A Peter Pan Proposal

From the "Wendy Lady's Perspective"

I know that every girl has a crush on Peter Pan but my condition was serious. I used to have night terrors as a child, nightmares that would keep me from sleeping. They were so vivid. The only break in all these nightmares was this one vivid dream that reoccurred. It was Peter Pan, at my window, asking me on a date. He would tell me that night what adventure we would go on the next night so I would be ready. One day my mom found my sequined ice skating outfit wadded up under my pillow with my skates. She asked me of course what it was doing there. “Peter Pan is coming and we are going iceskating!” This passion for Pan grew as I did and I watched the video (Mary Martin of course) over and over and wore it out twice. For Halloweens, I was Smee, Hook, Pan, Tink, Wendy, you name it!

I grew up but my love never faded and I moved to Philadelphia where I met Chris. It was only a few weeks into getting to know him that he told me he was cast as Peter Pan. His way of letting me know was a text that read, “Will you be my Wendy?” I called my mom and told her that if this wasn’t THE ONE, than it was a cruel joke. It took Chris a while to stop being a “Lost Boy” but one day he decided to move to Philadelphia with me. (He was living in NYC)

He was out of town on work one weekend so I didn’t suspect him home. My friend tells me we should go to an arts/food fest down by the piers. “Get dolled up!” She says. Little did I know Christopher had called my mom and my best friend from Ohio AND HIS childhood friend Tony from Oregon to come down. He got the hook up on an old Spanish tall ship that happened to be docked in Philly this weekend (because he is magic).

We walk down to the pier and apparently Tony was stationed to greet me with a “Wendy Gown” ( I am a costumer, Chris thinks of everything). My friend Kristen says “We should talk to this pirate.” I am thinking “whatever I am hungry” but I do a double take and realize it is Chris’ friend. “TONY what are you doing here!!??” I scream…then it hits me…oh wow… Tony you are dressed as Hook…what. are. you. doing. here? It was then that I went into an elated shock. They try to dress me in the Wendy gown and escort me onto the ship. The rest is a dream.

-Moriah

FROM CHRIS' (Pan's) PERSPECTIVE:

ALTHOUGH Moriah can always tell a story better than I can (she says) I have a few more details on the SETTING UP of the story.

Let me first say that proposing to this woman is the best thing I have ever done. That being said it stressed me out doing it! In the best way. As an actor, I was actually on a film shoot in Central Pennsylvania the weekend I had planned it. The shoot was running long and the crew asked if I could be there AN EXTRA DAY OR TWO to get all my shots. I told them NO I AM SUPPOSED TO PROPOSE TO MY LADY TOMORROW. Sufficed to say they got my shots done that day.

IN PLANNING I was thinking out loud with some friends of how to propose to her. "What if I got the Peter Pan costume from the play I was in and come to her window!?" My friends shot the idea down of ME, in disguise, climbing to a second story window at night in South Philadelphia. "You will be shot, arrested or both," they said. Well that ended that. "If ONLY I could find a Jolly Roger, a PIRATE SHIP to come down from on high and propose to her." I have always been one to dream big but I never thought I could find a ship like this. My friend's Ashley's eyes lit up.

"My dad works in nautical adhesives," she said.
"What? Boat glue?"
"Boat glue. He works in boat glue and has donated a large amount to help this floating historical Spanish Tall Ship "The Gazella" to remain operational! It is a long shot because they sail all up and down the east coast but I will find out."

I will ALWAYS go with a long shot. A week passes, I desperately want to propose June 25th (fourth of july and fireworks are her favorite) because we would be going to her home in Ohio and I wanted her grandmother and mother to see the ring... I got the call. "Chris you are welcome to come aboard and propose to your wife to be. We happen to be docking in Philadelphia the weekend before fourth of July would that work?"

"...uh, wow, yup, that would work fine."
"One problem Chris we do have an event on that boat that evening."
"Oh, no, uh, wait can we still do it? What is happening?"
"Well we are inviting people on board to watch the FIREWORKS that will be fired off of a barge not far from the boat that night."
"Fireworks?"
"Fireworks Chris."
"I uh... think we can make that work. I guess I will propose at sunset and then we will watch fireworks."
"Sounds like a pretty good plan to me Chris."

***And that happened***