One part Long John Silver, one part David Bowie. Photos by Raul Rubiera Jr. www.RaulRubiera.com

By Captain James Johnson

For the Cape Fear Regional Theater’s latest production “Peter Pan,” which will run Jan. 28 - Feb. 21, man is pitted against child, good faces off against evil, and gravity is given a harsh talking to. This week we decided to get both sides of the story: Below, we speak with the scourge of Neverland himself, Captain James Hook - as played by Broadway thespian Dirk Lumbard.

Lumbard may be familiar to those who follow the local theater scene for his roles in “12 Angry Men,” “Barnum” and “The Wizard of Oz” - but he’s also known in the national scene, having performed in Broadway’s “Music Man” and most recently the national tour of “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang” (say it with a British accent). We sat down with Capt’n Lumbard to learn more about the man behind the prosthetic appendage.

FayettevilleFEED: How does it feel playing one of the most iconic villains of all time?

Dirk Lumbard: This is really a dream role … I grew up watching the Mary Martin performance of “Peter Pan” on television every year. I think it was … hm, “The Wizard of Oz” was seen on Easter and “Peter Pan” came on around Christmas time. I particularly remember the performance of Hook - which is just hysterical.
Hook is just slightly smarter than the rest of the pirates, and they’re all idiots. He is trying to kill a little boy and he can’t even succeed at that.

F.F.: In Hook’s defense, Peter Pan can fly - so he isn’t just any little boy. He’s a flying one.

D.L.: Right. It is really a wonderful show and I was surprised at how great the script is. I have done some shows, which I won’t name, where the scripts weren’t so great, so to get this book… I think this story will live on forever. It is just one of those pieces that every child learns.

F.F.: Aside from swashbuckling and fighting off crocodiles, there is just the hint of symbolism in the story. There’s this interesting relationship between Peter and Hook, almost like a father/son rivalry.

Whatever you do - do not give this man five ... Photos by Raul Rubiera Jr. www.RaulRubiera.com

D.L.: With this case and as in with most productions of this show - I also play Mr. Darling (the father of Wendy) at the start - the father becomes Hook … The two roles even have parallel lines - it is sort of the child’s perspective of his father…
One thing I love is that with the pirates - when Hook finally catches the boys and Wendy, he announces “as for Wendy? We’ll make her our mother!” That is the child’s view of girls - these pirates, the boys, all they want is for some girl to be their mother. … That’s what everyone is searching for in the female species.

F.F.: Deep… So, besides zombies, pirates have also made a comeback in recent years, thanks in large part to a Mr. Johnny Depp. Did Depp’s portrayal at all inspire this performance?

D.L.: Only in the way that Depp went into a slight foppish thing with his performance, that I think took people by surprise - and again, it is that foppish thing that was done originally in this show - so I am absolutely taking a little from that.

F.F.: Favorite part of playing a pirate?

D.L.: Hm… Well, I get to be mean to children, and that’s great. Take their teddy bear and just ring its neck… Plus, I’m king of the heap, and that’s always great.

To buy tickets, go here.