‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ tells the story before ‘Peter Pan’

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to Peter Pan before he showed up in Neverland, your questions are about to be answered. “Peter and the Starcatcher,” the Broadway play based on the 2004 novel “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is coming to the Paramount’s Copley Theare in Aurora to kick off season three of the Bold Series. It’s a play adapted by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker and won five Tony Awards in 2012.

Performances are at 1:30 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 7 p.

m. Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 and 5:30 p.

m. Sundays July 24-Sept. 1.

“Peter and the Starcatcher” is the story of a 13-year-old orphan only known as “Boy” who grew up in unimaginable conditions and is sold into servitude aboard the Neverland-bound ship, the Wasp. It’s the prequel to “Peter Pan” and shows audiences how the Lost Boys got together, what Neverland was like and even what Captain Hook was up to. For director Nate Cohen of Chicago, his involvement is also a little serendipitous.

“Peter and the Starcatcher” was to be his thesis production for the MFA at Northwestern University. “We were two weeks into rehearsal in the spring of 2020 when COVID hit,” he said. He was thrilled to be able to bring back the scenic designer and a couple of actors from that ill-fated production.

“The play is about a lot of really wonderful things — connection and finding a community,” he said. “All the reasons I loved the pl.