This Year's NBC Musical... — Page 6

It never ceases to amaze me. SO many people on this board think they are going to cast Broadway musical ensemble members as the leads in this production. MARK MY WORDS: They will get STARS to play both Peter and Captain Hook.

I did some research about the original play and the 1954/55 musical.

Yes, there was an English law that did not allow children to perform onstage after a certain hour. This is one of the reasons Peter Pan was played by a woman. In fact, Michael and the Lost Boys were also played by women. The original production was a successful and was revived several times. The play toured the country for a decade. In the original production, Tinker Bell was created by light and an off-stage mirror.

The Mary Martin version originated in California and was produced by Edwin Lester. He obtained the rights to the play. There were only a few songs. The production was not a success. When Jerome Robbins joined the production, more songs were add and the production was turned into a full musical. When the show came to Broadway, NBC helped produce it and in return, the show was done on TV.

Looking on IBDB, no book writer is listed. The credit reads, "Based on the play by James M. Barrie." Perhaps, a writer, not Douglas Carter Beane, will be hired to create a new book for the production and some of the songs could be kept and others dropped.

A new version of the story is currently running at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon. It's called Wendy and Peter Pan. Peter is played by a male actor. Here's a link. http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/wendy-and-peter-pan/

Maybe Jonah Verdon who is playing Ben/Lisa twin in Disaster! can play Peter. I know he can sing and play male/female

Nobody was out picketing the last half a dozen Cathy Rigby tours which used Ugg a Wugg.

Only this time they will have...20 million more people watching?

I still think it won't make it to the live airing.

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I just don't see NBC risking a controversy for one musical number. SOM didn't transfer intact either.

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If they're serious about casting a male performer as Peter, I think any one of the following would be perfect: Daniel Radcliffe; Nick Jonas; or Jeremy Jordan.

All 3 have genuine talent, and Jonas and Jordan have worked with NBC and Zadan and Meron before.

My top 3 choices for Hook/Mr. Darling would be Hugh Jackman, Christian Borle, and Neal Patrick Harris.

"Is Audra to old to play Liza?"

In the productions I've seen Liza is supposed to be a girl not much older than Wendy, so, yes, she's probably too old to play that part.

I think Kelsey Grammer would be a great Captain Hook. However I can see them casting someone like Blake Shelton in that role. I think Peter could be one of the members of the group New Direction.

This story is about a BOY who won't grow up. You can't cast a young man in his 20s. He's grown already. I would say 13 max. This is for TV, remember, not stage.

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Yeah, and everybody pointed it out, too. It was mentioned in all the reviews and quite a lot in social media. (He was also supposed to be 17 going on 18, not 12.)

I suppose they could just not care. But I wonder how much people will tune in, and how long they will stay with the show, if they hate everything from the first scene on.

Personally, I don't think this is going to draw the big numbers like The Sound of Music. It's almost too much of a kiddie show, instead of having universal appeal, like The Sound of Music.

The only way they'll get the big numbers is with big names as Pan and Hook. And I mean really big names that everybody knows and loves.

EDIT: There is a difference between involving the kids in the choice for a musical and catering to them. The Sound of Music is not a kiddie show, and it didn't cater to them. It just worked for them. That's a very big difference. Peter Pan is most definitely a children's show (certainly the way it's performed today). I think they're going to have to work hard to hold an adult's attention.

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Updated On: 1/20/14 at 09:17 AM

Chris Colfer as Pan.