, I might have been one of those first people to laugh. I was in the 10th grade. It was hard to not laugh at this.

But then whatever restraint that the audience had, it just evaporated at this point because there were a number of things that happened in quick succession that just made it impossible to hold any sense of decorum. Which are? For example, Tinkerbell appears for the first time around this moment. And Tinkerbell is essentially a light bulb on an extension cord. What? Yeah.

But then whatever restraint that the audience had, it just evaporated at this point because there were a number of things that happened in quick succession that just made it impossible to hold any sense of decorum. Which are? For example, Tinkerbell appears for the first time around this moment. And Tinkerbell is essentially a light bulb on an extension cord. What? Yeah.

And this was the director's idea of being raw, being very modern. Tinkerbell was just going to be... you know, this literal light bulb dangling from an extension cord.

And this was the director's idea of being raw, being very modern. Tinkerbell was just going to be... you know, this literal light bulb dangling from an extension cord.