An interview about my updated script and orchestrations for the 2025 run of PAN the musical at the ACT Theatre in Anacortes, WA. Join Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain and the Lost Boys on their adventures in Neverland.

Also, GoSkagit article on PAN the musical:
Read PDF PAN article

Link to PAN musical article

See you in Neverland!

Original article: https://stereostickman.com/interviews/conrad-askland-pan-the-musical/

Let’s talk about the new musical theatre show – a fresh direction with your production of PAN the musical. What inspired you to take on this project, and why the Peter Pan story?

PAN actually began for a very down-to-earth reason. Back in 2013, a local youth theatre group I cared about was on the brink of bankruptcy. A friend mentioned they were preparing to close their doors, and something in me just lit up. Almost instantly, the idea of creating a brand-new musical hit me. I can still remember the moment: the idea of Peter Pan and Neverland came into my mind, and I literally got a shiver down my spine. It felt like the idea chose me, not the other way around.

I wrote the show as a fundraiser, hoping it might give this youth theater company a fighting chance. And thankfully, it worked. The premiere production was a success, and that theatre group is still alive and thriving today. So while people may assume I chose the Peter Pan story for its magic, nostalgia, or adventure, the truth is it began as an act of rescue, an attempt to keep a space for young artists alive in my community.

From that very practical beginning came something unexpectedly meaningful, and the show has continued to evolve ever since.

When did you first write the book, music and lyrics for the show – was that while you were touring, or during down time?

Most of PAN was written at sea while I was working as a musician on a cruise ship. The very first version of PAN came to life leading up to its 2013 premiere at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA. Back then, I scored the show for a seven-piece pit orchestra, and we performed everything live with no tracks. Just musicians, adrenaline, and the thrill of seeing Neverland unfold each night.

For the 2025 production, the creative process has been a completely different journey. I actually started revisiting the script and reworking the orchestrations in July of 2024 while touring with Cirque du Soleil. There’s something about being on the road with constant travel, new cities, and the controlled chaos backstage. That energy sparks a lot of unexpected creativity. I’d be juggling Cirque cues during the day and then sneaking away at night to tweak dialogue for Wendy or rethink the sound of the Lost Boys.

The Cirque du Soleil tour was scheduled to wrap in June 2025, which created the perfect window to bring PAN back that fall. And this time I didn’t just revise the script. I went all in and created fully orchestrated soundtracks for the entire show. It’s been a chance to reimagine the world of Neverland with a much larger musical canvas, and I’m excited for audiences to hear just how big and cinematic the score has become.

How long has this whole production been in the making?

This production has been brewing for a little over a year, but in many ways it feels like it’s been gathering steam for much longer. I officially dove into updating the script in July of 2025, right in the middle of performing with Cirque du Soleil in São Paulo, Brazil. Picture this: I’d finish a Cirque show, step out into the warm Brazilian night, and then jump onto late-night Zoom calls with our director to dissect the script line by line.
Those conversations were incredibly detailed with everything from character arcs to scene pacing to the emotional temperature of individual moments. We also spent a lot of time crafting a polished presentation for theaters, shaping not just the artistic vision but how we wanted to introduce PAN to potential venues. So yes, it’s been over a year in the making, but it’s been an exhilarating, globe-trotting creative marathon.

The show runs from November 21 to December 20, 2025 at the ACT Theatre in Anacortes, WA. What can attendees expect from PAN the musical, and who is your target audience?

PAN really lives at the crossroads of comedy, high-brow musical theatre, and a kind of mischievous vaudeville energy that invites the audience right into the story. It’s one of those rare shows that adults and kids can genuinely enjoy together; not in a “sit through it for the kids” way, but in a “we both laughed at completely different things for completely different reasons” way.

At its core, this is the classic Peter Pan tale audiences know… but we throw in plenty of twists, surprises, and sideways turns that even longtime fans won’t see coming. There are jokes aimed squarely at the grown-ups, playful moments for the little ones, and then these sudden pockets of real beauty and emotional depth that let everyone breathe together.

Audiences can expect an adventure that spans the whole spectrum—moments of joy, flashes of darkness, bursts of silliness, and scenes that land with unexpected heart. It’s Neverland as a full theatrical experience: magical, unpredictable, and alive.

