Did 'Peter Pan Live!' crash or fly? - CNN.com Did 'Peter Pan Live!' crash or fly? By Lisa Respers France, CNN updated 10:46 AM EST, Fri December 5, 2014 Jake Lucas, John Allyn, Allison Williams and Taylor Louderman go flying in "Peter Pan Live!" STORY HIGHLIGHTS "Peter Pan Live!" starred Allison Williams, who asked viewers not to hate-watch But viewers amused themselves on social media The show earned some praise, though one critic called screenplay wooden (CNN) -- Before NBC even aired "Peter Pan Live!" on Thursday night, its star, Allison Williams, asked viewers not to hate-watch it. Unfortunately, Tinkerbell didn't totally grant that wish. Although the live musical production garnered some celeb praise and a few pats on the back for its star, some critics and viewers concluded they were right to worry that it wouldn't fly. "Peter Pan may have overcome the tyranny of time, but he couldn't surmount the constrictions of a television screen," wrote New York Daily News writer Don Kaplan .

"Or a wooden screenplay." The special, which featured "Girls" star Williams as the eternally young Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, had been highly anticipated after NBC's ratings success with "Sound of Music Live!" starring Carrie Underwood. Deadline reported that the latest production tumbled in early ratings, down 46% from last year's live show. Though "Sound of Music Live!" did well with the numbers, it was ripped to shreds by some viewers, and the expectation was that the new show wouldn't be much better. But according to The Daily Beast's Kevin Fallon, "Peter Pan" proved to be just underwhelming. "No, it's not that Peter Pan Live! was the 'Sound of Music Live!' train wreck our heads are still spinning over, like Carrie Underwood twirling maniacally on a soundstage hilltop," Fallon wrote. "It's that 'Peter Pan Live!' was boring." Perhaps trying to liven things up, viewers amused themselves on social media. One tweeted, "Apparently Never Never Land is just a backdrop at Sears. #PeterPanLive." Apparently Never Never Land is just a backdrop at Sears.

#PeterPanLive — Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) December 5, 2014 Even "Scrubs" star Zach Braff got in on the fun, tweeting, "All of this needs more cowbell #PeterPanLive," a nod to Walken's now-classic "SNL" skit. Actress Anna Kendrick tweeted, "Increasingly worried this is going to turn into a "Boys Don't Cry" situation for Peter #PeterPanLive." All of this needs more cowbell. #PeterPanLive — Zach Braff (@zachbraff) December 5, 2014 Walken didn't win any raves for his singing, but Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter found the actor to be "simultaneously playing himself and playing Captain Hook, though for some long stretches one couldn't be sure if he was forgetting lines left and right or just letting the play breathe." "Seriously, you can't underestimate the Walken Effect," Goodman wrote. "If you don't like him, well, this was not a three-hour musical for you, because during vast stretches of it Walken seemed to be doing something else entirely than his fellow singers and actors.

But for those who love the Cult of Christopher, that level of odd behavior, moments of outright weirdness and his own brand of playing cool in chaos was precisely what made NBC's gambit work." One person who knew all too well the experience of presenting a musical live on national TV gave it a thumbs up. "I hope the cast & crew of #PeterPanLive feel so happy & proud right now," Underwood tweeted. "What an incredible thing you all were a part of tonight! Amazing!!!" I hope the cast & crew of #PeterPanLive feel so happy & proud right now! What an incredible thing you all were a part of tonight! Amazing!!! — Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) December 5, 2014 . Peter Pan LIVE! - NBC.com NBC.com Live About the Show Preparing to sprinkle fairy dust across America, NBC presents a bold new LIVE television production of the classic Broadway musical that will gather friends, families and anyone who refuses to ever grow up. Following in the footsteps of the phenomenally successful The Sound of Music LIVE! - which drew over 18 million viewers - comes this musical masterpiece that tells the beloved story of Peter Pan, the mischievous little boy who ran away to Neverland.

