Coming this week: 'Pan' backstory, 'Laura' and bells, bells, bells

Before Neverland

"Peter and the Starcatcher" is an elaborate and action-filled telling of the backstory of Peter Pan, a nameless orphan sold to a disreputable captain with sinister intent and a cargo of magical material. The boy meets the daughter of an English lord and the two battle for their lives amid mermaids, pirates and other colorful characters. Perseverance Theatre's season opener is great fare for the whole family. The show opens Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 16 in Sydney Laurence Theatre. Tickets are available at centertix.net.

But she's only a dream

Or is she? Anchorage Community Theatre presents a stage version of Otto Preminger's classic 1944  film noir "Laura." A beautiful advertising executive is murdered and the investigating detective starts to fall in love with the mysterious dead woman. No obvious suspect can be identified … until the victim reappears in the middle of the night and the investigation gets turned on its head. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 16, and Thursdays are two-for-one ticket days. Get yours at actalaska.org.

Ringing out the tunes

Who is Sylvia? Well, you may not know Sylvia Rylander by sight, but her hands will ring a bell … several bells, actually. Rylander is a handbell soloist and she'll present a program of music by a range of composers from Jean Sibelius to Leroy Anderson at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Anchorage Lutheran Church, 1420 N Street. The concert is free, though donations are accepted to keep this series of community concerts going. Marcia Stratman will accompany Rylander at the piano.