Peter Pan Live! on NBC 12/04/14 (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

Allison Williams, daughter of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and one of the stars of HBO's "Girls", has been cast in the title role. She has reportedly wanted to play the role since she was three, and has the childhood photo to prove it:

She wasn't the sort of casting I expected for the role, but she at least meets my criteria of an actor/actress that can sing rather than a singer put in the position of having to act. The supporting roles left to be cast include Wendy, Michael, John, Mrs. Darling, Tiger Lily and Smee.NBC's press release:

ALLISON WILLIAMS CAST AS ICONIC TITLE CHARACTER IN NBC’S ‘PETER PAN LIVE!’“Girls” Star Ready to Fly as She Takes Center Stage for Network’s Highly-Anticipated Dec. 4 Telecast
NEW YORK — July 30, 2014 — “Girls” star and classically trained singer Allison Williams has been cast as the iconic title character in NBC’s Dec. 4 telecast of “Peter Pan Live!” “We couldn’t be happier that Allison Williams is our Peter Pan,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “She’s a lovely rising star on the award-winning show ‘Girls’ -- where she occasionally shows off her incredible vocal talent -- and we think she will bring the perfect blend of ‘boyish’ vulnerability and bravado to save the day against Christopher Walken’s powerful Captain Hook.” "Allison Williams is a major find," said executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. "She will reinvent the iconic role of Peter Pan with her wit, her warmth, her dynamic flying and her wonderful musical abilities. The score will be sung beautifully and introduced to a whole new generation of families."“I have wanted to play Peter Pan since I was about three years old, so this is a dream come true,” said Williams. "It’s such an honor to be a part of this adventure, and I’m very excited to get to work with this extraordinarily talented team. And besides,” added Williams, "what could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?" Williams, who has sung on HBO’s “Girls” and in various other projects, is an accomplished actress and singer. Since graduating from Yale University in 2010, she has starred as Marnie Michaels on the twice Emmy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning “Girls.”Williams recorded several songs (as Marnie) for the “Girls” soundtrack, and videos of her singing online that she made prior to “Girls" have gained millions of views. Williams has also appeared on “The Mindy Project” and “The League." NBC recently announced that Oscar winner and Emmy and Tony Award nominee Christopher Walken will star as Captain Hook in the Dec. 4 telecast. The original Broadway production of “Peter Pan,” directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and featuring the iconic songs “I’m Flying,” “I’ve Gotta Crow,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and “Never Never Land,” opened on Broadway in 1954. The show had a book by J.M. Barrie and a score by Mark “Moose” Charlap & Carolyn Lee, with additional songs by Jule Styne & Betty Comden and Adolph Green.It starred Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook, both of whom won Tony Awards for their performances.While Martin earned a Tony playing Peter on Broadway, other actresses have taken on the role for different Broadway productions. Sandy Duncan was the title character in the 1979 stage version and Cathy Rigby portrayed Peter throughout the 1990s on the Great White Way.Martin and Ritchard reprised their Broadway roles in a live telecast of the production which aired on NBC in 1955. The production was so popular that NBC followed it in 1956 with a second live telecast -- and in 1960 with a videotaped version, both also starring Martin and Ritchard. The 1960 videotaped version was rebroadcast in 1963, 1966 and 1973 and was released on home video in 1990. MEDIA CONTACTS:Richard Licata, [email protected] 818-777-3368Stuart Levine, [email protected] 818-777-9828

 

[John Maher_289910]

I thought THE SOUND OF MUSIC was horrendous (other than technically), and will be avoiding this pointless PETER PAN like the plague.

 

[MatthewA]

They've got Christopher Walken, why not go all the way and have John Travolta do Peter Pan. Who says it needs to be a blond, petite woman. Might take a few more cables to lift him, but could be fun. Edna Turnblad/Peter Pan, close enough.

It wouldn't be the first time.

 

[Stan]

Radcliffe was game but he was not a natural song and dance man. The effort showed.

I saw clips of "How to Succeed in Business....." and was not at all impressed. Radcliffe was literally awful, but because of his "star" power, got the role.

I like the guy, but hope that in the future sticks to what he's good at. Musical theatre is not one of them.