Get ready for show-stopping stars, stunning costumes, extravagant sets and delightful music that will have everyone in your home singing along. From Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron comes a soaring LIVE three-hour holiday event guaranteed to take viewers on a magical and musical journey to the second star to the right. ‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life - The Daily Beast Don't Believe ‘Peter Pan Live!’ Review: No Amount of Clapping Brings It to Life Was it the amateur train wreck that was last year’s ‘Sound of Music Live!’ No, it was worse. It was boring. Where’s the fairy dust when you need it? 12.05.14 5:17 AM ET It's not that Peter Pan Live! was an abomination. We really wanted it to be good. We really wanted not to fall into the hate-tweet trap . And, to be fair, it was, at times, a hoot. Few things in life rival Christopher Walken rocking Chola eyebrows and a Cindy Crawford beauty mark, and Allison Williams makes one handsome boy. No, it’s not that Peter Pan Live! was the Sound of Music Live!

train wreck our heads are still spinning over, like Carrie Underwood twirling maniacally on a soundstage hilltop. It’s that Peter Pan Live! was boring. For all of its large-scale production numbers danced expertly by an army of Lost Boy twinks and psychedelic sets designed by someone clearly flying high on some strong fairy dust, the most egregious thing about Peter Pan Live! was that it was an inexcusable bore. For three hours. The thing was three freaking hours. But, again, it’s important to stress all of the happy thoughts there are to be had about the production. While there might not have been enough to make it truly take flight, there certainly was enough good to note to at least get a Wendy Bird flapping her wings. First, and foremost, there’s the aforementioned performance by Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, which alternated between inspired brilliance and an apparent lack of awareness that he was even on national television, depending on a scene. At one glance, he’s doing the Tarantella and it is as fierce as his feathered cap. In the next, he’s opening his mouth to sing and there is blatantly no noise coming out, or just flat out forgetting his lines altogether.

Allison Williams as Peter Pan, on the other hand, was the worst thing the iconic cross-dressing orphan with the Oedipus complex could be: Just fine. Allison Williams sang… well. Her accent was… fine. Her stage presence was… there. It was strange, then. She looked like a Peter Pan. She crowed like a Peter Pan. But she just wasn’t Peter Pan. That Williams wasn’t half bad actually illuminated the biggest problem with Peter Pan Live!. The other half—the show itself—kind of is. It’s been a few years—decades, really—since we played out our VHS tapes of Mary Martin’s indelible performance as the boy who won’t grow up, and unlike Peter, we apparently do forget. Chiefly, we forgot the many, many problems there are with the bones—the book and score—to this show. For example, it’s so slow in the beginning. Musicals typically start with a bang. Peter Pan starts with a bore. It literally opens with people going to bed. The first song is a lullaby. The splendid Kelli O’Hara as Mrs.

Darling is actually cooing at us to “fall asleep.” (Side note: Broadway fans must be geeking out with pride over the oh-so classy and lovely mainstream debut of their beloved Tony-nominated musical queen, Kelli O’Hara.) Then there’s the fact that most of the dialogue, particularly anything uttered by a pirate, makes sense only half of the time. (Though there’s no superlative worthy of describing what it’s like to watch Walken say the line, “I’ve placed the plank on the poop.”) There are weird things about Peter Pan, the musical, that you can’t fault for Peter Pan Live!, the production, for. The script has always been a little bit batty, what with the not-so thinly veiled racism and the whole Peter calling Wendy “mother” but also so clearly wanting to bone her the whole time. And Captain Hook just basically being a bitter, vengeful drag queen. There were, however, specific decisions made by the creative team of Peter Pan Live! And many of those decisions made no sense.

Like, why were all the Lost Boys in Neverland dressed like German schoolchildren, but Peter was dressed like the fairy hobo birthed from the bushes that we all know and love? Did the producers just reuse the Von Trapp children from last year and hope that no one would notice? There was also an off-putting conflict between whimsy and realism. The sets—which, really, were a feat of design and direction—appeared to be remnants of a Lewis Carroll fever dream. Tiger Lily and her tribe, however, were outfitted in semi-realistic outfits (read: nearly naked). And, with the exception of Walken and his band of pirates, every actor’s performance carried with it a sedated earnestness that clashed with the trippy design aesthetic, making much of the production lack the necessary twinkle. But, reliably, just when it seemed like the production was going to go the way of Tinker Bell and die in spite of itself, a rousing, entertainment production number would reenergize things again and earn the kind of applause that would bring it back to life.

