|
''Peter Pan Live!'' is a television special that was broadcast by NBC on December 4, 2014. The special featured a live production of the 1954 musical adaptation of ''Peter Pan'', televised from Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York, starring Allison Williams in the title role and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook. The production was a follow-up to ''The Sound of Music Live!''—a similar adaptation of ''The Sound of Music'' which aired on NBC in December 2013 and brought the network's highest Thursday-night ratings since 2004. NBC's entertainment head Bob Greenblatt would sign Craig Zadan and Neil Meron—who served as the executive producers of the special, to produce another live musical for the 2014 holiday season. Additionally, the production served as a follow-up to three productions of ''Peter Pan'' produced for NBC in 1955, 1956, and 1960 that featured cast members from its original Broadway run. While similar in content to the original, the version of ''Peter Pan'' featured in the special contained revisions to its book to emphasize the character of Captain Hook, along with additional songs from its revivals, new songs adapted from the musicals ''Do Re Mi'' and ''Say, Darling'', and the restoration of a song that had been cut from the musical before its original Broadway premiere. ==Development and production== In December 2013, NBC presented ''The Sound of Music Live!''—a live adaptation of the Broadway musical ''The Sound of Music'' that starred country music performer Carrie Underwood and was produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. After bringing NBC's highest Thursday night ratings for entertainment programming since 2004, NBC's entertainment head Bob Greenblatt announced that the network would present another live musical for the 2014 holiday season, and that it had signed Meron and Zadan on to continue their role as producers. Greenblatt felt that there were enough recognizable, family-friendly musicals to make live musicals an annual tradition, and noted that various theatrical rightsholders had expressed interest in having their musicals adapted for television in this manner. In January 2014, NBC announced that its next musical would be an adaptation of the 1954 musical ''Peter Pan''. This would not be the first time that NBC had broadcast a live production of ''Peter Pan'', as a presentation featuring Mary Martin, Cyril Ritchard, and its original Broadway cast was presented by NBC on March 7, 1955, as part of the anthology series ''Producers' Showcase''. The telecast, produced by Fred Coe, was one of the highest-rated programs in the early history of television,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.npr.org/2014/12/04/368308833/hate-the-idea-of-peter-pan-live-nbc-is-counting-on-it )〕 Martin and Ritchard would reprise their roles in another live presentation in 1956, along with a taped version filmed in 1960.〔 Produced on a $10 million budget and broadcast live from the Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York, the staff from ''The Sound of Music Live!'' was carried over to ''Peter Pan'', including Zadan and Meron, along with David Chase as music director and Derek McLane as production designer. Whilst producing ''The Sound of Music Live!'', Zadan and Meron shared a fondness for creating what Meron described as "moments of theatricality"—a practice that carried over into ''Peter Pan Live!''. Meron emphasized that the production would not be bound to the limitations of a traditional stage setting, allowing for larger sets, and "dynamic" camera angles and flying sequences. In total, he described the production as a "total balls-out musical."〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://variety.com/2014/tv/features/peter-pan-live-nbc-new-heights-1201364850/ )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/26/tinker-bell-will-be-computer-generated-in-peter-pan-live/ )〕 The production employed a CGI version of Tinker Bell: rendered live and controlled by a technician, it expressed emotions and thoughts by changing its size and color.〔 Allison Williams, star of the HBO series ''Girls'' and daughter of ''NBC Nightly News'' anchor Brian Williams, was cast as Peter Pan, continuing an established tradition of females portraying the title character of the musical.〔〔 Actor Christopher Walken was cast as Captain Hook; Walken showed uncertainty for his role in the production due to its unique format, noting that "when you do a () show, even if it isn’t a hit, you’re in previews for a few weeks and you get comfortable in the role. This is rehearsed as a stage show, but then the cameras are there. I’m never even sure when the camera is on me." In total, the production featured 46 cast members, and a production crew of at least 350 members.〔〔 Admitting that ''Peter Pan'' was not as much of a "bona fide classic" as ''The Sound of Music'', Meron's crew was given flexibility in revising the show's contents. Irene Mecchi—who is best-known for her screenwriting contributions to films such as ''The Lion King'', was brought in to "strengthen and deepen" the portrayal of Captain Hook in the production.〔 Revisions were also made to its soundtrack, including the addition of new songs with lyrical adaptations by Amanda Green, the daughter of Adolph Green, who, with Jule Styne and Betty Comden, added some songs for later productions, including "Never Never Land".〔 New songs added to the production included the Captain Hook song "Vengeance", an adaptation of "Ambition" from the Styne-Comden-Green musical ''Do Re Mi'', "Only Pretend", adapted from "I Know About Love", also from ''Do Re Mi'', and the Peter and Hook duet "A Wonderful World Without Peter", adapted from “Something’s Always Happening On The River” from the Styne-Comden-Green musical ''Say, Darling''. "When I Went Home", a song sung by Peter that was cut before the musical's 1954 premiere due to a "subdued" reaction in try-outs, was also restored for this production; Meron explained that the song would help viewers in "understand() more" about the character of Peter Pan.〔〔 "Oh My Mysterious Lady", a song written with Mary Martin in mind, was cut from the show〔〔 while the song "Ugg-a-Wugg", which contained racially insensitive lyrics, was rewritten into a new song entitled "True Blood Brothers."〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Peter Pan Live!」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|