The story of Peter Pan has been embraced by households all around the world. His courageous adventures and desire to avoid growing up is commonplace in people’s minds. The story has been adapted into various movie franchises and musicals. At Playwrights Horizons, playwright Sarah Ruhl creates a new spin on the age-old tale of growing up. In her tender and heartwarming play, Ruhl takes on the topics of not growing up and the inevitability of growing old. For those who are looking for a lighthearted play sprinkled with pixie dust, “For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday” is the one.

The play takes place in Davenport, Iowa in the 1990s with five children gathering on the eve of their father’s death. Focusing on one sibling, Ann — played by the luminescent Kathleen Chalfant — Ruhl takes the audience on a journey of coping, ending in the fantasy world of Neverland. Ann is the one child who feels she has never grown up and fears the looming future. In her note to the audience, Ruhl tells us that this is a story rooted in truth as a gift to her mother.

Lisa Emory, who plays Wendy, gives a nuanced performance that can only be delivered with praise. She is the youngest daughter, and she wishes things had never changed. She separated herself from the other siblings by becoming a woman who is truly mourning the death of her father. Ron Crawford, who plays the father, has the smallest role in the show, but he is ever-present. His small walk-on moments add a great amount of emotional depth to the show and to his character. His scene of dialogue alongside Chalfant was emotional to the nth degree.

Chalfant gives the kind of performance that any actress or actor would dream of. She utterly embodies the character of a woman who is professional,0 yet still a child at heart. She creates a 70-year-old woman who could easily pass as being years younger. Chalfant delivers her lines with wit and passion, illustrating that she completely believes in what she is saying. Her Peter Pan — the oldest child — still had the usual charm, now coupled with a gripping fear that he is growing older.

Ruhl wrote a tender and yearning play that presents the idea that there is a child in us all. For some, the child is more present to the outside world; for others, the child is hidden in a dream world. At times, her writing appears a bit rushed, leaving you wanting more, but as a whole, the play can only be described with one word — beautiful. It is an uplifting and heartwarming story, one that the world certainly needs today. It is not groundbreaking in any way, but it is true in a pure form.

Ann ends with tender words, “I took off my green tights. But before I went home, I stayed in the theater for a little while longer. Where you don’t have to grow up.”

“For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday” is playing at Playwrights Horizons 416 West 42nd St. through Oct. 1st, with an official opening Sept. 13.

Email Matt Markowski at [email protected].