“Wendy” and “Never Grow Up” are just about as charming as large-scale production numbers get, and the cast of Lost Boy dancers sold every pirouette and donkey kick of the rousing choreography. A tamed-down, blessedly less racist production number featuring Tiger Lily and her tribe where “Ugg-a-Wugg” used to be was the strongest example of why filming these live musicals for TV can be a truly elevating and great form of entertainment. And Christopher Walken warbling and doing a little soft-shoe? You haven’t lived until you’ve seen it. Even “I’m Flying,” with the actors’ safety harnesses easily visible and their aerial rigs and ropes streaking the TV screen every time they took to the air, was a wonder to behold on screen. Goddammit if the spirit of J.M. Barrie doesn’t get to you when watching this show—there’s a kid in all of us who doesn’t want to grow up, who just gets giddy when humans, rigs and all, start flying before your eyes.

Hell, you might have been so won over that when the handsome lady in the boys clothing stared into the camera and demanded that the children around the world clap, affirming that they believed in fairies and bringing a dying Tinker Bell back to life, you’d be damned if you didn’t start absent-mindedly slapping your palms together. (Oh this happened, and Williams sold it in all of its campy glory.) But that there was so much to praise and the three-hour production was still such a slog reiterates, really, what a treasure Mary Martin is (and, for that matter, her fellow iconic Peters, Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby), and how much this show hinges on divine casting—and how magical it can be when the casting is done right. Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).

Peter Pan Live!: Live-Blogging the Show - Speakeasy - WSJ Peter Pan Live!: Live-Blogging the Show By Allison Williams and Peter Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook in “Peter Pan Live!” NBC With theater fans licking their chops like crocodiles, NBC is set to broadcast “ Peter Pan Live! ” tonight. The live show, staged for television, is led by a cast including Christopher Walken and Allison Williams (“Girls”) with two of Broadway’s brightest stars, Christian Borle and Kelli O’Hara. “Peter Pan,” originally directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, opened on Broadway in 1954, followed by multiple revivals. But by watching a live television version at home, fans and hate-watchers alike are able share thoughts via social media. If viewers watch and tweet as they did last year during NBC’s “Sound of Music”– a ratings bonanza with 22 million viewers — “Peter Pan Live!” could turn out to be golden pixie dust. A number of Wall Street Journal staffers will post their impressions of the show as it unfolds. Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Oldest Newest 7:56 pm Welcome to Speakeasy’s “Peter Pan Live!” blog. NBC’s musical extravaganza is meant to be a ratings generator in the style of the network’s “Sound of Music” show of last year. Please join the discussion with Wall Street Journal staffers by sharing your thoughts and impressions in the comments section. By Jonathan Welsh 8:05 pm We open with a non-musical narrative setting the scene in England. The kids and a real dog, Nana, are pushing back on bedtime. The dog jumps on Papa Christian Borle and appears to bite his hand. Fighting already? By Barbara Chai By Stefanie Cohen 8:09 pm Craig Zadan, the producer, who is watching the show tonight from the camera truck with his co-producer Neil Meron and NBC head Bob Greenblatt: “You just have that knot in your stomach. But there’s nothing we can do now.” By Stefanie Cohen 8:09 pm Pretty charming to watch two Broadway vets, Kelli O’Hara and Christian Borle, even though they’re not singing, dancing or flying. Mama Kelli gets the kids to bed finally.

By Barbara Chai Doctors don’t recommend falling asleep while singing. By Mike Ayers 8:11 pm I miss Nana the dog already. But Kelli O’Hara’s singing the kids to sleep is sublime. By Barbara Chai 8:11 pm Christpher Walken on how he’s dealing with tonight: “Of course I’m nervous” he said, adding he hadn’t “found” his Hook yet, two weeks back. “I’m hoping for a mitzvah” By Stefanie Cohen Do we think that Tinkerbell is too CGI’d? Allison as Peter takes the screen, finds her shadow, and looks confident doing so! By Mike Ayers 8:15 pm Allison Williams on meeting Wendy: “Peter has to rock Wendy’s world in the nursery scene.” By Stefanie Cohen What do we think of Allison’s British accent? By Barbara Chai 8:16 pm That “shadow” looks like a fish net cape from the monster in American Ballet Theater’s Swan Lake. By Pia Catton sorry should say “his shadow” By Mike Ayers Isn’t that accent a bit posh!?

