"Peter Pan Live"- Page 22
"Peter Pan Live"
mamaleh
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/04
#525-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 1:31am
My thoughts: Allison Williams sang better than she acted: I especially enjoyed the song cut from the original production, "When I Went Home," which I've long enjoyed on the first "Lost in Boston" CD. Her acting ran the emotional gamut from A to, well, almost B.
Favorite moment: When Christopher Walken addresses Christian Borle as "Shmee." In his defense, the name may have been misspelled on the TelePrompTer he was obviously reading from all evening.
Loved seeing Ryan Steele get some nice camera time.
Best of the evening: O'Hara, Borle, Louderman & Tink.
Even given their imperfections, I hope these TV versions of beloved musicals continue. There's nowhere to go but up! And they do introduce the genre to new generations.
Updated On: 12/5/14 at 01:31 AM
JohnyBroadway
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/10/12
#526-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 1:37am
Was this a perfect broadcast? No. But it did certainly have it's charm. They took a lot of risks,and some moments ended up being stronger than others. After all this is Peter Pan, a work that is always evolving.I personally loved the new book and score. If you didn't like this presentation, stick to your favorite adaptation. The major thing that didn't work for me tonight was the camera work. I think the lady who did Sound of Music Live last year should've came back for Pan. Her angles and transitions were flawless. Tonight, it just felt like they were jumping the gun on shots, and at sometimes missing character or story moments. However, I do understand the complexity of doing a fantasy, and I applaud the cast and team for all of their hard work. If The Music Man ends up happening next year I do hope Zadan and Meron consider bringing on another director. Someone of the likes of Kathleen Marshall or Jeff Calhoun.
Updated On: 12/5/14 at 01:37 AM
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#530-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 1:59amI only watched the first hour (will catch the rest tomorrow), but Did anyone catch the tiny "Peter and the Starcatchers" reference Borle threw in? When discussing how Hook lost his hand, he did an impression of him getting the hand chopped off and then screaming "Oh my god!" Anyone who saw Starcatchers will remember that Black Stache's reaction to his sudden one-handedness was a rather memorable, lengthy monologue consisting entirely of the words "oh my God".
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#534-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 2:29amI appreciated it for what it was but I did not like the changes they made to the book and score. The book additions were disgraceful and the new songs dragged the entire piece down. Williams got better as the night went on and Walken was asleep the entire time only coming alive during "Hook's Waltz." His singing was only adequate and his two additional songs were a chore to sit through. The scenery was ill conceived for television and the flying sequences looked under rehearsed and sloppily filmed. I also felt like nearly every effort made to make the "Islanders" less potentially offensive had the opposite effect. There was a moment on Marooners Rock where one of the pirates raised his voice to Tiger Lilly as if she didn't speak the language and as if speaking louder would make her understand. That alone was more offensive than any "Ugh-a-Wug" gibberish ever could be. The ensemble was the only saving grace for me. The steps they were given were not always first rate but their enthusiasm while singing and dancing was the only thing that brought me the joy I tuned in for.
DigificWriter
Leading Actor Joined: 1/23/12
#537-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 5:25amI loved it. So many things they could have done better, but I think they were definitely overshadowed by the good. I was on my seat every time Walken paused or looked like he was about to fall asleep, but he definitely pulled through. The flying by Allison wasn't totally graceful and her voice wasn't fantastic, but I liked her in it. Kelli was perfect and so was the dancing. I'm one of those people who have never seen a production of this, though. So I literally can't compare it to anything.
#538-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 5:42amI have mixed feelings. The dancing was good, but I guess I'm not a big, big fan of Peter Pan. While I watched, I was trying to find Charlie Williams (I think he was one of the pirate dancers.)
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
#539-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 6:17am
Anna Kendrick made some pretty (drunk?) tweets last night:
https://twitter.com/AnnaKendrick47/status/540724736800485377
https://twitter.com/AnnaKendrick47/status/540721840620965888
https://twitter.com/AnnaKendrick47/status/540733765346017280
https://twitter.com/AnnaKendrick47/status/540735693899579392
https://twitter.com/AnnaKendrick47/status/540738919919140864
Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
O clemens O pia
#543-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 8:40am
^ :)
I had the show on last night, but can't say it had my undivided attention. I appreciate their efforts. Alison looked completely relaxed by the final scene in the bedroom, and I wish she had been like that all along.
My overall critique - you have a Broadway director/choreographer, with leads from film and television. Rob Ashford could have staged and choreographed the numbers, but it needed someone with a television background to direct the actors and camera angles. The camera shots during the flying sequence in the bedroom were bad. The flying lacked spontaniety, but I'm sure there were a lot of lights, etc., that hindered it.
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
Updated On: 12/5/14 at 08:40 AM
Tom5
Broadway Star Joined: 9/23/11
#544-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 8:50amAllison is a fine actress with an excellent singing voice but the problem is she is just extremely bland and that hurt the production for me. I'm sure the producers would have preferred Taylor Swift as Peter but I'm guessing she can't act her way out of a paper bag and without massive computer enhancements her voice is...not so hot.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#545-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 8:53am
I can't read all of the above comments, so I'll just add my own---
Oh my God.
Allison Williams makes the primmest Peter Pan imaginable. She seemed to be channeling Emma Thompson at tea, there was just no life or energy to her at all, she seemed to have wandered in from a production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.
As for Captain Hook -- seriously, was Kevin Kline unavailable? Mr. Walken, well, I'm sure by now it has all been said, but damn. He seemed only dimly aware that there were other people in the vicinity, he only occasionally seemed to remember his lines. There were flashes where he seemed to come back to some idea that Capt. Hook is usually played as "camp" so he'd flounce a little bit but it was soon back to dead-eyed monotony.
The production in general wasn't as well carried off as THE SOUND OF MUSIC, I thought. The opening scene in the Darling home was a real stomach turner with that moving camera and wide-angle lens, and somehow the camera all too often seemed to be in the wrong place -- there was a lot of dead open space and I saw a lot of the back of people's heads.
Three hours long? I've never seen the actual play live, is it usually three hours long? Even with commercials, it felt prolonged, there seemed to be a lot of dead time where nothing was going on, like people were waiting for cues or something.
All in all, a pretty dreadful production. And I'm really astonished at the generosity being extended toward it by a lot of reviewers, word seems to have gone out to be NICE NICE NICE, even the sensible folks at the Onion A.V. Club gave it an inexplicable-without-serious-cash-payments B+.
"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." Thomas Pynchon, GRAVITY'S RAINBOW
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." Philip K. Dick
My blog: http://www.roscoewrites.blogspot.com/
Tom5
Broadway Star Joined: 9/23/11
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#547-
Posted: 12/5/14 at 9:09am
"Three hours long? I've never seen the actual play live, is it usually three hours long?"
No. Peter Pan is a musical geared for children. Do you know any children that can focus on a three hour musical?
This production decided they wanted to bring something new, so they threw in everything including the kitchen sink.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
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