Growing up, Larissa FastHorse avoided “Peter Pan.” As a Native American from the Sicangu Lakota nation, FastHorse had heard about the hurtful portrayals of Indigenous people in the story — be it the play or novel or musical — and she didn’t want to engage. Decades later, and now a Broadway playwright, FastHorse was asked to rewrite the musical’s book for a new “Peter Pan” tour. She fully intended to turn the job down but decided to read the script from the 1954 Jerome Robbins-helmed production as a courtesy. What FastHorse found surprised her.
“I could see the magic for children,” FastHorse told Broadway News. “Everyone loves a magical escape world, and this one is complicated and difficult. I was like, ‘Oh, Peter’s super complicated,’ and I love complex things for young people. That was really exciting to me. And the comedy writer in me loves the pirates. They’re funny and ridiculous.”
“I realized there was so much good to be saved,” FastHorse continued. “I was like, ‘If we could just take the harmful things out, what a gift to bring all of this magic to new generation.’”