By Pia Catton 8:19 pm Allison Williams’s first singing number as Peter Pan. Is her singing better than her British accent? By Barbara Chai 8:19 pm “The truth of the matter is whether you get great stuff on social media or nasty stuff, it still makes people watch,” says producer Neil Meron. By Stefanie Cohen 8:20 pm Her singing is much more compelling than her speaking. But all the singing is lip synched right? Or am I just cynical? Her rooster was the best tho. By Mike Ayers At least we know she’s not lip synching… She winded! By Pia Catton If she were lip synching, the singing would be way better. By Pia Catton 8:23 pm Ouch — I i think some of their mouths and vocals were not fully matching up for me. i Iant to believe. By Mike Ayers 8:24 pm Neil Meron says Irene Mecchi wrote a new script filling in blanks, including Peter’s origin story: “When he was 2 years old he flew back home and he perched in the window and saw his parents had moved on without him and he just flew back.

It fills in blanks about who is is and what motivates him.” By Stefanie Cohen 8:30 pm As the first commercial break hit, Peter and Wendy became fast chums, after Peter found his shadow. Dancing and frolicking in Wendy’s bedroom ensued, as they plotted their next move … away from the house. By Mike Ayers Big flying scene coming up. Don’t crash into each other! By Stefanie Cohen 8:31 pm Trying to explain the concept of the Lost Boys is a bit dark. Boys who fall out of their carriages when no one is paying attention? So basically, they’re really Neglected Boys. By Pia Catton 8:32 pm Peter is describing to Wendy the Lost Boys who fell out of their carriages, and convincing her to come fly with him to Neverland. She could make them pockets! By Barbara Chai And Peter is airborne, swinging from wall to wall as the kids exclaim “Flying!” By Barbara Chai Hm, that was some weak fairy dust Peter flung at the kids. Have to say, Michael’s flying is way more dynamic. By Barbara Chai The baby Darling child is pretty awesome.

By Stefanie Cohen 8:35 pm Reader Amy makes an interesting point, saying Allison Williams’s Peter seems too mature to be the little boy who never grew up. Do we agree? By Barbara Chai They are having fun flying. This is actually very sweet. By Pia Catton 8:39 pm New Plot summary: Peter coaxed Wendy into going to Neverland, promising he can fly. He can fly! He says there’s no girls in Neverland because they’re too “clever.” And Wendy wakes up her brothers. When Peter debuted his flying abilities, it looked more like floating gracefully. All the kids eventually got into the flying routine, and we admit – it looked quite fun. The house opened up and the kids flew out into the night. Right before the second commercial break, the four cruised around the sky before arriving into a bright and colorful Neverland. By Mike Ayers 8:42 pm Reader Amy’s point about Allison’s maturity is spot on so far – maybe Neverland will bring out the kid?? By Mike Ayers 8:42 pm My favorite moments so far are the little Michael kid flying, and Nana the shaggy dog biting Christian Borle.

By Barbara Chai So far Captain Hook looks legit angry at the existence of Peter Pan. By Mike Ayers 8:46 pm OMG I almost forgot Christopher Walken was in this. There he is! Captain Hook is telling a heavily tattooed Christian Borle about skewering Peter Pan because “he tossed my hand to a crocodile.” By Barbara Chai The pirates are appropriately dressed, with sexy leather boots, puffy hair and heavy eyeliner. Pirates could make a good hair band! Rock on! By Pia Catton The pirates are appropriately dressed, with sexy leather boots, puffy hair and heavy eyeliner. Pirates could make a good hair band! Rock on! By Pia Catton 8:47 pm “Don’t I want to be a hero? Don’t I want to be a dandy?” Sweeter words were never spoken from Christopher Walken’s lips. When does the dancing start? By Barbara Chai 8:48 pm “We were keen to add a good opening number for Captain Hook and that became the tap number. He also does a tango, a tarantella, a waltz, and a choreographed duel,” says director Rob Ashford.

By Stefanie Cohen I’m told this is a new song. Nice little melody. By Pia Catton 8:49 pm “Captain Hook has never been a dancing role. It has become one with Chris Walken. The new number titled Vengeance has been added to this production as an opening for Hook. It’s a Comden and Green/ Julie Styne song with new lyrics by Amanda Green,” says director Rob Ashford. By Stefanie Cohen 8:49 pm I mean, Captain Hook is more of a straight talker than a singer, but oh boy, now the tap dancing!!! By Barbara Chai The dude can dance! Walken breaks out into a tap number. By Stefanie Cohen 8:50 pm I will always love a tap dance number, I don’t care who’s tapping. Pirates, sailors, union workers! Tap your hearts out boys! By Pia Catton 8:50 pm Peter Pan Live just got much livelier with Captain “Jazz Hands” Hook. Now Peter and the kids are heading their way, unaware of any threat to their safety.

