Christopher Walken’s Pirate Ship Dance Party

Leading up to NBC’s Peter Pan Live, the Internet was abuzz with snark. After last year’s The Sound of Music Live, viewers seemed to be planning on tuning in just to make fun. As I watched, I followed the hashtag #PeterPanLive, and the attitudes didn’t seem to change.

However, I didn’t decide to watch because I was ready to see a train wreck. Last week, NBC aired a preview show that included behind the scenes footage of rehearsals. The theater geek in me was intrigued. That said, there are a lot of not-so-nice things I could say about Peter Pan Live. The most obvious being that I’d forgotten how creepy the Peter Pan story is.

Basically, Wendy and her family (The Darlings) are a proper bunch who live in a fancy home in London. Mr. and Mrs. Darling go out for the evening, despite Mrs. Darling having seen a boy lurking about the home and worrying about the safety of her children. While the children are sleeping, Peter Pan comes in through the window with his sassy fairy, Tinker Bell. Peter and Wendy bond over finding Peter’s shadow and decide to venture off to Never Never Land with Wendy’s two young brothers. The really creepy part being, of course, that Peter doesn’t want to be friends with Wendy. He wants her to be his mom, while she wants to be his girlfriend.

Wendy demures, and takes on the role of caring for Peter, her two brothers, and the Lost Boys (whom I’d forgotten became Lost Boys by falling out of carriages as babies. Yikes!).

All is going well until Captain Hook comes around. Hook has a grudge, because Peter cut off his hand and fed it to a crocodile so he and his crew kidnap Tiger Lilly (one of the island of Never Never Land’s natives-don’t even get me started on the natives) and Peter and Wendy work together to save her while also exploring whether they like-like each other or want to stay make-believe mother and son/father.

Wendy realizes Peter will never have ‘special feelings’ for her and decides it’s time to go home. She misses her mom, and she convinces the Lost Boys that they do too. But as they are getting ready to fly back, Wendy and the Lost Boys are kidnapped by Hook. Hook prepares them to walk the plank but saves Wendy so she can be his and his crew’s mom.

Obviously, Peter saves the day and realizes that it’s time for everyone to grow up. Oh and Wendy grows up to be Minnie Driver and never locks her window, because she’s waiting for Peter, who finally shows and acts like nothing has changed. Peter can’t take that Wendy has grown up, and the story ends on a supremely weird note when Peter realizes he can do to Wendy’s daughter what he once did to Wendy. The story line is at best creepy, and more realistically very offensive (gender issues, racism, icky romance, lots of parental neglect…).

But NBC didn’t write Peter Pan, they just took on the ambitious task of presenting it live, complete with complex sets, special effects, long musical numbers, and flying characters, all on primetime TV. At times it was comical. Visible strings and obvious flubs took me out of the story and reminded me that I was watching a live performance. However, for the most part, I enjoyed myself.

Peter Pan LIVE! (Original Soundtrack of the NBC Television Event)
Despite the abundance of reality shows, it’s rare that TV ever feels real. NBC’s Peter Pan Live was a lot closer than it usually gets. There is something exciting about watching actors, singers, and dancers perform live. It was far from perfect, but it’s lack of polish, in my opinion, worked for it. When I stopped looking for mistakes I started seeing some really great things.

For one, Wendy (Taylor Louderman) was lovely. Her voice was clear and strong and made me feel like I was at a Broadway play. The sets were cheesy (very Willy Wonka-esque), but the skies were beautiful. Watching the characters fly out of their house and into a starry night that led to bright Never Never Land was enthralling, especially with the computer animated Tinker Bell. The dance numbers were, for the most part, impressive, two very precocious boys (the Darling brothers) were very sweet and talented, Allison Williams played a much more convincing petulant young boy than I expected, and Wendy’s message of diplomacy and friendship is certainly one our world needs to hear, even if she was teaching it to bratty man-boys and ‘natives’ with painted butts (I don’t know why the natives had painted butts. Like I said, don’t get me started on the natives).

And Christopher Walken danced.

That’s right, Christopher Walken played Captain Hook and it was magical. Walken’s decidedly un-scary Hook stole the show with arms-to-the-sky, belt-it-out moments, all while being surrounded by high-kicking pirates in glittery clothes.

So, I guess I’m here to defend Peter Pan Live just a bit. Yes, it was silly. Yes it went way too long (three full hours – by the time Peter was asking the audience to believe in fairies to save Tink’s life, it was 10:20 on a school night). And yes, I’m more than a little offended by the whole premise that girls are just here to help silly boys grow up. However, it was also entertaining and even often sweet.

If they do it again next year I’ll watch, not quite as a fan, but not as a hater either. I vote for The Little Mermaid, but Walken has to play the Prince.