Peter Pan Live! - Live Blog and Recap (VIDEO)

By Nick Roman ·

Welcome to the live blog and recap for Peter Pan Live! Yes, it's finally here, with Allison Williams as Peter Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook in a battle the likes of which we haven't seen since Caesar crossed the Rubicon.

Frankly, I have absolutely no idea why I felt compelled to live blog this. I mean, I didn't have to. For all intents and purposes, I'd have had the night off. But I just felt the urge to volunteer, because if I'm going to be snarking about this on Twitter, I might as well do it while hanging out with readers (i.e., people I like). Rickey will be helping out with videos as we begin the swashbuckling enterprise of seeing just how good Marnie is at playing a boy.

Join us in the comments as I'll be updating with live, running commentary, videos, tweets, and more. Because much like tax season, bored housewives, Christmas and the accompanying office party, these musicals only come once a year.

Credit: NBC

RECAP

8:02 PM: Right off the bat, the cinematography here seems VASTLY more sumptuous than The Sound of Music Live!, which felt like a flat version of A Prairie Home Companion or something. This looks the way I imagine Downton Abbey would look if they were ever crazy enough to air that show live (although I have no doubt Maggie Smith would be able to improv some fine snark).

8:05 PM: Christian Borle's floppy mustache is making Yosemite Sam jealous as all living hell.

And now we come to our first number, as "Tender Shepherd" is performed so beautifully that I immediately begin wondering if they're actually singing live for this. Seriously though, I could listen to Kelli O'Hara sing for days. That lady has the pipes of something celestial.

8:10 PM: So Allison Williams is finally here, but not before a strange, MS Paint visual effect brings us Tinkerbell as well. I know some people expressed concerns about Williams's accent, but I think her off-kilter accent makes sense. I mean, it's not as if Peter is actually from London. So his accent probably shouldn't sound like well-bred, high-society Wendy. Granted, I'm not sure she IS from high society, but come the hell on, she has a fireplace in her bedroom, which is itself the size of a small principality.

And we come to our second musical number, "I Gotta Crow," and Williams immediately acquits herself well. Not only does she sing the hell out of this with gusto, but she has a charming little bit with some shadows on the wall.

8:20 PM: Of course, this is already significantly different from The Sound of Music Live in overall presentation. Whereas The Sound of Music Live had this strange, hollow sound to its audio mix that constantly reminded you that you were watching a live production, and cinematography that looked like a Broadway production being filmed, I'm not sure I would have realized this was live if I didn't already know. It's got a slick look to it.

8:30 PM: And we finally get to "I'm Flying," and I'm trying to figure out when, exactly, the actors slipped on the harnesses. It was so seamless that I just couldn't catch it. With all that having been said, Neverland itself looks absolutely gorgeous. Kudos to the production on making it look like a rainbow fell down a flight of stairs and splatted on a surprise golf course below.

8:38 PM: Internet star Todd In the Shadows sums up my feelings on Williams, who doesn't look a single blessed thing like a boy.

8:40 PM: WE HAVE WALKEN! WALKEN ON THE PREMISES! They have him made up like Effie Trinkett, and I'm sure he's about five minutes away from pulling Primrose Everdeen's name out of a hat. You know, I've never much thought of how Hook's demeanor with his crew is a strange mirror of how Peter is around the Lost Boys. At least the demeanor with this version of Hook, anyway. His crew loves the guy, and they kick their feet up and gather around to hear him sing, like he's playing them some kind of lullaby. "Pirate March" (or is it "Vengeance"?) has never been my favorite song in this show, if only because it seemingly goes on forever. Perhaps what this number needs is more cowbell.

8:49 PM: And now we're in Neverland with the Lost Boys, as the forest has randomly become something out of Tim Burton's Charlie And the Chocolate Factory. Immediately, I'm thrown by the sight of grown-ass men playing young boys. Don't get me wrong, I understand the exigencies of casting adults in the roles of younger kids, but wouldn't it have at least made sense to get 18-year-olds? You know, "adults" who still have youthful faces?