By Barbara Chai 8:51 pm And we enter Neverland, with choreography that looks a lot like “Newsies” and a set that looks like Willy Wonka’s rejected ideas. By Pia Catton 8:52 pm Derek McClane did the sets — he modeled Neverland off the coasts of Vietnam and Laos, then mixed that with Maxfield Parrish By Stefanie Cohen Best line of the night “Put me DOWN”! By Pia Catton Is this Captain Hook tango weird? Or the next wedding craze? By Mike Ayers First tap, now tango. Christopher Walken doesn’t have any F’s to give. Wow, that crocodile came from planet Avatar. I forgot my 3D glasses. By Barbara Chai 8:59 pm After the second commercial break, we get our first taste of Christopher Walken as Hook. He’s kinda scary looking. He wants to put an end to Peter Pan. He looks quite sad and annoyed. Hook is for real. Hook goes through his crew, where he needs to hash our some plans. Retire? Which then launches into a perfect Walken number about giving up on his dream of ridding the world of Peter Pan.

His pirate crew are intrigued. Walken looks down most of the time at the ship’s floor, rather than his fellow actor’s eyes or the camera. Concentration is in full force. Then the dancing began. Hook balances his evilness with a bit of tap. The scene cut to a dance number in Neverland that featured cannonball shots scaring the inhabitants – they hoped for Peter’s return. The pirates landed ashore, carrying Hook on a chair. Hook and Shmee eventually sat down on some local mushrooms to cook up some plans. Such a plan was eventually hashed out over a tango, before a creepy looking alligator threatened the pirates. By Mike Ayers 9:01 pm So that blue crocodile that just showed up has the same coloring that of Meryl Streep during Act II of the new “Into the Woods” movie. By Pia Catton 9:07 pm Okay, I just tuned in, and my first thought is, oh, my. Is this really three hours? 25 minutes would’ve been more than enough.

By Paul Vigna 9:07 pm Peter and the Lost Boys are doing a whole lot of tidying so “at last we have a mother.” Wait, this is just “Overboard” without Goldie Hawn. By Pia Catton She’ll make us pockets! I never fully appreciated pockets. But it’s sweet how the Lost Boys adore Wendy. By Barbara Chai 9:13 pm Christopher Walken wasn’t kidding when he told Stefanie Cohen and Mike Ayers he had one condition for doing #PeterPanLive: Dancing! By Barbara Chai Hamlet? Hamlet? Is Hamlet on anywhere right now? By Paul Vigna “Peter Pan has found a mother. Whoa-ho-yeah” – Walken By Mike Ayers 9:14 pm So how do us parents explain pirates who want to murder kids to our own kids? Do tambourines help? By Mike Ayers 9:15 pm Did Walken just recycle his make-up from Balls of Fury? No matter, the guy’s great in anything he does. It’s sort of surreal. It’s like he doesn’t even need material to work with.

By Paul Vigna 9:15 pm Allison Williams’s goal is to have every kid in America dress as Peter Pan or Tinkerbell next Halloween, she told Stefanie Cohen. By Barbara Chai 9:16 pm Wendy is played by Taylor Louderman, a graduate of the University of Michigan’s musical theater program, which has generated a long list of Broadway talent , as has Carnegie Mellon. By Pia Catton 9:17 pm Back to Neverland – the residents are looking for Hook or Peter, but find Tinkerbell. Peter, John and Michael finally show up after Tink tells the guys to shoot down Wendy with an arrow. Dark! She laid there, presumably dead. Alas, a necklace Peter gave Wendy saved her life. Peter learns of Hook’s return and retreats into a dirty home in the mountainside. But it has a swing and slide inside, so that’s alright by us! Peter breaks out into song, as he gets his buds to tidy up the place, as they sing a joyful song about Wendy being their mother. Wendy finally arrived, with a happy look on her face. Of course she did! There’s a swing in the house.

