Interviews

Sabrina Carpenter, Corey Fogelmanis, and August Maturo Bring Girl Meets World to Peter Pan

The three Disney favorites discuss starring in a fictional ”Breakfast Club” musical — and a real ”Peter Pan” panto.

The Boy Meets World franchise has a knack for creating a tight bond among its cast members. The stars of the original series, for instance, have not only remained friendly in the 14 years since the show left the air, more than a dozen of them have also reunited, at the request of cocreator Michael Jacobs, to reprise their roles on Disney's sequel Girl Meets World.

Similarly, the primary cast of Girl Meets World, which premiered only a year and a half ago, has developed a close connection. They're such good friends, in fact, that even during a break from filming, three of the show's young stars have opted to continue working together: Sabrina Carpenter (who plays the strong-willed Maya Hart), Corey Fogelmanis (who plays the uncannily intelligent Farkle Minkus), and August Maturo (who plays the Matthew's family's charming youngest sibling, Auggie) will be taking on the roles of the Darling siblings in Pasadena Playhouse's holiday panto Peter Pan and Tinkerbell — A Pirates Christmas.

The tight-knit trio recently chatted with TheaterMania about the differences between stage and screen, their Peter Pan characters, and their Breakfast Club-level bond.

Corey Fogelmanis as John, Kevin Quinn as Peter Pan, Sabrina Carpenter as Wendy, and August Maturo as Michael in Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
Corey Fogelmanis as John, Kevin Quinn as Peter Pan, Sabrina Carpenter as Wendy, and August Maturo as Michael in Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

What's the biggest difference between performing in Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and acting in Girl Meets World?

Auggie: Well, I haven't really done it yet, but I think the difference is that on a stage you do the whole show for the audience, once from beginning to end. On Girl Meets World, there's a lot of cameras and you do the scenes over and over again. And sometimes you do the scenes out of order.

Sabrina: The fact that it is all live, and if you mess up, it's live. But also the great thing about panto is it's very interactive, which [will make] it so fun. Also having a kid cast, if anyone messes up, you can play off of them and you can talk with your audience. That makes it harder, but it also makes you become quick on your toes.

Corey: I think the biggest difference is the scale of the acting. [On Girl Meets World] the cameras are so much closer to you and you have the booms, so you don't need to project as much. When I started doing television and film, I took some on-camera classes because I was so big from doing theater. So I kind of toned it down a little bit. But I think probably that and the instant feedback.

What is your relationship like with your costars?

Auggie: Corey is like my brother. We have sleepovers and play dates. Our families are very close. [And] Sabrina is so sweet and loving to me. She always hugs me and puts me on her lap.

Sabrina: [Auggie is] like a little brother, and I'm super excited to see what he's like in, like, four years or when we're done with [Girl Meets World]. When we first met him, we were like, "Guys, we're gonna be with him when he's, like, sixteen." So I think it's cool that I get to spend some extra time with him personally. He's such a talented little boy.

Corey's got such a passion for theater…so I was very excited to hear that he could be part of this with me. It's just going to be so many laughs. I'm very excited, he's one of my best friends. We kind of call ourselves the Breakfast Club on set because us five kids, we're such a tight-knit group, and we all have things that are so different about us.

Corey: [Auggie and I] have a very playful relationship. We kind of spend a lot of time together because his teacher on set [is my] pre-calculus [teacher], so I'll go in there and I'll do the pre-calculus and then [Auggie] will sit in there and he'll do his, like, multiplication, so I get to spend more time with him because we do that. It's fun.

[Sabrina and I] get along really well. The main four of us [on Girl Meets World], we all share a really great sense of humor, so we have a lot of fun together. It'll be really great.

Girl Meets World stars August Maturo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Corey Fogelmanis will star in Pasadena Playhouse's Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
Girl Meets World stars August Maturo, Sabrina Carpenter, and Corey Fogelmanis will star in Pasadena Playhouse's Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

Is there any other classic story that you'd want to be in with your Girl Meets World costars?

Auggie: Pinocchio would be fun. Or maybe even Robin Hood.

Sabrina: The Breakfast Club! We'll also have to turn it into a musical or something and add songs that fit — make it panto, we'll just add, like, a bunch of new songs.

Corey: It was cool, for our wrap gift, Sabrina got us little bracelets with the little Breakfast Club characters that connected to our characters on the show.

Do you relate more to your Peter Pan character or your Girl Meets World character?

Sabrina: I think I have to take a little bit from each of them. Because if I said I was Maya then you'd probably be scared. Maya's definitely got so much of me in her because I think I've grown with her and she's grown with me, and you know the sarcasm aspect is definitely there. Wendy's much more proper, precise, but still filled with wonderment — the childlike imagination, and I think I've always had that. So it's cool I get to play [someone] that's a little bit sweeter but also a little bit more adventurous.

Corey: I guess I'm probably similar to both in a way. But I think John is a little bit more quiet. I feel like he's just a smaller personality than Farkle. I'm kind of like the happy medium of that.

Auggie, what's the biggest difference between Michael and your Girl Meets World character?

Auggie: Well, I'm not sure yet, but I guess Michael can fly and Auggie can't.

Peyton Meyer as Lucas Friar, August Maturo as Auggie Matthews, Ben Savage as Cory Matthews, Rowan Blanchard as Riley Matthews, Danielle Fishel as Topanga Matthews, Sabrina Carpenter as Maya Hart, and Corey Fogelmanis as Farkle from Disney's Girl Meets World.
Peyton Meyer as Lucas Friar, August Maturo as Auggie Matthews, Ben Savage as Cory Matthews, Rowan Blanchard as Riley Matthews, Danielle Fishel as Topanga Matthews, Sabrina Carpenter as Maya Hart, and Corey Fogelmanis as Farkle from Disney's Girl Meets World.
(© DISNEY CHANNEL/Bob D'Amico)

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