8:51 PM: Hook declaring "Methinks I hear the ticking of a clock" is bringing up flashbacks of The Continental. This is almost like a discarded SNL sketch. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

Off-topic, but is there any reason Christian Borle is also playing Smee? Like, is there a thematic rationalization behind having the actor for George Darling also play the role of Smee? Or has it just always been that way, because reasons?

And now we have "Hook's Tango," and I find myself wondering if this is the show that kicked off Broadway's casual fixation with inserting comical tango numbers into random parts of a musical. Not that I'm complaining. "Tango: Maureen" is my jam.

9:00 PM: OH MY GOD, THEY KILLED WENDY!

You know, Wendy would probably be safer with Hook. At the very least, Hook's men wouldn't shoot her out of the freakin' sky with arrows to the heart. As this show goes on, I'm surprised at how little I actually remember about it. Wendy getting shot with the arrow, getting saved by the improbable thimble, even Peter's plan to make Wendy their mother. For some reason, all of this just dropped out of the trap door in my head.

And now the Lost Boys jump into "Wendy" (the song, not the person). Their continual exclamations of "We have a mother! "At last we have a mother!" seems a bit premature. I mean, maybe ask her first? Not every girl looks forward to a life of mopping floors and making ineffectual grilled cheese sandwiches.

9:10 PM: Did Walken forget a line there? That seemed like an abnormally long stretch of nothing happening, like he was clearing his throat to stall for time and the other actors picked up on it and followed suit. Then again, I'm probably just reading into things. My mind is abuzz with caffeine.

OH DEAR LORD, A CROCODILE! Okay, it's just a man in a crocodile outfit, crawling on all fours. But is there any reason they had to paint his suit turquoise?

9:16 PM: During "Hook's Tarantella," we go to a commercial break right as Hook breaks into a long note. In a cute bit, we cut back in during the break to find Hook still holding the note. This show needs more of that wink-and-nod silliness.

9:19 PM: So Wendy tries to teach the kids by giving them homework, and so they retaliate by singing. I wish kids were really like this, because I tried to get way too many spontaneous, Grease-like sing-a-longs started in school, expecting everyone would know what I was singing and just break into the choreography with me. Because reasonable expectations are reasonable.

Apropos of nothing (or everything), Peter having a psuedo-crush on Wendy while simultaneously wanting her to be his mother suggests this musical should probably have been called Oedipus Live!.

9:26 PM: Tiger Lily finds evidence of Hook's party in the area, which means she finally gets to be involved in the plot by warning Peter. And not a moment too soon...

9:33 PM: And now Peter is in a row boat with Wendy in a moonlit lagoon, and I wonder how long it'll take before Sebastian the Crab comes out and starts imploring Peter to kiss the girl. On that topic, young dude in a green tunic courts educated, high society blonde? The Legend of Zelda Live! is real, people.

And now Hook's men are here, with Tiger Lily chained to a rock, because apparently she's Prometheus now. Ah well, if she is, her liver can't possibly end up worse than mine.

9:40 PM: Hook and Pan, finally face-to-face! "Wonderful World Without Peter" is a fun number, all the more so for Walken's scenery-chewing. I could listen to that man over-enunciate on the word "lagoon" all day.

Also, because I'm probably going blind, I didn't notice the wires on Peter, so when he started flying, I was genuinely stunned. I mean, could you imagine if scientists discovered the secret to unassisted flight, and decided to debut that technology on a live, televised musical?

And now Peter gets slashed from behind because he lands right next to Hook and keeps singing with his back turned like a moron. And Wendy is all too quick to try and have a Notebook moment with him. A moment Peter has no interest in having.

Amen.

9:45 PM: Another ad break cut-in! This time, with one of Hook's men holding the long note while they're crammed into a rowboat like Washington crossing the Delaware. I'm a huge fan of unabashed silliness.

When we come back, Tiger Lily finally gets to have her big number. It's got the best choreography of any number in the show. It's very lively, and maybe it's only because the caffeine is wearing off, but I was exhausted just watching this.

