SECOND STAR TO THE RIGHT—AND
STRAIGHT INTO HILARIOUS DISASTER

The La Mirada Theatre’s Broadway Series takes a gleeful nosedive into chaos with Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Mischief Theatre’s follow-up to The Play That Goes Wrong. Directed with buoyant precision by Eric Petersen, this meta-farce turns every technical blunder and mistimed cue into artful slapstick that feels spontaneous even when it’s anything but.

Cathy Rigby

It’s fitting that La Mirada, long the artistic home of Cathy Rigby and her producing partner Tom McCoy, should host this gloriously messy love letter to live theatre. Rigby—who famously earned a Tony nomination for playing Peter Pan on Broadway—produces, narrates, and occasionally swoops through the action herself, because why not? I use the phrase “because why not” deliberately—it perfectly captures this production’s spirit: a cheerful invitation to mischief, indulgence, and self-parody. After all, when you’ve played Peter Pan for decades and you’re footing the bill, you get to fly whenever you please.

Jamie Morgan, Steven Booth, Regina Fernandez and Louis Pardo

Cathy Rigby, Josh Grisetti, Regina Fernandez, Steven Booth,
Reggie De Leon, Trent Mills, and (on floor) Nick Apostolina

For those who somehow missed The Play That Goes Wrong, this show—also by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields—follows the hapless Cornley Drama Society as they attempt to stage Peter Pan. As doors jam, sets collapse, props revolt, and egos combust, Neverland feels like Never-Planned. This play within a play captivates with choreographed mishaps and carefully crafted comedic routines. The best part is the tension between the two leads, Peter Pan (Lewis Pardo) and Captain Hook (Josh Grisetti), co-directors of this fictitious theater company, as they out-compete each other to keep the play moving forward as the technical elements continue to unravel around them. The execution of the havoc, a character itself in the play, is not always as tight as it could have been, but when you’re ready for a good time and a belly chuckle, the entire affair, although meant to be a production gone wrong, has an endearing overlay of community theater that embodies the “why not” spirit.

Reggie De Leon, Nick Apostolina, Steven Booth and Regina Fernandez

Cathy Rigby, Josh Grisetti and Reggie De Leon

Of course, the play itself has to move forward. The Darling children—Regina Fernandez (Wendy), Reggie De Leon (John), and Nick Apostolina (Michael)—add to the glorious mayhem, with De Leon having his lines fed through a radio headset, a running joke performed with uproarious robotic tones. An exceptionally fantastic turn comes from Nicole Parker, who juggles Mrs. Darling, the maid Lisa, and a high-voltage Tinker Bell with comic timing so sharp it could cut glass. Her underplaying draws the audience in instead of shouting for laughs, a rare gift in a show built on disorder. Fernandez’s libidinous Wendy, on the other hand, has been toned down, which made her overall performance just a little shapeless. However, her romantic partner, the darling of the play, Mr. Apostolina truly endears with disarming sweetness as Michael and the tick-tock crocodile. And of course I can’t forget Jamie Morgan, the tall, hot Yorkshire-accented stud playing Stage Manager Trevor—because let’s be honest, even disaster looks better when he’s in it.

Regina Fernandez, Reggie De Leon, Jamie Morgan,
Trent Mills and Nick Apostolina

Reggie De Leon, Ixchel Valiente, Josh Grisetti, Cathy Rigby,
Nick Apostolina, Regina Fernandez, Trent Mills, and Louis Pardo

Of course, for everything to go this wrong, the behind-the-scenes artistry must go spectacularly right. Without Paul Rubin‘s imagination for things gone awry, the whole show would never have worked; his aerial choreography turns mishaps into mid-air punchlines. The hardest-hitting tension that makes the pure, polished pandemonium work is the meticulous tech that went into creating an onstage technical debacle: Eric S. Elias (pyrotechnic design), Kevin Clowes (technical direction), and the stage management team—Phil Gold, Courtney Wigderson, and Megan Elizabeth Reed—magically keep the joyous bedlam safely on course.

Trent Mills, Josh Grisetti, Reggie De Leon, Cathy Rigby,
and, hanging upside down, Steven Booth

In this very British love letter to the theater, there is much to love about Peter Pan Goes Wrong. A familiar old tale of adventure, salacious off-stage romance, an underdog, a human dressed as a dog, and electrical shocks. It’s what theater does best: the thrill of everything collapsing and the joy of carrying on anyway. It’s part adventure, part backstage romp, and wholly ridiculous. Whether you’ve seen Center Theatre Group’s earlier staging or not, toss your expectations out the window (or fly through it). La Mirada’s loving fiasco invites you to laugh, cheer, and remember why we go to the theatre in the first place: because why not?

Regina Fernandez, Steven Booth and Reggie De Leon

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photos by Jason Niedle/TETHOS

Nicole Parker, Reggie De Leon, Regina Fernandez,
Nick Apostolina, Louis Pardo and Ixchel Valiente

Peter Pan Goes Wrong
McCoy Rigby Entertainment
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd
2 hours 15 minutes including intermission
Thurs at 7:30; Fri at 8; Sat at 2 & 8; Sun at 1:30 and 6:30
ends on November 23, 2025
for tickets, call 562.944.9801 or visit La Mirada Theatre

for more shows, visit Theatre in LA

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Regina Fernandez and Cathy Rigby