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I hope they continue to do this. There are a lot of people who can't afford or don't have access to Broadway caliber musicals. I agree that it was way too late for children.
I think NBC always has plans to do The Music Man next and Fox is doing Grease sometime in 2015.
Grease will probably have the same complaints that Sound of Music had since its such a well known film. And like Sound of Music the stage version is slightly different from the movie, so there will be the complaints of Fox trying to change the movie.
I also wonder why they have a female play the role of Peter Pan; there has to be a multitude of talented teenage boys who could play the part very well.
My local news explained it ...
it's a mix of English law that became a tradition. According to the book "J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: the Real Story Behind Peter Pan," back when "Peter Pan" was first being staged in 1904 (?), English laws said kids under 14 couldn't be onstage after 9 p.m. And they couldn't have a man playing the boy who never grew up, so a boyish woman was selected.
We enjoyed it a lot. Allison Williams did a great job, and her parents must be thrilled. Christopher Walken played Christopher Walken, as he always does, and I thought he was amusing as Captain Hook. The actor who played Sneed and Mr. Darling was my favorite.
What I can't stop thinking about today, is what a shame they all worked so hard for 8 weeks, did the performance once, and now it is over. The cast must be so bereft.
We enjoyed it a lot. Allison Williams did a great job, and her parents must be thrilled. Christopher Walken played Christopher Walken, as he always does, and I thought he was amusing as Captain Hook. The actor who played Sneed and Mr. Darling was my favorite.
What I can't stop thinking about today, is what a shame they all worked so hard for 8 weeks, did the performance once, and now it is over. The cast must be so bereft.
No, it's not over. They are selling a DVD of the show. I don't know how my other comment can be off-topic when I'm the one who started this thread and topic in the first place. I hope it's true that these other networks plan to do live theater on TV in the future. I think that it is especially important for children who may live some place where professional theater companies are not available. TV used to have live plays and theatrical productions for both families or adult-oriented, but if they are only offered on a very limited basis, I'm glad that they are concentrating on stories for children so that they can get this type of experience. In addition, the musical is an American "invention" albeit a hybrid of influences from other places, but it is an American form of artistic expression as much as rock and roll. This should be part of a child's education because musicals are part of our American culture and history.
I had high expectations for Peter Pan Live and so of course I set myself up to be disappointed.
NBC could've had serious buzz going for months if they had broken with tradition and hired a male actor to play Peter Pan. Allison Williams was bland and didn't even try to act like a boy.
I spent some time watching earlier versions of Peter Pan on You Tube (Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and Cathy Rigby) and all of those actresses played a boy better than Williams did. I know Martin is the sentimental favorite but I was particularly impressed with Rigby.
The role of Wendy has to be the most difficult and thankless part to play. I thought the actress who played her was very good. Minnie Driver playing grown-up Wendy was good casting.
Christopher Walken sleptwalked through his part. I thought it was disgraceful how he couldn't remember his lines. To me that shows how little respect he had for playing this role. It's one of those casting stunts that sounded great on paper but in reality it was a flop. The blue crocodile was more interesting to watch than Walken, and that's saying something.
Still, I appreciate what NBC is trying to do. I love the idea of bringing live performances back, and these shows are perfect for family viewing which will make for nice memories.
Another thing- I think Peter Pan Live would've worked better if they had a live audience in the studio, particularly during the scene when Peter Pan was talking to the audience, asking us to clap if we believed in fairies. I wanted to hear clapping from the kids watching.
My Peter Pan was Mia Farrow, I remember watching it on TV when I was like 9 or 10 and back then it never even occured to me that Peter Pan was played by a woman, now that I know he's played by a woman, I'm seeing it in a totally different way, especially the part where Wendy wants to kiss Peter
My local news explained it ...
it's a mix of English law that became a tradition. According to the book "J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: the Real Story Behind Peter Pan," back when "Peter Pan" was first being staged in 1904 (?), English laws said kids under 14 couldn't be onstage after 9 p.m. And they couldn't have a man playing the boy who never grew up, so a boyish woman was selected.
That is very interesting! I had also wondered about that.
Anyway, my wife and I enjoyed the show a lot. I had not seen Peter Pan for decades, and so had forgotten much of it.
Walken was an interesting choice for Hook. Oh, well, I guess better than William Shatner (screaming "PANNNNNNNNN!"
My local news explained it ...
it's a mix of English law that became a tradition. According to the book "J.M. Barrie and the Lost Boys: the Real Story Behind Peter Pan," back when "Peter Pan" was first being staged in 1904 (?), English laws said kids under 14 couldn't be onstage after 9 p.m. And they couldn't have a man playing the boy who never grew up, so a boyish woman was selected.
Thanks for the explanation! However, if a teenage boy played the part of Peter Pan, I doubt many would worry about what the 'rules' were 110 years ago.
Thanks for the explanation! However, if a teenage boy played the part of Peter Pan, I doubt many would worry about what the 'rules' were 110 years ago.
That was how it started ... the rest is tradition. Theatre folk can be quite big on tradition.
I tried to watch it, but lost interest not more than 30 minutes in. To be honest, Peter Pan is not one of my favorite plays, and I thought Allison Williams was miscast - couldn't really get past the nepotism of NBC. But, based on what I've read, it seems she did a fair job. I did see a few clips of Christopher Walken who appeared not to care very much about his performance.
The Sound of Music was so bad last year, however, it is one of my very favorite musicals, and I watched it in its entirety. I'm not a huge fan of The Music Man, but Grease would be more appealing. I do love the theater and even if these productions aren't the greatest, I'm glad that the masses, especially those who aren't close to Broadway or don't have the means to go to shows are getting exposed to them.
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To me that shows how little respect he had for playing this role. It's one of those casting stunts that sounded great on paper but in reality it was a flop. The blue crocodile was more interesting to watch than Walken, and that's saying something. 
