Peter Pan (musical)
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| Peter Pan | |
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| Original Recording | |
|---|---|
| Music | Jule Styne Mark Charlap Trude Rittman |
| Lyrics | Betty Comden and Adolph Green Carolyn Leigh Mark Charlap |
| Book | Sir James M. Barrie |
| Based upon | Peter Pan by Sir J. M. Barrie |
| Productions | Broadway 1954, 1979, 1990, 1998 |
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of Sir J. M. Barrie's famous novel, Peter Pan. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins and initially starred Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard on Broadway.
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[edit] Original stage production
The show opened on October 20, 1954 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York. It closed on February 26, 1955 after only 152 performances. Despite mixed reviews, it is remembered as one of the most memorable performances in the career of its star, Mary Martin. Originally conceived as a play with incidental music, it evolved into a full-scale musical during the show's West Coast tryout, when director Robbins called in composer Styne and lyricists Comden and Green to augment the existing score by Charlap and Leigh.
The show opened in a busy Broadway season, competing with such notable shows as The Boy Friend, Fanny, Silk Stockings, and Damn Yankees, and could easily have been forgotten, especially with the disappointing reviews on opening night. However, while still in tryouts in Los Angeles, a deal was made for the show to be broadcast on NBC's Producer's Showcase on March 7, 1955. Despite having already closed on Broadway, the show aired all across the U.S. and enchanted America. Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard both won Tony Awards for their performances. The television presentation was so well received that the musical was restaged for television in 1960.
[edit] Revivals
The show was revived in 1979 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, starring Sandy Duncan and George Rose, and ran for 554 performances. Duncan was nominated for the Best Actress Tony, and the show itself was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical.
A third production was mounted in 1990, originally at the Lunt-Fontanne, running for 45 performances. A return engagement opened 10 months later, this time at the Minskoff Theatre, running for an additional 48 performances. Both engagements starred gymnast Cathy Rigby as Peter; the first co-starred Stephen Hanan and the second J. K. Simmons. The production was nominated for Best Revival of a Musical at the 1991 Tonys, and Rigby was nominated for Best Actress.
Miss Rigby returned to Broadway as Peter Pan a third time in 1998 at the Marquis Theatre, with Paul Schoeffler co-starring. This production ran for 48 performances. A return engagement with the same stars opened in 1999 at the George Gershwin Theatre and ran for 166 performances. This engagement was nominated for the 1999 Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.
[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Act I
The Darling Nursery
As Mr. and Mrs. Darling prepare for an evening out, they come to say goodnight to their three children, Wendy, Michael, and John, and their nursemaid, the dog Nana. Mr. Darling questions using a dog as a nursemaid, but Mrs. Darling defends her. The previous week, while the children slept, Nana was surprised to see a boy in the room. Before she could catch him, he flew out the window. She did manage to catch his shadow, however, which Mrs. Darling has tucked away in a drawer. Nevertheless, Mr. Darling insists that Nana spend the night downstairs. Mrs. Darling and the children sing a lullaby ("Tender Shepherd").
The children fall asleep. A fairy, Tinker Bell, and Peter Pan slip in through the window. Tinker Bell shows Peter where his shadow is hidden. He tries to reattach it and starts to cry when he can't get it to stick. Wendy wakes up and asks, "Boy, why are you crying?" When he explains, she offers to sew his shadow to his foot. Peter is thrilled when his shadow is reattached ("I've Gotta Crow"). Peter tells Wendy about the fairies, and how a fairy dies every time a child says he doesn't believe in fairies. Wendy asks where he comes from, and Peter tells her ("Never Never Land"). Michael and John wake up, but suddenly Nana and the housemaid Liza come in, having heard noises. The children pretend to be asleep, while Peter and Tinker Bell hide. When Nana and Liza leave, Peter invites the children to accompany him to Never Land. They happily agree, but how will they get there? Peter covers them with fairy dust and teaches them to fly, telling them to think lovely thoughts ("I'm Flying").
[edit] Act II
Never Land
Peter's "Lost Boys" are standing outside their underground lair, wondering when he will return, when they are ambushed by Captain Hook and his pirates ("Pirate Song"). The boys hide. Hook reveals that he wants to kill Peter, because Peter is the one who cut off his hand and threw it to a crocodile, which has developed a taste for Hook and follows him around, hoping to eat more of him. Hook accidentally stumbles upon the entrance to the hideout, and summons Smee to provide background music while he plans the Boys' demise ("Hook's Tango"). Hook suddenly hears a loud tick-tock; the crocodile has swallowed a large clock, as well as his hand, and the ticking warns Hook when the beast approaches. The pirates flee, and the Boys reappear, thinking they're safe. Suddenly, a group of "Indians" appears, led by Tiger Lily. They leave the Boys alone, and go on hunting the pirates.
The Boys see a strange bird in the sky, and one of them fires an arrow. It isn't a bird; it's Wendy! Peter, Michael and John land to find the arrow lodged in her heart. She isn't dead, but she can't be moved into the hideout, so the Lost Boys build a house around her, hoping that she'll agree to be their mother ("Wendy"). Hook is infuriated that the Boys have found a mother. He plots to kidnap Wendy and kill the Boys, while Smee plays a "Tarantella".
