The audition notice for Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse’s production of “Peter Pan” excited Tanner Konrardy.

Until he got to one particular line.

“They said you had to speak in an English accent,” said Tanner, who just finished sixth grade at John F. Kennedy Catholic School in Davenport, “and be ready to fly.”

Cast as Michael in the Circa musical, which opens June 19, Tanner said “flying” has been a breeze.

“It was so fun,” he said Tuesday while the media got a behind-the-scenes look at how the characters go airborne in Circa’s new show. “I was nervous because they flew me so high.”

Zach Finn, who plays John, admitted to some pre-flight jitters.

“I was at first,” said Zach, who is going into the sixth grade at Pleasant Valley Elementary School this year. “It’s not scary; it’s just nerve-wracking.”

Circa producer Dennis Hitchcock said he wanted to do the production right, so cast members appear to fly in the downtown Rock Island theater.

“When people go to see ‘Peter Pan,’ they expect flying and they expect to be impressed and excited — ideally, overwhelmed,” he said.

So he hired Louisville, Ky.-based ZFX Inc., whose work has included Broadway productions of “Wicked,” “Peter Pan,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and many others. The company has been working with the performers onstage and backstage in helping them get airborne. It takes 10 to 11 people behind the scenes to get as many as four actors off the ground.

Brian Owens, the flying director and choreographer for ZFX, has been working with Circa performers since Sunday to teach them how to fly.

He said about half of his and the company’s work is with various productions of “Peter Pan.”

“Trying to get that information out in the course of three or four days is the most difficult” part of the job, he said.

Most of the wires used are aircraft cable that is one-eighth of an inch thick, he said, and special lighting effects make the wires nearly disappear from the eyes of the audience.

Brittany Church, the actress playing the title role, gets as high as 20 feet off the ground in some scenes, while Zach, Tanner and Lauren Van Speybroeck, who plays Wendy, are about 12 feet aloft.

Director Jim Hesselman said the flying, as well as other special effects, had to be a major part of the show without dominating it.

“I told the cast from the beginning that I know the pieces of the puzzle — they’re not going to make sense to you until we get the whole thing done,” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to them now.”

Hesselman, who has directed 15 shows in 15 years at Circa, said “Peter Pan” is, at its core, an old-fashioned musical.

“It doesn’t matter how good the tech is if you don’t believe the actor,” he added.

Church, a student at Belmont University in Nashville, said she’s quickly gained confidence in her flying as Peter.

“There was one moment when I got a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. After the first two or three times, it was no big deal,” she said. “You have to put total faith in the people backstage who are pulling the ropes.”

IF YOU GO

What: “Peter Pan”

When: Wednesday, June 17, through Saturday, Aug. 29; performances on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights as well as midday on Wednesdays and Sunday afternoons

Where: Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island

How much: $46.28 to $40.56, with discounts for senior citizens and students

Information: (309) 786-7733, Ext. 2, or Circa21.com

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