9:56 PM: Wendy sings a lullaby, but all I can notice is that when she's singing to the far-off vision of Mrs. Darling, it appears the latter has aged a bunch since the first act. Other than the whole not-aging thing, does time act differently in Neverland? Has it been years since they left? Are Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway around the corner?

10:05 PM: The show's best song, "When I Went Home," totally delivers. Allison Williams really has such a lovely voice, and so much of the emotion of the song was conveyed through her eyes. I know we rag on her a bit for Marnie, but she's a far better actress than anyone gives her credit for. And I think this would be an even better performance were she not in there with experienced live theater actors. Taylor Louderman is killin' it as Wendy.

10:16 PM: The show feels like it's losing a bit of steam. Granted, it's not really the production's fault. "When I Went Home" felt like a climax, and now there's more rising action instead of a denoument. Tinkerbell drinks poison to save Peter, and here comes the "Tink can get better if you believe in fairies!" scene. And I'm a sucker for this, honestly. Sure, it's fourth wall-breaking silliness, but Williams is super sincere and manages to get it across.

Speaking of getting a sentiment across, Walken is absolutely killing it here. He's acting like he's phoning it in, but he's arguably dedicating more to his performance than anyone, since it requires a certain knowing absurdity. And it's just great. "Hook's Waltz" is an utterly delightful number, although I could swear more and more New York creeps into his accent with each musical number. But that's hardly a complaint. It's like he's doing an impression of himself. Seriously, his Walken is impeccable!

10:30 PM: So Hook is going to kill everyone, but he lets Wendy give one last speech. And she implores the boys to die like gentlemen, to which Hook deadpans, "That's it?" And I suddenly find myself laughing from the gut. Such snark, like he's at his wit's end with these damn children. Christopher Walken is a man for all seasons.

Oh wait! Peter is here! And he proclaims himself The Avenger! With nary an Iron Man in sight!

The brawl that follows is pretty fun though, with Wendy's brothers fighting with pots and pans, and Wendy herself using a teddy bear to subdue one of Hook's pirates...before teasing him over the plank with a longsword. Never was a girl more giddy to send a man to his death. That said, seeing actual young boys alongside the men cast to play young boys draws further attention to the fact that these Lost Boys are basically grad students in ill-fitting clothes. I turn 30 in July, and I'm pretty sure I'm younger than at least half of these guys.

10:37 PM This climactic duel between Peter and Hook starts out a bit languidly paced, but it gets pretty boss once the wires get involved. How Allison Williams didn't vomit all over the stage with all the twists and flips she was doing, I'll never know. But sadly, this is where we say farewell to Christopher Walken. And he goes out like a total champ, giving lip to the crocodile and basically telling Pan to go to hell, before taking a falling dive off the plank. Good thing there are only 15 minutes left. Without Walken, my interest in this plummets by at least half. Possibly 3/4.

You know, all these Melissa Joan Hart commercials, where she reads Peter Pan to her kids, are made all the more poignant by the knowledge that her last name on Clarissa Explains It All! was "Darling".

10:45 PM: Back to London, as Wendy proposes her father adopt all the Lost Boys, because Wendy has no concept of the weight of parental responsibility. She then pleads for Peter to come back, saying she'll always leave her window unlocked, which is basically asking to end up as the body on an episode of Criminal Minds.

Minnie Driver finally shows up, after serving as narrator for the show. What results is a surprisingly poignant, effective scene, as Wendy and Peter finally reunite after what he doesn't realize has been decades in Earth time. The ending, with Wendy allowing her daughter to experience Neverland herself, was a touching way to close things out. That said...

Still, maybe I'm just a giant softie, but I found it a hugely affecting ending. And it's a credit to both Williams and Driver that the emotional cues didn't ring false.

10:57 PM: And we wrap it up with a behind-the-scenes look at the show over the credits, along with an ad for the DVD. So yeah, I guess it's time to start brainstorming what next year's show will be. I'm putting my money on The Music Man, although Bye Bye Birdie would be aces.

And that's a wrap! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of the show in the comments, and offer up your suggestions for next year's show. Who knows? Maybe you'll nail the predictions! Until next time, it was a blast!

GOODNIGHT!

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