Peter leads the Boys in their anthem ("I Won't Grow Up"). The pirates have captured Tiger Lily and tied her to a tree, but Peter throws his voice in mimicry of the Captain and convinces the men to let her go. Hook arrives and becomes enraged at her release. He demands that the "spirit of the forest" speak to him, so Peter obliges ("Oh, My Mysterious Lady"). Hook catches on, but Peter and Tiger Lily slip away from him.
Back at the hideout, the Boys tell Wendy how much they love her, but Tinker Bell becomes jealous. Peter and Tiger Lily rush in. They smoke a peace pipe and vow eternal friendship ("Ugg-a-Wugg"). Tiger Lily and her Indians leave to stand guard around the house above. Peter asks Wendy to sing the Boys a lullaby ("Distant Melody"). Michael and John want to return home, and Wendy admits to being homesick, too. The Boys wish they had parents, and Wendy offers hers to all of them. Everyone is excited about being adopted, except Peter, who says he won't go. Wendy tells him she'll come back once a year to do his spring cleaning.
The pirates attack and subdue the Indians. They give Peter the all-clear signal, so Peter sadly sends Wendy, her brothers, and the Lost Boys on their way. Before she leaves, Wendy sets out Peter's medicine for him to take before bed. As they leave the underground house, each one is captured by a pirate and taken off to Hook's ship, the Jolly Roger, where the Boys will be made to walk the plank, and Wendy will be forced to become the pirates' mother! Once everyone is gone, Hook sneaks into the lair and poisons Peter's medicine. Tinker Bell tries to tell Peter of the capture and the poison, but he waves her off. Desperate, she drinks the poison herself. Dying, she tells Peter that if every boy and girl who believes in fairies would clap their hands, she would live. Peter breaks the fourth wall and asks children of all ages to believe and clap their hands. They do, and Tinker Bell is saved. Peter grabs a dagger and heads off to rescue Wendy and the Boys.
[edit] Act III
The Jolly Roger
Hook revels in his success ("Hook's Waltz"). As the Boys begin to walk the plank, he hears the tick-tock of the crocodile and panics (though it's really only Peter with a large clock). Peter challenges Hook to a duel to the death, and defeats him. Hook tries to flee, but runs into the real crocodile and meets a well-deserved fate. Everyone sings Peter's praises ("I've Gotta Crow" (reprise)).
Back home, the Darlings sit by the nursery window night after night. One night, their children silently reappear and sing to their mother ("Tender Shepherd" (reprise)). Joyous over their return, the Darlings happily agree to adopt the Lost Boys ("I Won't Grow Up" (reprise)).
Years pass, and Peter comes to the nursery, waking a much older Wendy. He wants her to come to Never Land for spring cleaning, but she says she's too old; she has a daughter of her own now, Jane. Wendy leaves the room, and Peter begins to cry. Jane awakes, and like her mother before her, asks, "Boy, why are you crying?" Peter introduces himself, but Jane knows all about him from her mother's stories. She has been waiting for him to come take her to Never Land. He throws fairy dust on her, but as they are about to leave, Wendy tries to stop them. She realizes she can't, and reluctantly lets Jane go, "just for spring cleaning." Her daughter and the "boy who refuses to grow up" fly off into the night.
[edit] Musical Numbers
| Title | Sung by | Music | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overture | Jule Styne Moose Charlap |
||
| Prologue | Jule Styne | ||
| Tender Shepherd | Mrs. Darling, Wendy, John, Michael | Moose Charlap | Carolyn Leigh |
| I've Gotta Crow | Peter Pan | Moose Charlap | Carolyn Leigh |
| Never Never Land | Peter Pan | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| I'm Flying | Peter Pan, Wendy, John, Michael | Moose Charlap | Carolyn Leigh |
| Pirate Song | Captain Hook and Pirates | Moose Charlap | Carolyn Leigh |
| Hook's Tango | Captain Hook and Pirates | Trude Rittman | Carolyn Leigh |
| Indians | Tiger Lily and Indians | Moose Charlap | Moose Charlap |
| Wendy | Peter Pan and Lost Boys | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Tarantella | Captain Hook and Pirates | Trude Rittman | Carolyn Leigh |
| I Won't Grow Up | Peter Pan and Lost Boys | Moose Charlap | Carolyn Leigh |
| Oh, My Mysterious Lady | Peter Pan and Captain Hook | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Ugg-a-Wugg | Peter Pan, Tiger Lily, Children and Indians | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Distant Melody | Peter Pan | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Captain Hook's Waltz | Captain Hook and Pirates | Jule Styne | Betty Comden and Adolph Green |
| Finale | Company | Jule Styne Moose Charlap |
Betty Comden and Adolph Green Carolyn Leigh |
[edit] Roles
- Captain Hook
- Peter Pan
- Wendy
- John, her brother
- Michael, their brother
- Mr. Darling, their father
- Mrs. Darling, their mother
- Nana, their large dog
- Smee, the pirate lieutenant
- Tiger Lily, an Indian Princess
- Crocodile
- Other roles: Bill Jukes, Cecco, Cookson, Curly, First Twin, Gentleman Starkley, Mullins, Nibs, Noodler, Panter (an Indian Brave), Second Twin, Skylights, Slightly, Tootles, Fairies, Birds, Animals, Indian Braves, Mermaids
[edit] References
- Peter Pan at The Internet Broadway Database
- Peter Pan page at Broadwaymusicalhome.com
- Synopsis and other information about Peter Pan and many useful links
