In this magical tale about the boy who refuses to grow up, Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy sidekick Tinkerbell visit the nursery of Wendy, Michael and John Darling. With a sprinkling of pixie dust, Peter and his new friends fly out the nursery window and over London to Never-Never Land. The children experience many wonderful and exciting adventures with the Lost Boys, Tiger Lily's Indian tribe, and Peter's arch enemy the dastardly pirate Captain Hook.
Acting
Mary Martin's athleticism defies gravity; Ritchard's Hook is gloriously camp.
Direction
Donehue stages for cameras without killing theatrical electricity.
Production
1960 TV budget + Broadway craft = accidental time capsule.
Director
Vincent J. Donehue
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1960 broadcast was so successful NBC repeated it annually until 1973, making it the 'Wizard of Oz' for boomers. Martin was 47 playing a preteen boy.
The 'Ugg-a-Wugg' number was quietly rewritten for 2014 NBC live version, but this original preserves mid-century Broadway's unexamined racism as historical document.
US
