Theatre alumnus makes his return to Broadway

09/26/2012 5:25 PM

By Brigitte Graf ’13

Making his return to Broadway this fall is Bradley Theatre alumnus Eric Petersen ’03 who will be starring as Ted in the musical hit “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

The show is the prequel to the beloved children’s story of Peter Pan. The musical takes audiences back to a time before Peter learned to fly, before the Lost Boys banded together and before Captain Hook had his hook.

“‘Peter & The Starcatcher’ is such a beautiful, cool, theatrical, moving play that I am so excited to be a part of,” Petersen said.

Petersen began acting in high school productions, but didn’t decide to major in theatre until his senior year. While he wasn’t always set on becoming a professional actor, he views his time at Bradley as formative in helping him set his career path in motion.

“I always was a class clown but once I really got into studying the craft of acting it became real for me and I loved it,” he said. “The fact that I went to a slightly smaller school gave me the many opportunities to really learn how to be an actor. I was always in a show and got learn about many different styles of theatre, and play leading roles in many of them.”

In his time since Bradley, Petersen has built up quite the resume, playing Shrek in a U.S. tour of “Shrek the Musical” and guest staring on several well-known TV shows such as the Disney Channel’s “Pair of Kings” and NBC’s “Law and Order.”

Since Petersen is joining the current cast of “Peter and the Starcatcher” he his keeping himself busy with preparations for his debut.

“Most of cast has been working on this production since the original workshops a few years ago,” he explained. “The trick is knowing your stuff and bringing your energy to the piece, but also honoring what they have already created.”

With five Tony Awards to boast about, “Peter and the Starcatcher” is sure to make waves when it begins showing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City in October.