Peter Pan Project

Welcome to the online home for  the  Peter Pan Project.  This is the website with the ongoing results of  my studies of late 1800’s to early 1900’s Scottish journalist, writer, and playwright, Sir James Matthew Barrie.  My name is James (Jim) Presley and I am an arranger, composer, songwriter, and musician in Las Vegas, Nevada.  As a part time hobby I write short (1 hour duration) musicals that are levels high school to moderate for semi pro performances.  These have been created from the public domain (Fair Use) writings about Peter Pan.  I began studying the life of J.M. Barrie in 2015.  I structure these musicals as close to the original writings as possible with occasional adaptation.  My first musical is entitled Peter Pan’s Magical World of Neverland.  I am very blessed to have Margaret Kerry co-adapt the final scenes in this script.  Margaret was the reference model for the character Tinker Bell in Disney’s 1953 animated feature Peter Pan.  She also performs in our live show with the Las Vegas cast.  The musicals also feature original songs written by Ethel A. Briones Perry, Terry LaMont, Brett Cohen, and myself.   When writing about Peter Pan the word “Neverland” is trademarked by The Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.  That fact makes this a very special musical.  It is designed to only be performed as a charity / fundraiser for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and if your school or organization would like to perform this musical you may contact me and I will put you into direct contact with the licensing department of that organization for permission to perform the musical and make a donation their charity. 

The second musical is in progress now and is an adaptation of chapters 13 – 18 from the 1902 novel The Little White Bird.  In those chapters Peter Pan was first introduced to the world.  In 1906 the publisher released a book of just those chapters as Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens.  And this is the name of the current musical in progress:  Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens.  The next performances are slated for 2024 at the Summerlin Performance Arts Theater in Las Vegas.  Because the musicals are 1 hour each both Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens and Peter Pan’s Magical World of Neverland will be performed on the same night with a 15 minute intermission.  These performances will be fundraisers for GOSH Children’s Charity and will tell much of the story of Peter pan.