Preparing to sprinkle fairy dust across America, NBC
presents "Peter Pan Live!" a bold new television production of the
iconic Broadway musical.
Allison Williams ("Girls") stars in the title role
and Academy Award winner Christopher Walken stars as the villainous Captain
Hook in the timeless classic about a boy who never wants to grow up. Tony Award
winner Christian Borle will play both Smee, the dastardly right-hand to Captain
Hook, as well as George Darling, the no-nonsense father of the Darling children.
The cast also includes five-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara
as Mrs. Darling, Taylor Louderman as Wendy Darling, one of the three Darling
children, and Alanna Saunders as Tiger Lily, the Native American who rules her
"islanders" on Neverland.
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Hairspray," "The
Sound of Music Live!") will executive produce. Rob Ashford will serve as
director and choreographer and Glenn Weiss will serve as director for live
television.
The original Broadway production of "Peter Pan,"
directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and featuring the iconic songs
"I'm Flying," "I've Gotta Crow," "I Won't Grow
Up," and "Never Never Land," opened on Broadway in 1954. The
show had a book by J.M. Barrie and a score by Mark "Moose" Charlap
& Carolyn Lee, with additional songs by Jule Styne & Betty Comden and
Adolph Green. It starred Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain
Hook, both of whom won Tonys for their performances.
While Martin earned a Tony playing Peter on Broadway, other
actresses have taken on the role for different Broadway productions. Sandy
Duncan was the title character in the 1979 stage version and Cathy Rigby
portrayed Peter throughout the 1990s on the Great White Way.
Martin and Ritchard reprised their Broadway roles in a live
telecast of the production that aired on NBC in 1955. The production was so popular that NBC
followed it in 1956 with a second live telecast and in 1960 with a videotaped
version, both also starring Martin and Ritchard. The 1960 videotaped version
was rebroadcast in 1963, 1966 and 1973 and was released on home video in 1990.
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