<p>I am enjoying it, because as a kid I saw it many times at our local youth theater. But I am not a fan of the casting! Why don’t they have a talented young boy be Peter? And the Wendy character - ugg. all that breathy fakey voice. And Peter Pan lacks charisma and energy. Terrible casting! Surely there are some young actors and actresses out there that could have filled the main roles and the supporting roles. And by young, I mean, the correct age. Not adults pretending to be kids.</p>
<p><<why don’t="" they="" have="" a="" talented="" young="" boy="" be="" peter?="">></why></p>
<p>well, while I am sure that there are some talented young men out there, one reason is that it is tradition to cast a female in the role.</p>
<p>Mary Martin portrayed the part of Peter Pan on Broadway and in the original TV production. I’ve seen the show many times, in civic and regional theater. That part is always played by a female. And Mary Martin was also an adult…as was Cathy Rigby. </p>
<p>I hope this is released on video or shown annually like the Mary Martin one was for so many years. We watched it every year.</p>
<p>Just because it was done that way back then, no reason to continue. I think it is not beyond a talented kid to handle the part. I loved the original Mary Martin version, but even then, I didn’t like that the main character was not played by a young boy. </p>
<p>I suppose it could be done, but it would need to be a young boy…under voice changing age. I’m not bothered at all by a female in this role.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Because the role is never played by a boy!</p>
<p>Alison is better than Carrie was because Alison is actually an actor. Those of you who didn’t know that she is Brian Williams’ daughter mustn’t watch Girls. When that show started, there was a LOT of press about her being his daughter.</p>
<p>Complaints, about casting famous actors in some roles, aren’t unexpected but the reality is that these tv live productions of stage shows would never be made without recognizable names. Never. So don’t worry about it being disrespectful to NY theatre actors, because there are several in tonight’s production who are thrilled to be in the show and who are earning a good salary. :)</p>
<p>Nope - never heard of Girls. I’m finding out I don’t watch much TV, at least not the popular programs. </p>
<p>Alwaysamom…you are hiding something. :)</p>
<p>I really enjoyed it. And the behind the scenes bits at the very end were fascinating. I thought they did a wonderful job with the sets and camera work—I think they did a great job of enhancing what could be done on a traditional stage without sacrificing the “live” feeling of the whole thing…</p>
<p>I pretty much enjoyed it, certainly more than Sound of Music, but thought Christopher Walken took some of the energy out of it. He didn’t seem to look at the others much. Possibly it was his intent to play Hook so subdued, but I think the over-the-top campiness of past Hooks enliven the show. </p>
<p>I don’t watch Girls so don’t know Allison Williams but thought she did a very good job. Yes, some of the aerial work was stilted but she put out a great effort. Mary Martin will always be the one and only Pan for me.</p>
<p>My favorite actors were Nana the dog - loved her pulling down the covers - and the kid who played Michael. He was very talented without being annoying, hard to do.</p>
<p>The sets were something to behold; great segue from night sky London directly into Neverland. Does anyone know how they did Tinkerbelle?</p>
<p>I read in Entertainment Weekly that Christopher Walken actually started out doing song and dance. It said that he liked putting little dance moves somewhere in every movie he’s done. He approached the Peter Pan producers about doing Captain Hook.</p>
<p>Not sure why the TV show needs to be compared to Broadway. All I can say is …thank God for Disney and the animated versions. The only ones with an ounce of magic. </p>
<p>Yep, Walken was one of Broadway’s own. He dropped out of Hofstra because he got a part in an off- Broadway show, playing opposite Liza Minelli. He met his wife, to whom he’s been married about 50 years, when they were both in a touring company of West Side Story. He trained as a dancer. He was in the Broadway premier of Lion In Winter. He’s also done a fair amount of live Shakespeare. Frankly, I didn’t think he did that good a job in this, but he certainly has lots of theatre credentials. </p>
<p>Reality is that to get an audience, NBC had to cast at least a couple of names that people who aren’t familiar with Broadway musicals will recognize to get them to tune in. I thought Carrie Underwood was just plain awful as Maria last year. I thought Williams was far superior. I was actually pleasantly surprised by that. She’s pretty well known for her part in Girls, which is aimed at a demographic that advertisers love. Maybe casting her got some 20s and 30s to watch. </p>
<p>Reading about the production, I learned that Tiger Lily is a Native American and made her acting debut in this show. The lyrics to the Uga Wagga song were drastically changed from the original. Score one for NBC on that one too.</p>
<p>Great? Nope. A long way from Mary Martin. However, much better than last year, IMO.</p>
<p>I watched most of it, but fell asleep before the end. I recently moved to Eastern Time zone, and I think 11 pm is too late for kids to stay up too!</p>
<p>I enjoyed the dancing/choreography. I thought Williams was SO MUCH better than Underwood. In general, I think they learned from some mistakes in Sound of Music. I think doing a live musical production is great and I hope they continue to make this a tradition.</p>
<p>My S (now in college) saw a PBS Great Performances production of Jesus Christ Superstar when he was little, and it sparked his interest in musical theater. He’s not majoring in it but still sings and has been in some plays while in college. We couldn’t afford cable back then and appreciated having access to musicals on television.</p>
<p>I thought it was enjoyable and I’m sure kids watching it would have loved it. </p>
<p>“So don’t worry about it being disrespectful to NY theatre actors, because there are several in tonight’s production who are thrilled to be in the show and who are earning a good salary.”</p>
<p>I bet all the dancers/extras have extensive Broadway show experience and were trilled to be cast in this show. </p>
<p>I wasn’t able to watch it but we know someone in the cast–one of the lost boys. My daughter used to dance with him. I did his stage makeup a few times when he was in middle school. 
He’s an incredible dancer and I’m not surprised he can act/sing too.</p>
<p>It was definitely better than Sound of Music last year, but I think christopher Walken was miscast as Hook. He seemed to try to channel Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, but it wasn’t working for me.</p>
<p>It was also too long. I fell asleep and missed Peter’s fight with Hook. </p>
<p>I agree the producers need to strike a balance between Broadway actors most people don’t know and Hollywood actors that will draw an audience, but I would probably prefer if they used more Broadway actors in major roles.</p>
<p>BTW, I grew up in the same neighborhood as Christopher Walken (he’s older though). His family ran a bakery.</p>
<p>I forgot about the production until about half an hour into it last night, so I started watching late. I had also forgotten that it was Christopher Walken – whom I adore – playing Hook, so I got to form an opinion of The Actor Playing Hook without prejudice. I thought he was horrible – underacting, not passionate, not even very interesting. </p>
<p>I thought Allison Williams had the best set of teeth I’ve ever seen. I envy those choppers.</p>
<p>I suffered through the first hour before I gave up and turned it off. It was going way too slow and I thought Christopher Walken was awful as Hook. I enjoyed the local children’s charity production that I saw last year much better. And the old Disney version, of course. I thought last year’s Sound of Music was actually better even though Carrie Underwood cannot act.</p>
<p>I did have a question that DH who saw it on Broadway (long ago) could not answer. Do they use a real dog on Broadway? I had just assumed it would be someone in a dog costume.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Just one example - an actor who has been in four Broadway shows, a national tour, several regional and off-Broadway productions, in addition to doing his own music in gigs all over NYC, and all this at the tender age of 32. </p>
<p>One thing that I think would improve these live performances, in a definitive way, would be to have a live audience. I wish that they would seriously consider that for future productions.</p>