Ahoy, mateys! It’s time to set sail for Cascades Theatre, where the rambunctious “Peter and the Starcatcher” is about to weigh anchor. A prequel to “Peter Pan,” the clever and energetically paced show is a clipper ship of a ride.

Rick Elice and Wayne Barker adapted “Peter and the Starcatcher” from the similarly titled 2004 Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson novel “Peter and the Starcatchers.”

With a couple of great songs included in it, the Tony Award-winning show is actually billed as a play with music — as opposed to full-fledged musical — and began its onstage life in La Jolla, California, in 2009, before moving to the off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop in 2011.

The following year, the play (with music) moved to Broadway, where it was seen by, among others, John Kish, director of Cascades Theatrical Company’s production.

“I did a show at the New York Theatre workshop, so I was always watching that theater,” he said. “It ended up being a little off-Broadway theater show that then got picked up by big Broadway producers. It went to Broadway, and they kept it as is, from little theater to big theater. It still sold out and was the most nominated show of the season, so that was cool. It was like a little guy made it big.”

At the time, Kish lived in New York. “Some of the guys that were pirates rode the subway train with me in Washington Heights. They were just poor theater guys, living in Washington Heights, and so I’d ride the train with them and see them and talk to them, and I just knew a lot about the show, and I loved it. I love physical acting.”

“Peter and the Starcatcher” has physical acting galore, evident from the moment the mix of sailors, orphans and pirates storm the stage — 12 actors in all, playing multiple roles.

The show and its humor are fitting for adults and children, noted Kish. Like “Shrek” and other well-written modern “kids” stories, some jokes will fly over the heads of that portion of audience. That won’t come as a surprise if you’re a fan of the source novel (which eventually became a series totaling five books). In their book, Barry and Pearson deftly stitched together humor and 
action while simultaneously coming up with a gripping back story for Peter Pan, his friends and his enemies. Playwright Elice pulls off a similar accomplishment with the script, a commingling of zany physical humor, crackling dialogue and action-oriented plot.

The Bend cast stars Matt Marson as our titular hero, but this is a prequel: When we meet him, he’s a nameless 13-year-old orphan, joined by two other orphaned friends, Ted (Gracie Conant) and Prentiss (Jarod Gatley), the latter of whom believes himself to be the trio’s leader — he is the oldest, after all.

The boys are assigned to the Neverland, the slower of two ships setting sail for the land of Rundoon, where the lads are supposed to work for the king of Rundoon. The other vessel is the fastest ship on the water, the Wasp, captained by Robert Falcon Scott (Chase Johnston). Aboard the ship is Lord Astor (Paul Fairbanks), tasked with guarding a valuable trunk belonging to The Queen.

The other ship is the slower Neverland (ahem) aboard which is a decoy trunk full of sand.

The Neverland is captained by Slank (Paul Fairbanks), a ne’er-do-well who switches the trunks. Also aboard are assorted scalawags, the orphans, along with Astor’s daughter, Molly (Skylar Adams) and her doting nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake, played by Charlie Thiel, who seems to be having the time of his life.

Thiel also plays a mermaid, Teacher, on the island where the characters end up, instead of Rundoon.

It turns out, though, that the Wasp has actually been taken over by pirates, led by the nefarious Black Stache (Joshua Curtis). The pirates are nonplussed after they discover the trunks have been switched. Hijinks ensue on the high seas, made even higher by a storm.

The island is home to a tribe known as the Mollusks. And a giant crocodile. And did we mention the mermaid? You see where this is going.

Though there are wooden chests and hefty ropes and other necessities, the set is otherwise largely minimal. The actors (and lighting) work to fill in the gaps, crawling between low ropes to convey the tight confines of the ship.

“I love physical acting (and) storytelling theater. It’s imaginative, and it’s not perfect,” Kish said. “Peter and the Starcatcher” is a winning, if different, way for CTC to kick off its season.

That’s by design, he said.

“They’re turning a new leaf at CTC and trying to get different directors in there, and different things. How I’m using the space, and even the show in general, is just different, giving CTC a little dust-off, I think. It’s what I’m hoping for.”

Speaking of sailing, Kish, like several other Bend actors are in the process of doing, is preparing to sail on. He told GO! he’s planning a September move to Portland, where he’ll have more opportunities to use his horticulture degree and do professional theater.

“I can start working my way to an (Actors’) Equity card, the union card,” he said. “(It’s) just the next step. Bend was great, but it’s just time to move on.”

Bon voyage.

With a couple of great songs included in it, the Tony Award-winning show is actually billed as a play with music — as opposed to full-fledged musical — and began its onstage life in La Jolla, California, in 2009, before moving to the off-Broadway New York Theatre Workshop in 2011.

What: “Peter and the Starcatcher”

When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Friday; additional performances 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, till Sept. 3; Thursday preview 7:30 p.m.

Where: Cascades 
Theatre, 148 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend

Cost: $20, $16 
seniors, $13 students; Thursday preview $10, available at door only

Contact: cascadestheatrical.org or 541-389-0803