There’s something to be said for getting exactly what you expect, and Ross Petty’s annual Christmas pantomime isn’t full of surprises. Even Kurt Browning’s performance as the aging Peter Pan is just what you’re expecting: not embarrassing, but not noteworthy either.

That goes for the rest of the production too. Chris Earle updates the classic tale to 2007, by which time Neverland has gotten so boring that The Lost Boys have aged, and Peter Pan returns to London to find new friends. But the production lags a bit before it moves to Neverland, where the delightfully vain Captain Hook (Ross Petty) and his ineffectual crew — including Long John Silver (Dani Jazzar), a ridiculous glam-rock version of Slash — provide most of the funniest scenes. Megan Hoople (Wendy) is a promising young talent, though her acting chops don’t measure up to her pipes yet.

There’s lots of audience participation to engage the kids, no shortage of puns for the adults and a blinding volume of sparkle in the costumes. Technically and visually, the production is first-rate, with a breathtaking moment when Peter and the Darlings fly to Neverland. But although the point of the show is to manufacture a spectacle by stretching a flimsy premise to the breaking point, there are too many slow, unfunny or uncomfortably stilted moments to let the adult audience relax into the experience. Several of the dance numbers are inexcusably sloppy for such a lavish production, and the product placement is sort of creepy.
 
Peter Pan certainly has its moments, like a drag cover of The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” by The Lost Boys. The cast is likeable too, though director Susan H. Schulman seems to have steered them toward the irritating side of hamminess. In the end, it’s a little too long, and too few of the numbers get off the ground.