Darling
or A Guided Adventure in Dismantling the Patriarchy
Created by Harley Brooke Walker
Directed by Kate Brehm
February 5-15, 2026
Studio Theatre
TICKET PRICING:
Adults: $35, $30, $25
Seniors/Faculty, Staff: $30, $25, $20
Students: $12
Children: $12
Peter Pan and Wendy Darling are all grown up. What happens when their shadows invite them to retell their stories, and how does their retelling shift the fabric of Neverland? Taking inspiration from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, Darling blends shadow puppetry with live actor performance, embracing MFA Puppet Arts candidate Harley Brooke Walker’s gifted artistic practice in dance, movement, and visual spectacle. An imaginative and magical adventure.
“[Walker’s work is an] exploration of time, memory, nostalgia…masterfully captured through striking visuals.” – Rachel Troy, Hollywood Fringe Festival
Harley Brooke Walker
creator | assistant director
Harley Brooke Walker (she/they) is a puppeteer, storyteller and an MFA candidate in Puppet Arts at the University of Connecticut. After entering the graduate program at UConn, Harley has focused their studies on shadow puppetry. They were lead designer, fabricator and director of shadow puppetry for Connecticut Repertory Theater’s production of The Old Man and The Old Moon. Their full length one person show Not My Grandmother’s Daughter premiered at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival with a nearly sold out run and was awarded Best of the Broadwater and nominated for Best Solo Performance. In August 2025, they will take their solo show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a month long run before hitting the ground running for Darling.
Kate Brehm
director
Kate Brehm directs, devises, performs, and teaches visual theater with puppets, physical acting, and scenic dramaturgy. She is an accomplished international puppeteer and movement director certified to teach the Margolis Method of Physical Theater. Her New York based company, imnotlost, has devised original theater and interactive events since 2003. She teaches practical and theoretical tools for performative visual thinking through her classes, Moving Objects and Performing Design.
Performances:
Thursday, February 5, 7:30pm, Preview
Friday, February 6, 8pm, Opening
Saturday, February 7, 8pm
Wednesday, February 11, 7:30pm
Thursday, February 12, 7:30, $5 Students, post-show talkback
Friday, February 13, 8pm
Saturday, February 14, 2pm, post-show talkback
Saturday, February 14, 8pm
Sunday, February 15, 2pm, mask-required performance, closing
Darling Cast
Darling Design & Production Team
Design & Production Team:
Scenic and Lighting Design – Cody Tellis Rutledge
Costume Design – Frederick Windross
Puppet Designer – Harley Walker
Composer & Conductor – Phoebe Thompson
Production Stage Manager – Autumn McDonald
Stage Manager – Davis Keaney
Props Manager – Gino Costabile
Technical Director – Hannah Trobaugh
Asst. Lighting Designer – Kaylee Arnold
Production Electrician – Aiden Shea
Assistant Sound Engineer – Jack T. Collins
Assistant Costume Designer – Emma Sowards
Wardrobe Manager – Mia Carini
Cast:
Wendy – Halli Gibson
Peter – Jiahui Guo
Darling – Ian Rothauser
Pan – Mariangelie Vélez
Puppeteers:
Allison “Alfi” Free
Alice “Rosie” Grunzke
Amy Liou
Coming soon to CRT:
CRT BOX OFFICE | 860-486-2113 | crtboxoffice@uconn.edu