The Making of Peter Pan Live!- Page 2

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 12:25pm

Barrie's original concept was for Captain Hook to be played by a woman- specifically Dorothea Baird who was the first Mrs. Darling! Auggie describes perfectly Barrie's reason for wanting the villain to echo a parental figure.

For those seeking a good read, I highly recommend Bruce Hanson's THE PETER PAN CHRONICLES which explains the entire fascinating history of the piece.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 12:58pm

THE PETER PAN CHRONICLES is great, though I was disappointed when I bought the new updated version to find that all the updates (including the 2003 movie version) were all in one chapter, instead of giving a chapter to each production update. The movie version "update" was basically a few paragraphs instead of an entire chapter.

However, when it comes to the creation PETER PAN, nothing tops Andrew Birkin's "JM Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Love Story That Gave Birth to PETER PAN" for capturing all the strangeness, and tragedy that lies behind the story's creation. It truly is a haunting and unforgettable read.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 1:02pm

Michael Bennett contributed exactly what my response was to be. Even the book recommendation. You can also visit www.jmbarrie.co.uk and read Barrie's notes which specifically mention the notion of having Mrs. Darling double as Hook.

With Smee, it implies that the children view their parent as the foppish boss-pleasing sidekick, which makes no sense. I expect that they did a little rewriting for PETER PAN LIVE to have it make more sense. I hope so.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 1:47pm

I always liked Hook being played by Mr Darling. It added a sense of a Father of a daughter who is coming of age hating the childish boy who was trying to spirit her away, always being pursued by time... the ticking croc. Which, I was glad to see my croc made it into the show! Guess they taped it during our last fitting. Almost....done...

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 1:55pm

It looks great, the kids are cute, and I'm looking forward to Kelli O'Hara. Christopher Walken will pretty much play himself, and he can't really sing, but I love him anyway.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 2:09pm

Hook really doesn't have to sing. I think Walken does the character right. He is the reason I will be tuning in!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 2:16pm

Oh, cool. I don't know much about the show, so I wasn't sure if he had a lot of numbers. He looks awesome with that wig though!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 9:09pm

I could believe Walken as Mr. Darling just as well as accepting Cyril Richard as the Father. The weird TV doubling has Ashford written all over it, a stupid idea for reasons only he understands. Anyone remember Skipper's ghost? I do think they wanted to beef up Borle's role, he does deserve to do more. And is that a new song O'Hara was singing in the window? Next year let's hope they find a vehicle to star Borle, and give him a TV star girlfriend.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/27/14 at 9:29pm

"Everything looks wonderful except the leading performance, but perhaps the special gave her too much non-Pan focus. She may be winning in the character; talking to us she had an annoying vocal fry adolescent sound that grates. I think NBC would've done her a favor by keeping the actor more under wraps, just letting us see glimpses of her interpretation. "

I watched with my mom, and she had the exact same reaction. She basically said "I'm tired of her--she probably will be fine in the show, but..." Seeing her in heavy makeup constantly talking to the camera was a mistake, IMHO (she also struck me so much like her character on Girls that I had a hard time taking her seriously--and I admit that's not fair.)

[gregorypeccadillo]

Posted: 11/28/14 at 1:55pm

JMHO - Dick Cheney would have made an interesting Smee.

But seriously, we're looking forward to the live telecast. Hoping nobody turns an ankle at the last minute.