| Peter Pan Live! | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Musicaldrama |
| Based on | Peter Pan byJ.M. Barrie |
| Written by | Irene Mecchi |
| Directed by | Rob Ashford Glenn Weiss |
| Presented by | NBC |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Minnie Driver |
| Composers | Moose Charlap Jule Styne Carolyn Leigh Betty Comden Adolph Green Amanda Green[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Donna Suchan Smeland |
| Production companies | Universal Television Sony Pictures Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 4, 2014 (2014-12-04) |
| Related | |
Peter Pan Live! is an Americantelevision special that was broadcast byNBC on December 4, 2014. The special featured alive production of the1954 musical adaptation ofPeter Pan, televised fromGrumman Studios inBethpage, New York, starringAllison Williams in thetitle role andChristopher Walken asCaptain Hook. The special was produced byUniversal Television andSony Pictures Television.
The production was a follow-up toThe Sound of Music Live!—a similar adaptation of the 1959 playThe Sound of Music which aired on NBC in December 2013 and brought the network's highest Thursday-night ratings since 2004. NBC's entertainment headBob Greenblatt would signCraig Zadan andNeil Meron—who served as theexecutive producers of the special, to produce another live musical for the 2014 holiday season. Additionally, the production served as a follow-up to three productions ofPeter Pan produced for NBC in 1955, 1956, and 1960 that featured cast members from its originalBroadway run. While similar in content to the original, the version ofPeter Pan featured in the special contained revisions to itsbook to emphasize the character ofCaptain Hook, along with additional songs from its revivals, new songs adapted from the musicalsDo Re Mi andSay, Darling, and the restoration of a song that had been cut from the musical before its original Broadway premiere.
In December 2013, NBC presentedThe Sound of Music Live!—a live adaptation of the Broadway musicalThe Sound of Music that starredcountry music performer and singerCarrie Underwood and was produced byCraig Zadan andNeil Meron. After bringing NBC's highest Thursday night ratings for entertainment programming since 2004,[6] NBC's entertainment headBob Greenblatt announced that the network would present another live musical for the 2014 holiday season, and that it had signed Meron and Zadan on to continue their role as producers. Greenblatt felt that there were enough recognizable, family-friendly musicals to make live musicals an annual tradition, and noted that various theatrical rightsholders had expressed interest in having their musicals adapted for television in this manner.[7] In January 2014, NBC announced that its next musical would be an adaptation of the 1954 musicalPeter Pan.[8] This would not be the first time that NBC had broadcast a live production ofPeter Pan, as a presentation featuringMary Martin,Cyril Ritchard, and its original Broadway cast was presented by NBC on March 7, 1955, as part of the anthology seriesProducers' Showcase. Thetelecast, produced byFred Coe, was one of the highest-rated programs in the early history of television,[9][10] Martin and Ritchard would reprise their roles in another live presentation in 1956, along with a color presentation in 1960 that was videotaped and rebroadcast several times afterwards.[11]
Produced on a $10 million budget and broadcast live from theGrumman Studios inBethpage, New York, the staff fromThe Sound of Music Live! was carried over toPeter Pan, including Zadan and Meron, along with David Chase as music director andDerek McLane asproduction designer. Whilst producingThe Sound of Music Live!, Zadan and Meron shared a fondness for creating what Meron described as "moments of theatricality"—a practice that carried over intoPeter Pan Live!. Meron emphasized that the production would not be bound to the limitations of a traditionalstage setting, allowing for larger sets, and "dynamic" camera angles and flying sequences. In total, he described the production as a "total balls-out musical."[12][13] The production employed aCGI version ofTinker Bell: rendered live and controlled by a technician, it expressed emotions and thoughts by changing its size and color.[13]
Allison Williams, star of theHBO seriesGirls and daughter ofNBC Nightly News anchorBrian Williams, was cast as Peter Pan, continuing an established tradition of females portraying the title character of the musical.[10][12] ActorChristopher Walken was cast asCaptain Hook; Walken showed uncertainty for his role in the production due to its unique format, noting that "when you do a [stage] show, even if it isn’t a hit, you’re in previews for a few weeks and you get comfortable in the role. This is rehearsed as a stage show, but then the cameras are there. I’m never even sure when the camera is on me." In total, the production featured 46 cast members, and a production crew of at least 350 members.[10][12]
Admitting thatPeter Pan was not as much of a "bona fide classic" asThe Sound of Music, Meron's crew was given flexibility in revising the show's contents.Irene Mecchi — who is best known for herscreenwriting contributions to films such asThe Lion King – was brought in to "strengthen and deepen" the portrayal ofCaptain Hook in the production.[12] Revisions were also made to its soundtrack, including the addition of new songs with lyrical adaptations byAmanda Green, the daughter ofAdolph Green, who, withJule Styne andBetty Comden, added some songs for later productions, including "Never Never Land".[1] New songs added to the production included the Captain Hook song "Vengeance", an adaptation of "Ambition" from the Styne-Comden-Green musicalDo Re Mi, "Only Pretend", adapted from "I Know About Love", also fromDo Re Mi, and the Peter and Hook duet "A Wonderful World Without Peter", adapted from “Something’s Always Happening On The River” from the Styne-Comden-Green musicalSay, Darling. "When I Went Home", a song sung by Peter that was cut before the musical's 1954 premiere due to a "subdued" reaction in try-outs, was also restored for this production; Meron explained that the song would help viewers to "understand more" about the character of Peter Pan.[1][12] "Oh My Mysterious Lady", a song written withMary Martin in mind, was cut from the show[1][12] while the song "Ugg-a-Wugg", which contained racially insensitive lyrics, was rewritten into a new song entitled "True Blood Brothers."[1][12]
