The long awaited announcement from Valley Youth Theatre (VYT) about its 25th Anniversary Season closer is finally over now that negotiations have been finalized for the musical Peter Pan.

“With input from season members, we chose a classic fairy tale that has only been mounted twice before in our 25 year history,” said Producing Artistic Director Bobb Cooper.

VYT first produced Peter Pan at the Herberger Theater Center in 2000 and again in 2009. This June will be the third time that Cooper has directed the classic and his 75th show as director since joining the theatre company in March 1996.

Peter Pan is the familiar story about a mischievous boy who flies with a fairy named Tinkerbell and leads a gang of Lost Boys on Neverland. His arch nemesis is Captain Hook, pirate who lost his hand in a sword duel with Peter.

This musical adaptation of the play by Sir James M. Barrie features music by Moose Charlap and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh with additional music by Jule Styne and additional lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Special flying effects will again be provided by ZFX – the same company that created amazing flying effects for the Broadway and national touring productions that featured Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan.

Auditions for nearly four dozen characters, including a few high-flying roles, will take place at VYT on April 7 and 8 at 4 p.m. Additional information is available at www.vyt.com/on-stage/auditions.

Peter Pan runs June 13 through 29 at the Herberger Theater Center. Tickets start at $20.00 and will be available online at HerbergerTheater.org or by calling the box office at 602.252.8497 starting March 31.