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    The Arthropologist

    Lucky lady: Cathy Rigby never has to grow up in Peter Pan, but she can revealher secrets of flying

    Nancy Wozny
    Dec 12, 2012 | 10:49 am
    • Cathy Rigby flies in every performance of Peter Pan.
      Photo by Isaac James/Theatre Under the Stars
    • At first, Rigby was more terrified about singing than acting.
      Photo by Isaac James/Theatre Under the Stars
    • Rigby stands tall in this scene from Peter Pan.
      Photo by Isaac James/Theatre Under the Stars
    • A scene from Peter Pan
      Photo by Isaac James/Theatre Under the Stars
    • Captain Hook, center, gets his time in the spotlight in Peter Pan.
      Photo by Isaac James/Theatre Under the Stars

    Once, while playing with my then 4-year old, I couldn't fit through a tunnel on the playground. "Too many birthdays," replied my son, nodding his head sadly.

    Growing up means never being able to fit into small spaces, and other horrors. No wonder J. M. Barrie's eternal mischievous boy Peter Pan continues to hold our imagination. Adults just get cut out of all kinds of fun stuff.

    Birthdays don't quite have the same effect for hi-flying Cathy Rigby, who turns 60 today, which will occur on her second performance of Peter Pan, presented by Theatre Under the Stars at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, through Dec. 22.

    "I was used to flying from my own muscle power on the parallel bars and high beam. Here, the wires do all the lifting."

    The last time Rigby flew over my head, I had the little chap sitting on my lap, and it was at the old Music Hall. Some two decades later, Rigby returns to her favorite role, flying through the snazzy Hobby Center. She toured with Pan again in 2006, but it's been a while since we saw the former superstar gymnast soar over our heads.

    I told the Rigby about my little fellow crouching down as she whisked by, and how much we enjoyed the show as a family. "That's always what it's like for families seeing the show," said Rigby during our lively phone chat. "People remember when and with whom they saw it. It's such a sentimental show."

    Rigby in the sky with wires

    Rigby loves to talk about the friendly skies above the audiences' heads. "Do you remember your first time in flight?," I asked the Olympian turned Broadway star. "Of course. It was never an issue. I felt safe right away. I was used to flying from my own muscle power on the parallel bars and high beam. Here, the wires do all the lifting."

    She is quick to offer the fact that she doesn't fly alone. Her pilot is Paul Rubin of ZFX. They work together to create an air ballet like none other. Flying technology has become even more sophisticated since Rigby took her first flight. So much more above air dancing is possible now.

    As for flying at 60, Rigby swears by Vitamin B and plenty of core training, including lots of those grueling planks.

    This time around she will be using both a double and single harness, allowing all kinds of complicated air candy. "We are going higher faster, which keeps it so much fun for me," she said. "Expect more flipping and soaring, too. "

    It takes two people to fly Pan, one takes her up and down, the other side to side. "Trust is everything," she said. "It's like partnering in ballet. We have to breathe together, but their hands are on the ropes and not me."

    The actual flying requires precision, exact attention to form and the ability to not cross the wires. As for flying at 60, Rigby swears by Vitamin B and plenty of core training, including lots of those grueling planks. "Doing a two-hour show eight times a week keeps me in shape," she added. "But really, this time around I'm able to relax into the part."

    Flying is easy, singing is terrifying

    When you hear Rigby belt out, "I'm Flying," she does conjure Mary Martin more than a little bit. Dancing, flying and even the physicality of acting came easy to Rigby. She was a performer as an athlete, known for her grace and charm in addition to her extraordinary abilities. Learning to sing did not come so easily.

    Rigby didn't just go from the high beam to the Broadway stage overnight. "I studied acting and singing for seven years. After the first three years, I wondered why I am doing this?," Rigby remembered. "It was terrifying. For me, the greater risk was singing."

    "I studied acting and singing for seven years. After the first three years, I wondered why I am doing this? It was terrifying. For me, the greater risk was singing."

    It was here that her elite athlete mentality came in handy.

    "In sports, you learn that with effort you get better. I couldn't give up. I needed to work harder. So I practiced every day for seven years. A little obsessive compulsive behavior helped too."

    Rigby powered through the acting and singing training, earning her a unique spot in the history of musical theater. She just wrapped up a production of Steel Magnolias before starting this tour.

    The role is vocally demanding as all that crowing can take a toll on the vocal chords. " I need to sing in a lower voice than my normal pitch, so I need to be very careful not to strain my vocal chords." She makes sure that she limits her social activity between shows, drinks lots of water and smoky rooms are off limits.

    Peter Pan gets a make over

    Rigby doesn't just play Pan, this is in part her production, which has been spiffed up especially for this tour. "There are some bright, shiny and new special effects. Tiger Lily hangs from silks Cirque du Soleil style, and the sword fighting is really exciting," she said. "But none of the new things are designed to take you away from the heart of this show. We have assembled a terrific cast as well."