Wendy told her new family of lost boys some bedtime stories, while Peter played father. A cake is made, but it’s too rich – and tossed out, where a pirate gets the discarded treat. Then they all got into a bathtub and sung again about having a mother. By Mike Ayers 9:18 pm No, but if you can invite Walken over with his hook hand, I think he’d make it perfectly clear. By Paul Vigna 9:19 pm From the WSJ’s Joe Flint: “Peter Pan” will have a tough act to follow. “The Sound of Music” was watched by 18.6 million people, according to Nielsen. Its success not only led NBC to give a green light to “Peter Pan,” but — in keeping with the old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of television – it also inspired Fox to announce plans for a live version of the musical “Grease.” By Barbara Chai 9:21 pm Also from WSJ’s Joe Flint: NBC is also considering a live version of “Music Man” and even “A Few Good Men,” The Aaron Sorkin play that was turned into a hit movie starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson.

No word if NBC will try to turn “You Can’t Handle the Truth” into a musical number. By Barbara Chai 9:22 pm I hear CBS is going to have Harvey Keitel and Walter Cronkite’s granddaughter in a musical version of Breaking the Waves. By Paul Vigna 9:26 pm Allison Williams said “Twitter is a cynical medium anyway, so it’s not going to be filled with praise. Trying to win them over is completely pointless .” Discuss! By Barbara Chai Neverland looks like it’s on LSD. Is that just because it’s live? By Barbara Chai 9:28 pm Advertisers are said to be paying as much as $400,000 per-30 second commercial for the telecast. By Barbara Chai Impressive pulling off the cup-on-the-head thing live. By Paul Vigna — Judge Reinhold (@JudgeReinhold) December 5, 2014 By Mike Ayers We need Judge for the live blog. Quick, somebody offer him a job. By Paul Vigna 9:31 pm We return with Peter giving the Lost Boys a pep talk about dealing with Hook.

Wendy shows up with some motherly advice, but Peter is skeptical. He then launches into “I Won’t Grow Up,” Allison’s best number of the night thus far. Shmee and a few of his cronies show up, scouting out Neverland – good spots to place dynamite, as the Lost Boys are seen nearby practicing their sword fights. Wendy starts to teach the Boys about conflict resolution. Boring mother alert! Cue Shmee and his crew, still searching for sweet spots to blow up. The Boys and Wendy head back home, where Peter tries to explain that diplomacy is not the way to deal with Hook. Then everyone takes a nap. Bad timing, as Hook found their hideout. With the show half over, it’s clear a fight’s brewing. By Mike Ayers 9:32 pm You know, I know that Vivian Leigh could play a Southerner, and Renee Zellweger could play a Brit, kind of, but why can’t anybody find a boy to play Peter Pan? By Paul Vigna 9:33 pm Remember when Jennifer Lopez wore that green Versace dress to the 2000 Grammy Awards?

I think that dress was recycled for Tiger Lily’s costume. By Pia Catton By Paul Vigna 9:37 pm Okay, the mermaid cameo was way too brief. Same for the Avatar crocodile and Nana the shag dog. By Barbara Chai 9:38 pm Basically, Wendy’s plight is the same as every woman I know: “I totally like this guy, and he refuses to grow up.” By Pia Catton 9:39 pm A reader on the comment board says Peter Pan Live! Is better than Sound of Music. Do we agree, bloggers? By Barbara Chai 9:40 pm Allison Williams really doesn’t care if people watch just to make fun of the show. Good thing, judging from Twitter. “Even for the cynical people, I know something they don’t, which is that when they tune in, what they are going to see is going be excellent, and is going to consume them whether they like it or not,” she said. By Stefanie Cohen Even when Captain Hook’s insults are corny it’s awesome because Walken.

By Barbara Chai 9:43 pm Honestly, I enjoyed Sound of Music more because I knew the songs and watched that movie 100s of times. Peter Pan I remember more from a cartoon, but I don’t know the show as well. But all things being equal, Christopher Walken is giving this a edge that I’m enjoying. By Pia Catton Having flashbacks of Spiderman — Turn off the Dark. By Stefanie Cohen The croc and the baby Darling have stolen the show By Stefanie Cohen 9:44 pm Peter Pan live is def more complicated than Sound of Music. More sets, more dancing, and FLYING! By Stefanie Cohen 9:47 pm Some numbers: 370 people, 46 crew members, 8 weeks of rehearsals and designing and writing since April. Meron and Zadan started planning for it right after Sound of Music ended. They got the rights for Peter Pan in January. By Stefanie Cohen 9:48 pm Thank God for commercial breaks. I can turn on NFL Network and watch different actors in tights running around. By Paul Vigna NO ONE KNOWS THESE SONGS!!!

