Why is Peter Pan always in the air?

He Neverlands.

Do you know why I love that joke so much?

It never gets old.

On Feb. 19-22 the theatre department is producing Peter Pan The Musical in the auditorium.

“We know other schools like to precast…we wanted to be careful to judge truly on talent,” choir director Elise Peterson said.

Theatre director Mark Swezey and Peterson kept the idea of precasting out of their heads as auditions approached just days after the close of South’s performances of Miracle on 34th Street.

“With Peter Pan, we needed someone who wasn’t afraid of heights, with flying it’s such an exciting experience and with Teah, she does rock climbing, so she is quite familiar with that feeling,” Swezey said, “and with Rose [Smithson] we cast as Wendy for her vocals and her youthful appearance.”

With a large cast, Peterson and Swezey had  several groups that are meant to contain characters of all kinds.

“This show is like a puzzle,” Peterson said, “during auditions we had to think which piece was going to make the most sense… we determined parts by their stature and how they would fit into the “mold” for a specific part.”

Swezey briefed about the attitude and appearance he wanted to see in characters like Lost Boys, Pirates and Indians.

“For the lost boys we are looking for youthfulness and actors who sing and dance a lot; with the pirates we are looking for people who are a bit goofier and fun but they don’t sing as much as the lost boys; for the indians, we were looking for quality dancers, and they sing very little,” Swezey said.

With the main goal to create an atmosphere of childlike wonder that is enjoyable for children and adults. Swezey and Peterson, begin rehearsals for Peter Pan.