Analysis: The Darling Nursery

Submitted By superlon1
Words: 1546
Pages: 7

Act I[edit]
The Darling Nursery
As Mr. and Mrs. Darling prepare for an evening out, two of their children, Wendy and John, play at being their parents. When Mrs. Darling notices Michael is left out, she gets him into the game and joins in with all of them ("1, 2, 3") watched by the dog Nana, their nursemaid. When Mr. Darling comes in to have his tie tied, he questions having a dog as a nursemaid, but Mrs. Darling defends her. The previous week, while the children slept, Nana saw a boy in the room who flew out of the window before she could catch him, leaving behind his shadow which Mrs. Darling has put away in a drawer. In spite of this, Mr. Darling insists on Nana spending the night downstairs. Mrs. Darling and the children sing a lullaby ("Tender Shepherd").

Peter Pan shows the Darling children he can fly.
The children fall asleep. A fairy, Tinker Bell, and Peter Pan fly in through the window to look for his shadow. Wendy is woken up by the boy's cries when he is unable to re-attach his shadow and helps him by sewing it back on. Peter is thrilled when his shadow is re-attached ("I've Gotta Crow") and tells her that he lives in Neverland ("Never Never Land")with the Lost Boys. Wendy wakes her brothers up, and Peter invites them all to Neverland, and promises to teach them to fly. Peter happily launches himself into the air ("I'm Flying").
Peter sprinkles the children with fairy dust and tells them to "think lovely thoughts" ("I'm Flying – Reprise"). The children follow Peter, but Michael goes back when Liza comes into the room, giving her some of his fairy dust and inviting her to come to Neverland with them.
Act II[edit]
Never Land
Peter's "Lost Boys" are standing outside their underground lair, wondering when he will return, when they hear Captain Hook and his pirates ("Pirate Song"). The boys hide. Hook tells Smee, his right-hand man, that he wants to kill Peter, because he cut off his hand and threw it to a crocodile, which has since then developed a taste for Hook and follows him around. Luckily for Hook, the crocodile has swallowed a clock that ticks and alerts Hook to its presence. Hook accidentally stumbles upon the entrance to the hideout, and summons Smee and his men to provide background music while he plans the Boys' demise ("Hook's Tango"), a rich cake with poisonous icing. Hook suddenly hears a loud tick-tock; the crocodile appears but Hook escapes. The pirates flee, and the Boys reappear, thinking they are safe. Suddenly, a group of "Indians" appears, led by Tiger Lily ("Indians"). They leave the Boys alone, and go on hunting the pirates.
The Lost Boys suddenly spot Wendy in the sky and taking her for a bird, one of them shoots an arrow. Peter, Michael and John land to find the arrow lodged in her heart, although she isn't dead. The Lost Boys build a house around her, hoping that she will become their mother ("Wendy"), to which, when she wakes up, she agrees. Hook plants the cake, but Wendy doesn't let the children eat it as she knows it wouldn't be good for them; instead, she tells the Boys stories. Hook is infuriated that the Boys have found a mother. He plots to kidnap Wendy and the Boys, while Smee and the pirates play a "Tarantella". After the pirates leave for their ship, Liza arrives and dances with the animals of Neverland while Peter keeps watch outside the house.[26]
A few days pass with everyone having adventures. One day in the forest, after Peter leads the Boys in their anthem ("I Won't Grow Up"), they almost run into the pirates, who have captured Tiger Lily and tie her to a tree. Peter hides and mimics Hook's voice, ordering the men to release her. When Hook arrives, he is enraged and demands that the "spirit of the forest" speak to him. Peter tricks them all into thinking he is Hook, and that the real Hook is a codfish. Hook asks the "spirit" to reveal its true identity. Peter obliges, pretending to be a "beautiful lady" ("Oh, My Mysterious Lady") and Hook and his pirates try to ambush Peter,