‘Peter Pan’ Live Hits NBC December 4

The success of NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! has led to the production of a new live event entitled Peter Pan. The live production is scheduled to be broadcasted Thursday, December 4, 2014.

NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt shared in a statement, “We’re very pleased to be underway on Peter Pan as our next live holiday musical for the whole family. We were all delighted to see how The Sound of Music Live! struck such a chord in December and brought nearly 19 million people to the live telecast plus another several million viewers over the weekend. In the hopes that lightning strikes twice, we think we’ve landed on another great Broadway musical — which ironically also starred Mary Martin — that is a timeless classic for all audiences, young and old, who just never want to grow up.”

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced The Sound of Music Live!, are set to produce Peter Pan as well. Though no details regarding cast members has been released yet, a press release shared by NBC stated, “Casting is currently on a fast track.”

Broadway’s original Peter Pan production starred Mary Martin in the title role of Peter Pan and Cyril Richard as Captain Hook. Both actors won Tony Awards for their performances in that production. The show closed on Broadway in 1955 which led to a live broadcast that same year on NBC. That event attracted 65 million viewers. The show was also broadcast live in 1956 and 1960 to large ratings each time.

Given the pattern, one can only expect that the upcoming Peter Pan live event will draw large audiences to what is sure to be a spectacular performance.