 

[Matt Hough]

Overall pleased with the announcement. If it's going to be cast with an actress, at least this one can act AND sing, so the results should be closer to what we'd want from a legit musical offering.

 

[John Maher_289910]

I saw clips of "How to Succeed in Business....." and was not at all impressed. Radcliffe was literally awful, but because of his "star" power, got the role.

I like the guy, but hope that in the future sticks to what he's good at. Musical theatre is not one of them.

I saw him in the show (it's my favorite stage musical), and while I think he was a bit out of his league (especially when it came time to do "I Believe in You"), he was not helped in any way, shape or form by his director, who seemed completely incapable of directing the show. The entire thing was a big over-choreographed mess. Still, it was better than the wretched Matthew Broderick fiasco.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The question of whether Christopher Walken would double as Mr. Darling has been answered:Deadline: Christian Borle To Play Smee & Mr. Darling In NBC’s ‘Peter Pan’ Live MusicalBorle was one of the best things about NBC's live Sound of Music, so it's nice to see him show up here. I can definitely see him as Mr. Darling, but being tall and thin he's not exactly what I'd picture for Smee.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

First photo of Allison Williams in costume as Peter Pan:

The costume does a good job of flattening out her curves, but I'm not really feeling the biker shorts. Also, it's a little disturbing how much she looks like a younger version of her father in that photo.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I thought THE SOUND OF MUSIC was horrendous (other than technically), and will be avoiding this pointless PETER PAN like the plague.

So, one production does not measure up to your standards and that means anything else they do will be as bad? We here at the HTF have become very good at prejudging something we've never seen. I like the idea of Walken as Hook. Looking forward to it with an open mind.

 

[Matt Hough]

Same here. I was disappointed they went with traditional casting for Peter, but nothing would keep me from watching it and supporting bringing live musical theater back to television.

 

[cwilli]

It would have been nice to cast a boy of about twelve or thirteen in the part. Bobby Driscoll did a very good job with the vocals for the Disney version. They really should consider casting a boy next time for authenticity.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

They really should consider casting a boy next time for authenticity.

If we're talking about the musical then casting a woman is a nod to authenticity.

 

[schan1269]

First photo of Allison Williams in costume as Peter Pan:

AllisonWilliamsPeterPan.jpg

The costume does a good job of flattening out her curves, but I'm not really feeling the biker shorts. Also, it's a little disturbing how much she looks like a younger version of her father in that photo.

The miracle of makeup.

Dated a woman a while back that could go from a "forest fire"(some of you know what movie that is from) to 12yo boy in 45 minutes or less.

Of course...she did theatre in HS and went to college and honed her skills. Works small time Indy gigs(never wanted that to be her job).

 

[Johnny Angell]

The miracle of makeup.Dated a woman a while back that could go from a "forest fire"(some of you know what movie that is from) to 12yo boy in 45 minutes or less.Of course...she did theatre in HS and went to college and honed her skills. Works small time Indy gigs(never wanted that to be her job).

And some of us don't know what movie that's from.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

NBC's poster for the live television event:

I'm surprised they couldn't come up with a less awkward promo photo for Williams as Peter Pan, but Walken looks FANTASTIC as Captain Hook.

 

[Matt Hough]

I've never seen a Peter Pan production with Hook getting top billing. The power of an Oscar!

 

[MatthewA]

I've never seen a Peter Pan production with Hook getting top billing. The power of an Oscar!

If he had two Oscars, they'd call it Hook. Oh, wait...

 

[bujaki]

I have no clue who Allison Williams is, but I know Christopher Walken can sing, dance, act, and yes, he has an Oscar. He's the drawing power for me.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched the "Making of" special tonight and found it interesting seeing the various pieces fall into place. There appears to be three new songs added to this production, so it's going to be wildly different from any previous broadcast of the show. I certainly plan to tune in and see for myself.

 

[Tommy R]

I'm very much looing forward to this. I like The Sound of Music for the most part, and was very excited when I heard Peter Pan was going to get the treatment next. Assuming they keep doing good in the ratings, can we expect a live musical EVERY year? I like the idea of that!