Peter Pan (1976 musical)

Peter Pan is a 1976 British-American made-for-television musical film adaptation of J.M. Barrie's 1904 play and 1911 novel Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up starring Mia Farrow as Peter Pan and Danny Kaye as Captain Hook, and with Sir John Gielgud narrating. Julie Andrews sang one of the songs, "Once Upon a Bedtime", off-camera over the opening credits.^[1] It was first shown in the UK on Sunday, 29 February 1976 on ITV. It then aired as a presentation of Hallmark Hall of Fame on NBC at 7:30pm on Sunday, December 12, 1976, capping off the program's 25th year on the air.^[1]

Peter Pan
Written by	Andrew Birkin Jack Burns
Directed by	Dwight Hemion
Starring	Mia Farrow Danny Kaye
Music by	Anthony Newley Leslie Bricusse
Country of origin	United States United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Dwight Hemion Gary Smith
Producer	Dwight Hemion
Running time	102 minutes
Production companies	Hallmark Hall of Fame Associated Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	February 29, 1976 (1976-02-29)
Network	NBC
Release	December 12, 1976 (1976-12-12)

The program did not use the score written for the highly successful Mary Martin version which had previously been televised many times on NBC. Instead, it featured 14 new and now forgotten songs, written for the production by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. The story was adapted by Andrew Birkin (who would subsequently become a leading Barrie scholar) and Jack Burns. Although part-funded by NBC with two American stars, most of the cast was British and it was shot at ATV's Elstree Studios, near London.

This version of Peter Pan won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming for Jenn de Joux's and Elizabeth Savel's visual effects, and was nominated for Outstanding Children's Special, however it was not rebroadcast. But it was featured in 2011 at the Paley Center in New York City as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.^[2]

Cast

• Mia Farrow ... Peter Pan
• Danny Kaye ... Captain Hook and Mr. Darling

(alphabetically)

• Lynsey Baxter ... Jane
• Peppi Borza ... Pirate
• Michael Crane ... Pirate
• Michael Deeks ... Curly
• Fred Evans ... Pirate
• Jill Gascoine ... Grown up Wendy
• John Gielgud ... Narrator
• George Harris ... Pirate
• Paula Kelly ... Tiger Lily
• Max Latimer ... Pirate
• Nicholas Lyndhurst ... Tootles
• Virginia McKenna ... Mrs. Darling
• Briony McRoberts ... Wendy Darling
• Joe Melia ... Starkey
• Peter O'Farrell ... Nana
• Adam Richens ... Nibs
• Ian Sharrock ... John Darling
• Adam Stafford ... Michael Darling
• Tony Sympson ... Smee
• Jerome Watts ... Slightly

Production notes

In 1976, this was the second of two TV musical adaptations of a children's classic which starred Danny Kaye opposite a woman playing the part of a young boy. On March 27, 1976, CBS telecast Pinocchio with Kaye as Gepetto and Sandy Duncan in the title role.

References

1. Google newspaper cache of Associated Press story, printed in Eugene Register-Guard, Dec 11, 1976
2. Paley Center Screens the Twice-Told Tales of "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan" Beginning Oct. 1

External links

• Peter Pan (1976 TV musical) at IMDb