My goodness! No one knows where to address the Peter Pan questions around here. Tsk tsk.
1) Mary Martin, God rest her soul, is no longer with us. She originated the role of "Peter Pan" in the Charlap/Leigh/Styne/Comden/Green musical on Broadway in 1954. In 1955 it aired on television and was VERY high in ratings. This was a LIVE telecast. There was such demand for it, they did another LIVE telecast in 1956. Still more demand. In 1960, where the show had been closed on Broadway for a while, Mary Martin reunited the cast and did another broadcast, this time in color.
2) The role has been played by women for several reasons:
a) Due to child labor laws, children seldom worked in major stage productions - at least not in large roles. And Peter Pan/Wendy/Michael/John are HUGE roles.
b) It would be quite uncomfortable for a male to fly - especially with those primitive harnesses. Still, males did fly. It just hurt more than with a female.
c) It became a tradition. Women have traditionally played "Peter Pan" for 100 years. There have been males in the roles, both in professional and regional productions.
d) A woman is more lightweight.
e) A woman looks more like a little boy than a fully grown man.
3) Maude Adams was the first AMERICAN Peter Pan. The first Peter Pan ever was Nina Bouicault in London on December 27, 1904. Maude Adams originated the role on Broadway on November 6, 1905.
4) Visit
https://www.peterpanfan.com/new/home.php for more Peter Pan information.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