How did you come to assemble the perfect cast and orchestra for this show?

Because this is a community theatre production, we started with completely open public auditions, which is one of my favorite parts of the process. You never know who’s going to walk through the door: seasoned performers, brand-new faces, or someone who surprises you with exactly the spark a character needs. At the same time, both the director and I quietly reached out to a handful of people we knew we wanted to collaborate with, just to make sure certain roles had strong contenders in the mix.

But assembling the “perfect” cast isn’t something that magically happens at auditions. The real magic begins the moment rehearsals start. From day one, we create a room with focus, momentum, and trust. When actors feel supported and challenged, they start taking bigger risks, digging deeper, and growing into the fullest version of their characters.

The perfect cast isn’t something you find, it’s something you build together. And watching that transformation happen over the rehearsal process is one of the most rewarding parts of bringing PAN back to life.

How does the local experience compare to your more recent experiences of traveling the world?

Working around the world with major productions gives you access to enormous technical teams, cutting-edge gear, and entire departments devoted to making every cue, light beam, and sound effect land with precision. Community theatre is a completely different universe. There isn’t the same depth of technology or budget, so you learn to lean into the things you can control: the storytelling, the acting, and the vocal performances.
The heart of community theater is the part I find refreshing. In community theatre, the heart is right on the surface. You feel the passion, the commitment, and the joy of people who are doing this because they truly love it. That raw energy often makes up for anything we might lack in terms of flashy effects or high-end infrastructure. In some ways, it brings you back to the essence of why we make theatre in the first place: humans telling stories together, with everything they’ve got.

You’ve amassed over 1.5 billion streams on your original music so far – an immense achievement, congratulations. How does it feel to have so many people hear your music, and how do you maintain your humility and focus when creating new works such as this, given that your audience is so large and undoubtedly has expectations?

Hitting over 1.5 billion streams is surreal, but in a strange way it doesn’t change how I approach the work. I’m always moving forward—writing new music, developing shows, experimenting with multimedia projects. The numbers themselves feel almost abstract, because so much of that success is a combination of organic growth, timing and a little bit of luck.

What keeps me grounded is the process. Each new project becomes its own world, and I try to give that world the attention it deserves—its aesthetics, its architecture, its emotional tone. Some pieces take off and reach millions of people; others land quietly and find a small, devoted audience. But once I release something, it really doesn’t belong to me anymore. The public decides how it lives, breathes, and travels.

My job is simply to create with honesty and curiosity. That’s the part I can control, and that’s what keeps the work exciting, no matter how big the audience becomes.

Last time we spoke, you said: ‘the passion comes from the need to get my ideas into fixed form. If I have a musical idea, it drives me crazy until I can put it in fixed form’. In this case, is having made the musical the satisfying point, or will it not feel complete until you present it to an audience and can witness their reactions in real time?

For me, a piece of art is only halfway alive when it’s finished on the page or in the studio. It doesn’t truly take its first breath until it’s placed in front of a real, public, paying audience. People who are giving you their time, focus, and curiosity. That moment is the completion of the circle.

When I’m creating, I often imagine myself sitting anonymously in the audience, experiencing the show as if I had nothing to do with it. But I never write toward a hypothetical demographic or some imagined “target audience.” I learned early on that the moment you start guessing what a group of people will like, you lose the thread of what makes the work truthful. I create what moves me, what I find compelling, entertaining, or emotionally necessary.
The audience is always the final collaborator. Their laughter, silence, gasps, restlessness, or engagement—that’s the moment the work becomes real. Until then, it’s just potential energy. Without an audience, art is an idea trapped in a jar. It only becomes art when it meets the people brave enough to respond to it.

You also mentioned that the hard part can be knowing what you want to say. What is that you wanted to say with PAN the musical, and what do you hope people take away from the show?