    She is super excited about coming to Houston because 15 children from TUTS' Humphreys School of Musical Theatre will appear as some of the lost boys. "It's great for the cast to work with new people."

    As for what keeps her engaged after 3,000 flights as the little boy who won't grow up, Rigby has a theory. "We all long for adventure and the innocence of childhood."

    "Oh, say hi to your son," Rigby added before saying good bye. "I suppose he grew up."

    A sneak peek at Peter Pan

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    Metallica concert review

    Heavy metal legends Metallica roll into Houston with thunderous riffs

    Craig Hlavaty
    Jun 15, 2025 | 12:59 am
    Metallica concert Houston NRG Stadium 2025
    Photo by Brittaney Penney
    Metallica played a career-spanning set on June 14, 2025.

    Heavy metal is a baton that has been passed on for generations now. Now, more than ever, metal has turned into family entertainment. On Saturday night at NRG Stadium, the Metallica family reunion left ears ringing and hearts full, with a few scorch marks from hellacious pyro.

    Metallica — 44 years into this — is a frenetic, multigenerational machine. Four gray hairs from San Francisco that can still pack out a football stadium. The current lineup of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo is the longest-running one in the band’s history.

    Hetfield’s frenzied screech from 1981 is now a smoky, barrel-chested growl. Hammett’s metallic, exploratory guitar lines are a part of the metal vocabulary, and Trujillo — still the new guy — has been the sturdy thunder below it all. Urlich’s reliable drumming is its stadium-honed heart.

    Openers Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera provided direct support, with ST serving as a bracing thrash appetizer. Keeping it all in the family, Trujillo’s 21-year-old son Tye is now playing bass for ST, just as Robert did in the ‘90s. The band’s set whizzed by before most fans were able to enter the building, but those who arrived early witnessed a masterclass in ‘80s hardcore thrash.

    Texas sludge legends Pantera have been celebrating the lives of departed brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul since the group reformed in 2022. Collapsing in acrimony in 2001, the band and its fans never got a proper sendoff, and, with the violent shooting death of Dimebag and Paul’s death due to heart disease, the current lineup only features two original members in lead singer Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown. Guitar hero Zakk Wyle, stepping into Dimebag’s shoes, is a Hall Of Fame avatar for Dimebag, perhaps the only living human that could have delivered the appropriate riffs. Anthrax’s Charlie Benante now handles drumming duties.

    It’s 2025, and I’m watching a Pantera pit on the floor of NRG Stadium from a comfortable seat in the end zone. Anselmo, seemingly ageless, stalked Metallica’s sprawling, jaggedly circular stage barefoot and howling, splitting the difference between Henry Rollins and Rob Halford. Heathen anthems “Walk” and “Cowboys from Hell” still slice with precision, just as they sounded in the adjacent Astroarena in 1995.

    Before Metallica hit the stage around 9 pm, bored fans passed the time by doing the wave in NRG Stadium, but it only made a few laps before fizzling out.

    Kicking off with “Creeping Death” from 1984’s Ride The Lightning, Metallica reveled in rumbling NRG Stadium’s foundations.

    “For Whom The Bell Tolls” sounds as apocalyptic as ever, one of the early highlights of the night. The band has embraced it’s Load and Reload era recently, with the latter’s “The Memory Remains” and “Fuel” making setlist appearances. The crowd deftly filled in for the late Marianne Faithfull during the former. There’s still a lot of love for ‘90s eyeliner Metallica.

    Metallica’s 2023 album 72 Seasons saw the quartet reconvening for a loose and unrelenting collection of songs. “Lux Æterna” and “If Darkness Had a Son” have a slithery swing to them, borne from those famous Metallica jam sessions that sometimes appear on YouTube.

    1991’s “Nothing Else Matters” is still a romantic ballad for metalheads, a Gen X wedding staple.

    Few hard rock bands can still pack a football stadium in 2025, which makes Metallica among the last of a dying breed. All in their early ‘60s, they’re not unlike a performance hot rod team with 30 or so souped-up machines in the garage that only they know how to drive. They just have to take a few more breaks than they used to in between laps. Those four guys together still make magic via extremely loud noises.

    Closing out with “Master of Puppets and “Enter Sandman,” Metallica pushed Houstonians out into a humid Saturday night, covered in each other’s sweat, looking forward to the next Metallica family reunion.

    Setlist

    Creeping Death
    For Whom the Bell Tolls
    Ride the Lightning
    The Memory Remains
    Lux Æterna
    If Darkness Had a Son
    Kirk and Rob Doodle ("Hit the Lights" and ZZ Top's "La Grange")
    The Day That Never Comes
    Fuel
    Orion
    Nothing Else Matters
    Sad but True
    One
    Seek & Destroy
    Master of Puppets
    Enter Sandman

    Metallica concert Houston NRG Stadium 2025
      

    Photo by Brittaney Penney

    Metallica played a career-spanning set on June 14, 2025.

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