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Pan Handler

Cathy Rigby went from superstar athlete to Broadway performer, and now she’s headed to Branson.

Photo courtesy Craig Schwartz

Cathy Rigby has a lot in common with Peter Pan: love of adventure, a penchant for mischief and a reluctance to depart from the familiar. Cathy should know; she’s been playing Peter Pan on stage on and off since 1974, with several forays on Broadway and a Tony nomination under her costume belt. Peter has become a part of her, and at 58, she’s bringing Neverland, the Lost Boys and plenty of pixie dust to the Branson stage.

Cathy and her husband, Tom, started thinking about bringing Peter Pan to Branson more than a year and a half ago. The two own a production company based out of California, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, which has launched several quality local and traveling productions, including Happy Days, Ring of Fire and Jesus Christ Superstar. But bringing a show to the family-friendly stages of Branson—a town with plenty of music and theater but lacking in actual musical theater—sounded like an appealing venture. And what better musical than Peter Pan? The show brims with adventure, magic and lots of flying, and Cathy is geared to perform her signature role. “It’s a fun show to do,” says Cathy. “It keeps me in shape, feeling young, involved with children, which I love. And we’ve never played Branson.”

Cathy’s fame didn’t originate from her production company, her stellar performance at the 1991 Tony Awards or the list of characters she’s portrayed, including Peter. She was inducted onto the world stage as an elite gymnast. Just a teenager, Cathy became a national fixture at the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. She placed silver on the balance beam at the 1970 World Championships, the first U.S. gymnast to medal at an international competition. But at 19, Cathy retired from gymnastics. She dabbled in sports commentary for ABC and pitched advertisements for Stayfree maxi pads, but Cathy couldn’t fight the desire to perform. She began taking acting and voice lessons, and made her first stage appearance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. And the balance beam turned out to be a lot different than the stage. “The biggest difference is turning off emotionally during gymnastics,” says Cathy. “You don’t want to be afraid or scared during competition. It’s the opposite with theater.”

Other shows followed: Meet Me in St. Louis, Annie Get Your Gun, Seussical and, of course, Peter Pan. She first donned Peter’s sword and tights in 1974, and she has since taken the show on several national tours and Broadway runs.

But Branson, says Rigby, will be a new challenge. She’ll be working with a cast of regional talent, including Broadway veterans and locals Bob Westenberg and Kim Crosby. For Cathy, who has battled Captain Hook at least 3,000 times on dozens of stages, every performance is distinctive. The combination of differing venues, actors and audiences ensures that each show isn’t just a repeat of the night before. She knows the role of Peter by heart, but it’s a part she’s constantly changing, adding to, modifying. “Every time, you are alive on stage,” says Cathy. “The lines are the same, but the emotions are not.”

The 2004 national tour of Peter Pan was billed as her farewell tour, but she has since come back to the role in touring productions and now in Branson. “I really believed I wouldn’t come back at the time, but then you miss it,” says Cathy. “If I can be believable, if I can keep up with the part, then why not?”

Like her predecessor Mary Martin, who originated the role in 1954 and played Peter well into her 50s, Cathy will know when it’s time to set Peter down, whether it’s the physical demands of stage flying or just a desire to hand the torch to someone else. But for now, Cathy’s holding on to the boy who never grows up.