Children’s musicals have always been a sub-genre of the Broadway theatre. Fairy tales and legends have been the basis for play plots since 1881 when “Cinderella at School” opened in New York. These shows were usually written with adults in mind and with children just tagging along.
J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play, “Peter Pan”, had been performed in American and British theater repeatedly with numerous female Peters. The 1954 musical was a very different version from the original play. Peter Pan opened on October 20, 1954 at the Winter Garden Theater. It ran for 152 performances. This production was never meant to be a long running Broadway show, but was to help launch the proposed 1955 NBC televised version with Mary Martin, who has become the most beloved Peter Pan. The NBC musical has been rebroadcast numerous times.
Mary Martin won the 1955 Best Actress Tony Award for portraying Peter. Cyril Richard, who played the foppish Captain Hook, won the Best Supporting or Featured Actor Tony Award. A third 1955 Tony was won by Peter Pan stage technician Richard Rodda.
The 1980, 1990, and 1999 revivals of Peter Pan have all been nominated for Best Musical Revival Tony awards, and both Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby have been nominated for Best Actress Tony Awards.
Dress Rehearsal Cast A
Dress Rehearsal Cast B
October Rehearsals
Peter Pan booth at the Fall Festival, Abbot Hall ~ Oct 1 & 2, 2005
The first rehearsal for Peter Pan. The cast works on the Nursery scene.
Auditions
