Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County. The lead in the Gilpin School’s production of Peter Pan has never acted on stage before. She has never sung in front of an audience and she has never danced in public.

Senior Bailey Hanssen, however, knows she’ll nail the part of the leader of the Lost Boys because she has been hooked on the show since she was a child.

“I watched Hook and then all the Peter Pans and I sang along with “I Won’t Grow Up,” and when I saw that the school was going to do it, and being a senior, I knew I had to give it a shot.”

Bailey says she has never really liked any of the previous plays enough to audition but she always loved Peter Pan. Although she’s never acted on stage, she has grown up entertaining her four siblings and “acting like a fool came with the job.”

Besides that, she has always found laughing to be better than crying, pretending better than being bored. She has never been in a choir, but enjoys singing to herself, but never in the shower.

“And I am not a dancer. My parents say I am as inflexible as a broomstick,” says Bailey, who tried out for the lead role, but also for one of the Lost Boys. She was excited but also nervous, knowing she was going up against experienced actors.

At the audition she got one page to read, the part where Peter tells Wendy he has listened to her read Cinderella to her brothers.

Director Hanna Raynes directed her first Gilpin musical last year. She says she had never seen Bailey in school before, but she came up with the strongest audition.

“I just had a good feel about her,” says Hanna. “Bailey has a quality of spunk and energy that lends itself to the role of the forever young boy who has captured the hearts of generations of won’t-grow-up fans.”

Bailey’s best friend, senior Nina Halsted, plays the role of Wendy, who becomes Peter’s ally. Nina has performed on the Gilpin stage since she was in fifth grade and is comfortable performing in front of an audience.

“This is a really big production, the most challenging I have been in, and I am really getting into it. The part I enjoy the most is the flying. The hardest part is getting my pronunciation. But this is my favorite role.” says Nina.

Seventh grader Aidan Freeman plays the role of John, Wendy’s brother. Aidan is also a veteran of the Gilpin stage. “I love singing and have sung at school many times. My mom is a singer and has been helping me for a long time. The flying is going to be fun and is going to look really cool.”

Aiden says his favorite line comes in the fight scene with the pirates, when he gets to say, “I’ll cut you to pieces.”

The seventh grader plays folk, electric, and acoustical guitar and the saxophone.

During the week before spring break, the leads were practicing using the fabrics and ropes in the flying scenes. The fabrics are tied to a metal box in the ceiling and the floor and the actors have been trained by profession aerialist Angela D’Allesandro who has been coming from Boulder to assist the actors.

Bailey says the flying part is fun – “the whoosh of air as the rope pulls you across the stage.” The scene where all the actors are flying at once took some getting used to, but they have learned how to control their directions to avoid flying into each other.

Michael is played by Noah Hockley and Tinkerbell/Violinist is played by Isabelle Szuch. Gilpin Elementary and Montessori Elementary School students will play the mermaids and the fairies, adding to the middle/high school cast.

Peter Pan is a family event, a must see musical.

Don’t miss the Gilpin County School’s spring production of Peter Pan and Wendy. This is a big show, featuring students from the elementary, middle, and high schools.

Shows will be performed on Thursday, April 9, 7 pm; Friday, April 10, 7 pm; and Saturday, April 11, at noon. Tickets are available at the door: $10 - Adults, $5 - Students