The version of Peter Pan now playing at Shakespeare Theatre Company has the broad strokes you might remember from the original J.M. Barrie play: There’s a flying kid who lives in Neverland, a bitchy fairy, a pirate with a hook for a hand, a big crocodile, etcetera. But in this brand new adaptation, Peter Pan and Wendy, playwright Lauren Gunderson has some feminist, progressive edits.

First, the title: director Alan Paul explains in the show’s program that the team sought out special permission from Peter Pan’s copyright holders to change the title to Peter Pan and Wendy in order to foreground Wendy. And the play wastes no time following through on that promise. This Wendy (Sinclair Daniel) is an aspiring scientist who balks at her mother’s order to move out of her childhood nursery not because she wants to remain a child, but because she wants to grow up to be like her hero, Marie Curie.

Peter Pan (Justin Mark, at best when he introduces some deadpan humor) shows up, of course, whisking Wendy and her brothers (Christopher Flaim as an anxious John and Chauncey Chestnut as a very cute Michael) to a Neverland where things look a little different from the Disney version. For one thing, Tiger Lily (Isabella Star LaBlanc, a Dakota actress) isn’t a racist stereotype, but a smart, confident young woman who isn’t sure who put this boy in charge. The play imagines Peter as the colonizer of her land, but accomplishes it a bit awkwardly: A magical rock (?) that’s controlled by dreams (??) is somehow the agent of her oppression.

The play seems least sure-footed when it comes to Peter himself. The guy has always been a stubborn brat, but in Gunderson’s hands he’s a real jerk, negging the women around him to cover up for his own insecurities. A late scene between Peter and Captain Hook (a snarling Derek Smith) gets at the toxic masculinity they share, but I’m not sure the lengthy, convoluted monologue is all that child-friendly.

Puzzling though the story might be, it’s all very stunning to look at. Projections by Jared Mezzocchi enliven the recurring bit about Peter’s shadow running away, and the flying is all done gracefully. But on opening night, there were still some seams showing: Some offstage business was visible from the house, for example, and some very human feet were peeking out from underneath the giant crocodile puppet.

The set, designed by Jason Sherwood (fresh off an Emmy win for creating the set of Fox’s Rent Live!) unfolds in enormous, intricate pieces like the pages of a storybook. That—if not some of the more convoluted aspects of this adaptation—ought to delight the kids in the audience.

Peter Pan and Wendy runs at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall through Jan. 12. Tickets $35-$134. Runtime two hours and 10 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.