MirMattia Ottaviani feels that theater can play a crucial role in entertaining people during the ongoing pandemic.

The Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior, who portrays Black Stache in the Wasp cast of “Peter and the Starcatcher,” said that the local actors will lend a hand while delivering heaps of silliness when the Peter Pan prequel story leaps into the in-person spotlight.

“After being at home for so long, actually going out with other people and collectively enjoying an experience, such as live theater, is very precious. I think that what we have here is a unique opportunity to kind of come out of the shell and get back into ‘normal life’,” said Ottaviani, whose own humor comes into play while bringing an early version of big, bad Captain Hook to life.

With Daniela Melgar as the director and Katy Tyszkiewicz Ramsey in the choreographer’s spot, the MIHS Drama Program will present Rick Elice’s tale in the school auditorium at 7 p.m. Jan. 28-29 and Feb. 3-5 and at 2 p.m. Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. The Neverland and Wasp casts — totaling 28 actors — will rotate for each performance. The eight-show run began when the curtain was raised on Jan. 27.

According to a press release, “Worlds collide when a young orphan boy, British aristocracy, pirates, mermaids, a band of mollusks, and magical starstuff meet in our imaginative and colorful world. A story about love, friendship, and going home, ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ is a show for all ages.”

From making the costumes to assembling the set pieces and blocking, senior Sophia Dondisch, who plays Lady Aster in the Wasp cast, said it’s been a roller-coaster ride for everyone involved to bring the production to fruition.

“It has been such an extraordinary adventure being able to perform with the people in this cast,” said Dondisch, who enjoyed watching “Peter Pan” when she was a child. “This story is so magical. It takes you to a whole different universe, and it’s so silly, so funny, there’s things you would never see in real life, obviously.”

Life lessons abound throughout the production, including perseverance, working hard and sticking together and caring for each other, said Dondisch, who added that the character Molly (played by Abby Weiss and Molly Atkinson) goes out of her way to connect with an orphan during one scene.

“It really goes to show that some kindness can go a long way. It can save your life like it does in the show,” she said.

Junior Brielle Gradek delves into the role of Peter Pan in the Wasp cast and said it’s one of the most fun shows she’s performed in so far. They had less than two months to put all the pieces in place following their production of “The Odyssey.”

“(It) just shows how close of a family we’ve made in the class and how we’re able to work through a lot of challenging aspects of putting on a show in such a quick amount of time,” said Gradek, adding that they’ve grown as actors and people by working together and relying on each other the whole way.

Ottaviani said the esprit de corps has been flowing between the actors and he enjoys watching everyone bring their unique takes to their characters.

Dondisch added about some of the characters: “There’s a lot of gender-bending in this show, which is so exciting to see. In one show, there might be a male-identifying person playing a male-identifying character; there might be a female-identifying person in this cast playing a male-identifying character in the show. It’s very interesting to see how everyone is portraying these things.”

Gradek said each actor brings a different, refreshing portrayal and feel to their character and people can witness this all unfold by checking out the two casts. On the Neverland side, Greg Chvany is cast in the role of Peter Pan.

Ottaviani echoed Gradek and Dondisch’s sentiments about how the program’s unified effort has taken “Peter and the Starcatcher” from the script to the stage.

“This is an incredible achievement that I think was only possible because of the great team that was involved,” Ottaviani said.

The actors will be performing sans masks but masks will be mandatory for attendees, and parties will be seated with social distancing in mind. Seating is limited to 85 for pre-sale and 35 for at the door. All proceeds will go to MIHS Drama and MIHS ASB.

To purchase tickets, visit https://wa-mercerisland-lite.intouchreceipting.com/mihsdrama.

Mercer Island High School Neverland cast actors take part in a Jan. 26 dress rehearsal of “Peter and the Starcatcher.” They are, from left to right, Kate Petersen, Giovee Roque, Geoffrey Goffman, Lucas Vorkoper, Abigail Weiss, Madi Chew, Sadie Jensen, Milo Mechem-Miller and Christoper Burnside. Andy Nystrom/ staff photo