By Stefanie Cohen 9:49 pm Snark aside – and this production does seem tailor made for snark – it is pretty cool to see a network stage a live broadcast like this. It’s got a totally different vibe. For that alone, this is interesting. By Paul Vigna Also, the sets are really impressive. The color is great, the clouds look 3-D. By Stefanie Cohen 9:50 pm Peter Pan is the sun, the moon and the stars! I half-expected her to start speaking Dothraki. By Barbara Chai 9:51 pm The name “Peter Pan” is a blend, half-Christian and half-pagan. Saint Peter was an apostle and martyr. Pan was the Greek god of woods and mountains. Scholar Barry Strauss breaks it down here . By Barbara Chai 9:53 pm Other productions I’d like to see: Anne Hathaway and Harry Connick in a cajun musical version of A Tale of Two Cities. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” that’s bayou material right there. By Paul Vigna That number kinda felt like forever in Neverland.

By Mike Ayers 9:57 pm Great dance number for the Lost Boys and Indians. But here’s the problem: because so much live performance is lip synched, evidently no producer remembers that it is not possible to sing and dance without huffing and puffing into your microphone. I’m ok with the huffing because it shows that they are human performers. But still, it’s inconsistent with what we normally see — even live and in person. By Pia Catton I actually really like Wendy’s dress. Is it Lilly Pulitzer? Where can I buy? By Stefanie Cohen That’s from the Lily Pulitzer Maternity Collection. By Pia Catton 9:58 pm Factoid from Stefanie Cohen: The set is inside an airplane hangar where the former Grumman aircraft maker once built Apollo lunar modules . By Barbara Chai 9:58 pm The new Peter Pan line will likely be available at Walmart if the commercials have told me anything. By Mike Ayers 10:02 pm Peter Pan and Tiger Lilly reconcile their differences through a song and dance number. A long, long dance number. They all return to Peter’s abode, where Wendy sits down for some real talk with Pan.

She wants him to be more than just a pretend mother and son. Peter’s not getting it. Dude. She’s into you. Cut to the Lost Boys picking their noses and taking a bath, prepping for story time from Wendy. As everyone preps for bed, Wendy seems to be getting nostalgic for home – and sings a song from Neverland with her real mother, back in London. It’s one of the evening’s most tender moments. By Mike Ayers 10:02 pm Another factoid: Women have played Peter Pan from the opening of J.M. Barrie’s play in London in 1904. By Barbara Chai 10:04 pm There’s really quite a lot of napping by the Lost Boys in this show. And I might join them. By Pia Catton 10:04 pm I can’t wait for them to row by Brian Williams do a live remote broadcast from Neverland. By Paul Vigna 10:04 pm 10:05 pm What will this final hour bring? Will Peter and Hook finally settle their differences? And more importantly, will we see the crocodile man-thing again?

By Mike Ayers 10:07 pm Another new song, this one is nostalgic and slow. As opposed to sappy and slow.Alison Williams is doing a good job — and very brave. By Pia Catton We really need a little Blues Traveler right about now. By Paul Vigna 10:11 pm Okay, so it’s after 10 p.m. The kids have long since gone to sleep. I want to see Walken go all True Romance on this production. By Paul Vigna Captain Hook’s first name is James. And Wendy’s last name is Hook. By Stefanie Cohen 10:13 pm Did you know: NBC first presented a live version of “Peter Pan” in 1955, which drew 65 million viewers , a record for that time. 10:13 pm “Hook, James Hook” Really? If you’re wearing a tricorn hat containing big frothy plumes, I’m not sure you get to cop a James Bond line. By Pia Catton 10:14 pm We return with Peter distraught, but the gang decides to go for a walk at night, which is never a good idea.

