Damian Bellino | December 2, 2014 1:00 pm

On December 4, NBC will try to recreate the ratings success of last year’s The Sound of Composition with the family friendly Peter Pan Live!, starring Girls’ Allison Williams and Oscar winner Christopher Walken. The beloved musical with a book by Sir James M. Barrie, composition by Mark “Moose” Charlap and Jule Styne, and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green has a long history with the Peacock Network, airing its first telecast of the Broadway show starring Mary Martin in 1955. After its initial broadcast, NBC restaged the musical live again in 1956, and then in 1960, with subsequent rebroadcasts of the last production over the course of the next three decades.

Formerly conceived as a vehicle for Martin, Peter Pan the musical has continued to live on stages around the world. In preparation of the in the offing live event, VH1 spoke with many of the key players caught up in making the lasting legacy of this classic musical to get behind-the-scenes intel on why women continue to play the boy who won’t grow up, and what really happens when you’re “fleeting” in that harness.

For years, the role of Peter Pan has been played by a woman, dating back to the early 1900s. In the early 1950s, Broadway star Mary Martin required after a team to make a Pan musical around her unique talents. This original musical adaptation leads us to NBC’s production that will be mounted later this week. For this new reinvention, there was speculation that a male popstar or actor would be cast as Peter before it was announced that Williams would jump in the harness for the well-known role. Why does Peter continue to be played by a woman? Is Mary Martin’s impression on the role quick?

Sandy Duncan (Peter Pan, Broadway 1979):
I don’t know. I know it’s been done with men who can described the feminine or more boyish parts of Peter but maybe it just works better with a woman? You’d think it would though — I guess there are the Billy Elliots of the world who can sing the shit out of it.

Sondra Lee (Tiger Lily, Broadway 1954 & live telecasts 1955, 1956, 1960):
I would venture to say that — well, the work was formerly called Wendy’s Marvel — I would say [the female Peter] is the spirit of Peter Pan. That it could very well be Wendy’s marvel.

David Kaufman (author of in the offing Mary Martin biography Cockeyed Optimist):
Mary’s only son Larry Hagman, well-known as J.R. on Dallas, claimed: “According to mother Peter Pan is the most vital thing she ever did in the theatre. Never mind that it was a hit, or audiences smiled during the whole thing, for her it was a role that allowed her to play herself.”

Lee: In the musical, Mary Martin was just as much part of the growth of Peter as anyone.

Heller Halliday (Liza, Broadway 1954 & live telecasts 1955, 1956; Mary Martin’s daughter):
I think it was her favorite role. She was a Peter Pan. I think she believed in fairies.

Cathy Rigby (Peter Pan, Broadway 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999):
I really don’t know if the casting is just habitual. I think it’s mostly Sir James Barrie traditionally wanted a woman and it’s been part of the role for so many years. I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be played by someone who could sing the role. I plotting maybe they would [cast a male singer or actor] for this new production – it would certainly give it a kick.

Charlotte d’Amboise (Peter, Jerome Robbins Broadway 1989):
[Original Pan director] Jerome Robbins cast Jack [Noseworthy] to cover me while I was out so he, obviously, felt OK about a man playing it.

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Tags: Peter Pan, Peter Pan Live, Allison Williams