At the surface level, PAN is absolutely about entertainment. It’s about giving audiences the iconic moments, the magic, and the adventure they expect from the Peter and Wendy story. But underneath that familiar framework, I wanted to explore some deeper questions that have always fascinated me.
One of the big ones is responsibility: Who is really steering the journey? Is it Peter with his reckless freedom, or Wendy with her emerging sense of maturity and consequence? Their dynamic opens a doorway into bigger reflections on youth and how adults romanticize it, fear it, try to reclaim it, or try to control it. Neverland becomes this mirror where each character’s view of youth reveals something about who they are and what they’ve lost or hope to regain.

I’m also interested in how much agency we truly have over our own personal journeys. Are we the authors of our stories, or are we just improvising our way through them? And at the heart of the most serious moment of the show, I wanted to touch on a question that feels universal: Where do belief, life, and death intersect? It’s a surprisingly profound idea hidden inside a tale we usually see as lighthearted.

What I hope people take away is a sense of wonder mixed with reflection—laughter and excitement, yes, but also something that lingers. Something that makes them think about their own path, their own youth, and the stories they’re still writing.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the upcoming shows?

One thing I’m especially excited about is that PAN is now fully available for community theaters to produce. The show has already proven itself both artistically and financially, and with this new 2025 update, it’s more accessible than ever. We now have fully orchestrated soundtracks that make it possible for theaters of all sizes to stage a big, cinematic version of the show without needing a large pit orchestra.

If directors or producers are looking for a family-friendly musical that still packs emotional depth, action, humor, and a touch of theatrical magic, PAN is a fantastic fit. Anyone interested in bringing the show to their community can reach out to me directly through my website at https://conradaskland.com/. I’d love to see PAN take flight in new places.

For this run I’ve created all-new fully orchestrated soundtracks and also updated the script. PAN premiered in 2013 at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA. I’m really looking forward to the audience response to all the new script tweaks, updated orchestrations and of course the performances of this wonderful local cast.

Fun Fact: This is the first time I’ll be able to actually watch one of my shows from the audience because I’m usually conducting from the pit. Hope to see you there and watch out for that crocodile!

PAN the Musical. Book, Music, Lyrics and Orchestrations by Conrad Askland

PAN the Musical, my second full-length original musical, will be available to watch online starting Sunday November 21, 2021 at 5pm PST/8pm EST

PAN is all original music and lyrics based on the classic story “Peter and Wendy” by J.M. Barrie. Join Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Wendy and the Lost Boys in Neverland.

This is the classic Peter Pan story but of course I added a few twists and turns into my adaptation. A family-friendly musical theater show that was very well received by audiences at its premiere.

The filming is from the 2013 community theater premiere performance run, live on-stage at the Historic Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon, WA. Directed by Joe Bowen and presented by META Performing Arts

You can find my interview on PAN the Musical, trailer excerpts and my other video and musical creations on the Conrad Askland YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/ConradAskland

PAN the musical is the story of Peter Pan and Wendy, based on the beloved classic story by J.M. Barrie.

• PAN the musical
• Book, Music and Lyrics by Conrad Askland
• Based on “Peter and Wendy” by J.M. Barrie
• Premiere September 2013
• Historic Lincoln Theatre, Mount Vernon, WA
• Presented by META Performing Arts

Excerpts from PAN the musical

Darling Family

Just a Little Girl

One Away

Darling Lament

“Lost Boys” from PAN the musical at the Historic Lincoln Theater, September 2013. Book, music and lyrics by Conrad Askland based on “Peter and Wendy” by JM Barrie.

I wrote “PAN the musical” for META Performing Arts, a youth theater non-profit group in Mount Vernon, WA. PAN is a new version of the Peter Pan story that combined audience interaction, songs for children and some high brow musical theater as well. One critic said it was the perfect show for children AND adults to enjoy together.

PAN the musical website at: http://www.PanMusical.com

This “Lost Boys” song is a slight departure from the rest of the music in this Peter Pan musical. I wanted the song to be very fun for the children to perform, open to choreography interpretation and a piece to encourage audience interaction.

For me, and I imagine most other writers who have adapted J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan story, a big challenge was to overcome the boredom that easily sets in before the Darling Children and Peter Pan get to Neverland. The setup sections in the Darling house can seem exceedingly drawn out and tedious. I did create sound effects years ago for the straight play version of Peter Pan and I think it took al complete 30-35 minutes before they children even got to Neverland. Neverland is where things start to get fun.