As inThe Sound of Music Live!,Walmart served as a major sponsor of the telecast. NBC produced five themed Walmart commercials starringMelissa Joan Hart and her family, to air throughout the special. The commercials featured allusions toPeter Pan and presentations of products from the store.[14][15]
A soundtrack was released on both digital and physical format by Broadway Records on December 16, 2014.[16]
Peter Pan Live! aired on the night of December 4, 2014, on NBC and was met with immediate public and critical reactions, both positive and negative. After a mediocre reception to the network'sThe Sound of Music Live! from 2013, many viewers were wary of the new production. Lead actress Allison Williams warned viewers in an interview withEntertainment Weekly: “I will say this about last year: today’s audiences like to watch things cynically. And I’m on a show that’s cynical in tone so I’m no stranger to that …Hate-watching is a thing. It’s a whole way of watching something, and it’s not an audience that’s natural to a non-cynical performance.Peter Pan, you cannot watch cynically. If you do, you’re going to hate it, no question. It falls apart instantly.”[17] She said almost the opposite toNPR, which reported that NBC expected that "hate-watchers" would help the event to succeed.[18] Viewers shared their opinions on social media platforms using the hashtag #PeterPanLive and on the live blog onThe Guardian's website, which gave such notes as: "As long and draggy and nonsensical as the show was, NBC didn’t spare any expense with the talent or production and they really pulled it off."[19][20]
While many reviewers expressed relief that the broadcast did not experience any major problems, critical reviews were mixed overall.[21]The New Yorker panned the broadcast, especially Williams and Walken.[22] TheAssociated Press called the production "an oddly ponderous, disconnected, disjointed and jerky mess. If it had been a Broadway show, it would have gotten the hook (pun intended)."[23] TheNew York Daily News gave it two of five stars, writing that "we just weren't feeling the pixie dust".[24] Likewise,Variety called it "a woefully lifeless production".[25]
The A.V. Club's Caroline Siede gave the production a B+, calling it superior to the previous year's performance and a "colorful, competent, occasionally moving piece of musical theater".[26]USA Today gave it a mostly positive review for the production, but questioned the new material.[27] Melissa Maerz ofEntertainment Weekly also gave it a mixed review calling it "Totally fine. ... Nothing spectacular. But nothing so embarrassing as NBC’s live production ofThe Sound of Music".[28]The Hollywood Reporter gave the production a rave review, highlighting both Williams' and Walken's performances saying, "It was a night where everything else about the play was shunted to the side as Williams and Walken grabbed your attention. Everything that could go wrongdidn't go wrong and that's a credit the myriad people behind the scenes who pulled it off."[29]
Peter Pan Live! was seen in its original airing by 9.21 million viewers with a ratings share of 2.4/7 among adults 18–49, making it the most-watched program of the night across the major networks—but trailing aThursday Night Football game onNFL Network, which brought 9.1 million viewers, but had a larger 18–49 share of 3.2/10. The special also brought NBC its second-highest 18–49 ratings on Thursday night entertainment programming sinceThe Sound of Music Live! before being surpassed byThe Wiz Live! a year later. Greenblatt did not expect viewership forPeter Pan Live! to be as high as that ofThe Sound of Music Live!, but still felt that NBC had a "great night", and thanked the cast and crew for their involvement in "three months of the hardest work I’ve ever seen."[30]Nielsen also estimated that over 475,000 posts were made about the telecast onTwitter, which were seen 106.9 million times—more than double the number of views that tweets duringThe Sound of Music Live! received.[30] The special retained 61% of its viewership, from beginning to end.[31]
A behind-the-scenes special,The Making of Peter Pan Live!, was broadcast by NBC on November 26, 2014[11] and seen by 3.02 million viewers.[32] NBC showed an encore presentation ofPeter Pan Live! on Saturday, December 13, 2014.[33] The rebroadcast was seen by 1.5 million viewers.[34]
Peter Pan Live! was included as part of 'The Shows Must Go On' series of musicals launched byAndrew Lloyd Webber on YouTube in response to Covid-19. It was originally intended to be available for 48 hours from June 5, 2020, however in response to theBlack Lives Matter movement it was postponed until June 20, 2020.[35][36]
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Directors Guild Awards | Awards or Event Special | Derek McLane | Nominated | [37] |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series | Kenny Leon andMatthew Diamond | Nominated | [38] |
| Dorian Awards | Campy TV Show of the Year | Nominated | [39] | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Direction | David Chase | Nominated | [40] |
| Outstanding Production Design for Variety, Nonfiction, Reality or Reality-Competition Programming | Derek McLane, Aimee B. Dombo and Mike Pilipski | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Limited Series, Movie or a Special | Eric Becker, Bob Muller, JC Castro, Senior Paul Ranieri, Senior Rob Balton, Robert Del Russo, Fred Frederick, Shaun Harkins, Charlie Huntley, Jay Kulick, Tore Livia, John Meiklejohn, Jimmy O'Donnell, Tim Quigley, Claus Stuhlweissenburg and Mark Whitman | Nominated | ||
| Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, Special or Pilot – Young Actor 13 and Under | John Alyn | Nominated | [41] |
| Jake Lucas | Nominated | |||
In 2014, inseason 40 ofSaturday Night Live, the cast parodied the special, with guest starJames Franco as Captain Hook,Cecily Strong as Peter Pan,Kate McKinnon as Wendy,Aidy Bryant as Tonkerbell, Tinkerbell's half-sister who is part housefly and part fairy.[42]
ADVD of the special was released on December 16, 2014,[43] throughUniversal Studios Home Entertainment. The DVD includes the behind-the-scenes special,The Making of Peter Pan Live!.
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