NBC picks ‘Girls’ star for ‘Peter Pan’

  • By Frazier Moore Associated Press
  • Friday, August 1, 2014 3:54pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

NEW YORK — NBC has picked its Peter Pan: high-flying “Girls” star Allison Williams.

The network announced Wednesday that Williams will play the boy who refused to grow up in NBC’s new staging of “Peter Pan Live!” The live telecast of this musical classic will air Dec. 4.

The 26-year-old actress-comedian plays Marnie Michaels on HBO’s comedy “Girls,” for which she has recorded several songs. She is the daughter of NBC News anchor Brian Williams and has also appeared on “The Mindy Project” and “The League.”

NBC recently announced that Oscar winner Christopher Walken will play the villainous pirate Captain Hook.

“I have wanted to play Peter Pan since I was about three years old, so this is a dream come true,” said Williams, who added, “What could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?”

This musical version of “Peter Pan” has a long tradition on NBC.

It opened on Broadway in 1954, starring Mary Martin as the flying boy and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook in a pair of Tony Award-winning performances.

They reprised their Broadway roles in a live telecast of the production that aired on NBC in 1955, revived a year later with a second live telecast — and then, in 1960, with a new, videotaped “Peter Pan” that again starred Martin and Ritchard.

The upcoming “Peter Pan Live!” is a follow-up to the success NBC found with a live version of “The Sound of Music” in 2013 with Carrie Underwood. Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, who produced “The Sound of Music,” are also working on “Peter Pan Live!”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.