And low and behold, they meet up with Hook. Everyone’s captured! It’s off to the ship they go, where their fate awaits them… By Mike Ayers 10:14 pm You serious, Stephanie? He’s, what, her father or something? I really don’t remember this story at all. By Paul Vigna Ed Norton and Joey Fatone in a musical version of Of Mice and Men. By Paul Vigna I think he’s planning to wed her?!? Did I get that wrong? By Stefanie Cohen And we’re back in Peter Pan’s lair, where Peter is once again…napping. By Pia Catton I’M CLAPPING, TINK! I’M CLAPPING! By Paul Vigna 10:20 pm Looking directly into the camera and asking children everywhere to clap and cheer. Feels like one step away from Soupy Sales. By Pia Catton 10:21 pm This production features so much sleeping – one has to wonder, is it trolling us viewers who are pushing through to 11 ?

By Mike Ayers 10:27 pm Now it’s time for a pirate waltz around the ship, with Captain Hook at the ship’s wheel. Great, classic song! “Who’s the slimiest? Who’s the creepiest creep in the world?!” By Pia Catton One step, Pia? I’d say no steps. By Paul Vigna 10:28 pm 10:28 pm Peter learns of Wendy and the Boys capture from Tinkerbell and Hook is quite gleeful that he’s about to commit murder on young kids. He then launches into the best Hook song of the night, which sung the praises of how great Captain Hook is. The commercial break came quick this time… By Mike Ayers — ChristianBorles Arms (@ChrisBorlesArms) December 5, 2014 10:37 pm Kill ‘im, Wendy! Run ‘im through! By Paul Vigna 10:37 pm Katniss Everdeen could get out of this fight scene a lot faster than Peter Pan is. I mean, even I can totally see the end of the set!

By Pia Catton 10:38 pm From TV critic Matt Zoller Seitz: Peter Pan live, in a nutshell: a lot of good visual/dramatic ideas here, but the execution is lacking. — Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) December 5, 2014 10:40 pm Seriously, I’ve seen stage fight scenes that are way more convincing. And I’m talking about BALLET fight scenes. By Pia Catton 10:40 pm From WSJ theater critic Terry Teachout: Having (A) seen Mary Martin’s “Peter Pan” on TV as a child and (B) seen “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway” six times…well, you figure it out. — Max Knoblauch (@MaxKnoblauch) December 5, 2014 By Mike Ayers 10:52 pm Mike, the Avatar crocodile now dives underwater to meet James Cameron at Earth’s deepest point. By Barbara Chai 10:52 pm So the Lost Boys have come home to the Darling house. And now instead of three kids in one bedroom, there are like 15?

I think I know a few brokers who can get them out of this two-bedroom flat! By Pia Catton 10:55 pm Remember folks, NBC is also considering a live version of “Music Man” and even “A Few Good Men,” the Aaron Sorkin play. What else would you like to see turned into a live musical? By Barbara Chai 10:56 pm Peter returns to the nursery to find Wendy all grown up. But he’s still demanding that anyone he takes with him to Neverland MUST MEND HIS POCKETS! By Pia Catton 10:57 pm Before this thing ends, I really want to reiterate that while this production’s a bit, um, silly, I really do give NBC credit for doing something different. Television needs to try new things if it’s going to keep the small-screen generation. I eagerly await “Sharknado: the Musical, Live!,” starring Taylor Swift, Liam Neeson, the ghost of Stonewall Jackson, Odell Beckham’s catch, and Mickey Rourke. At which point the Internet really will break.

By Paul Vigna 10:58 pm The children finally return home to London, where Wendy pleads for her parents to adopt the Lost Boys. And they accept a bunch of kids they’ve never met into their family! Wendy then goes to the window and looks fondly out, remembering her time in Neverland. Flash forward! Wendy grows up (played by Minnie Driver) – where she comes back to her old room, and meets up with Peter again, who sticks to his guns and doesn’t grow up. They fly away into the night…and with that, the show’s a wrap. By Mike Ayers 10:59 pm Paul, agreed, but thing is, I feel like it could to be so much more polished. If these shows were all cast with real Broadway talent, the shows would be great. But they have to cast stars that more people know. Carrie Underwood, Alison Williams, Christopher Walken. Without the known commodities throwing themselves off the plank, and giving us something to hate on, I’m not sure they’d get the ratings. But man, it would be SO much better. By Pia Catton Thanks for following our live blog, readers!

What did you think of the show? Leave your thoughts in the comments! By Barbara Chai

Question: Where did Peter Pan live?
Answer: Neverland