So the Lost Boys song is also an opportunity to shake the audience up and make a clear announcement that the games have begun (along with making many edits to the preceding sections to speed up our arrival to Neverland).

If I just heard this one song from PAN, I would probably think: “Ok, just another Peter Pan musical.” But where this piece fits in my PAN score and script make a very nice delineation between high brow musical theater to something that’s very easy to digest for a contemporary audience.

PAN is a very lucrative show for theater groups to perform. It draws a large audience and delivers on expectations to both children and adults. If a children’s theater group is having financial trouble then this is a good show to regain financial footing. The show also has wonderful teachable acting moments for a wide variety of characters and acting styles.

The scripts and scores are completed for my latest musical – “PAN” (http://www.PanMusical.com). Even though the show had a community theater premiere in Sept. 2013, the follow-up process of completing the scores is very intense. Edits to script and score from the live run have to be incorporated. Tech notes, alternate melodies, clarifications to script and tech, and the never ending process of adding as much complete information as possible to the final orchestral score.

The excerpt that meant a lot to me from the reviews was: “Askland creates more magic.” (From the Entertainment News Northwest magazine PAN review). And of course the cast and crew from the community theater run by META Performing Arts were wonderful and passionate to work with. And my favorite part of the live show? Hearing all the young kids go berserk trying to help save Peter Pan. So much fun.

The full score is just shy of 600 pages. PAN has a lot of wonderful underscores to highlight the different moods of the show. I believe this show will do very well in it’s current form. I absolutely love the show and local audiences gave an overwhelming enthusiastic reaction. But where it goes from here? Time will tell…

The scores will be sent off and then we’ll see where it goes from here. So, how final is the current version? Well, a musical is never finished. I have heard of authors making changes to dialogue YEARS are a show was in it’s professional run. But to me, this version is pretty darn complete for a professional run. A strong theater group can take the script and scores in their current form and run with it. It is complete. So now, off to the next project!

FINAL ORCHESTRATION FOR PAN THE MUSICAL (as of 06/14)

• Key 1/Conductor
• Key 2
• Oboe
• Bb Clarinet
• Tuba
• Bass
• Drums

FINAL SCRIPT FOR PAN (version 2.22)

106 pages. Total running time just under 2 hours including intermission, overture, entr’acte and bows.

Act One: 59 minutes

Act Two: 42 minutes

As of June 2014 I have the following available for PAN the musical:

• Full score – Every note and underscore fully scored for 7 musicians and vocals.
• Piano/Vocal score – All the vocal selections from PAN with piano rehearsal score.
• All musicians scores including Key 1/Conductor score.
• PAN script v. 2.22 with detailed stage notes for technical elements of “flying”, Tinker Bell effects, basic character positions and stage directions
• Practice tracks available for all songs for vocalists and musicians to practice with
• Live audio recording of all songs and underscores for musical director/conductor reference
• Video of the premiere show (The video is on a private YouTube listing and available by request)

This was such a fun show to work on, and the core drive of the show is a mix of audience interaction, high brow musical theater and vaudeville style gags for kids and adults alike. I really do believe this is the perfect show for adults to experience with their young children. It’s an exciting ride, sometimes funny and sometimes very dark and scary for youngsters. And at the end, the adults and kids have really experienced an adventure together. PAN is created for live performance and audience interaction.

From reviewer Lily Olason from Entertainment News Northwest Magazine:

“Askland creates more magic”

“…spectacular musicianship”

“…this show delights believers of any age”

“Askland’s take on the Neverlandian pirate troupe is excellent”

“Captain Hook (Peter Whited) is delightfully menacing”

“Throughout, the musicality and original score stuns”

“It’s as much fun to watch the show as to listen”

“The aesthetics of this show…are a knockout”

“Choreographed fabulously by Glynna Goff”

“Forty-year-olds will love this as much as their third-grader”

“It is certainly appropriate for kids”

PAN the musical “asks the big questions, it makes you think, and hands you a mirror”

“Pan: The Musical is a local, skilled and professional-caliber production with a big heart”

(Begin review of new Peter Pan musical)

Straight on ’til morning

September 20th, 2013