The much-awaited musical "Peter Pan Live!" aired on NBC last Thursday and it didn't reach the expectation of many critics. There are many factors as to why the 3-hour production didn't get a positive feedback from most reviewers so don't put all the blame on Allison Williams, who starred as Peter Pan.
The 26-year old actress is best known for her role as Marnie in the HBO series "Girls". According to New York Times, "Ms. Williams convincingly pulled off a British accent and was, all in all, a confident, lively and suitably impudent Peter Pan."
Another big name in the musical is Christopher Walken, who starred as Captain Hook. The news site said that the actor brought his own sinewy charisma, stop-start diction and hoofer muscle memory to the part. So what went wrong?
Sarah Larson of The New Yorker tried to explain why "Peter Pan Live!" didn't t get much praises. She said, "In some ways the show was predictable, and in some ways it was as disorienting as the contemporary world itself. Rather than watching actors fly from a fixed point, we seemed to be everywhere at once, as if chasing them or hopping around."
The correspondent also said, "The accents were ever-changing. You weren't sure what gender, age, or nationality Peter Pan was supposed to be, or what, exactly, he was up to. The Lost Boys, who refused to grow up, had grown up-the median age looked to be about eighteen-and dressed like members of a prep-school rugby team."
Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast reported, "Musicals typically start with a bang. Peter Pan starts with a bore." He added, "Then there's the fact that most of the dialogue, particularly anything uttered by a pirate, makes sense only half of the time." Fallon also said, "There was also an off-putting conflict between whimsy and realism. The sets-which, really, were a feat of design and direction-appeared to be remnants of a Lewis Carroll fever dream."
David Hinckley of NY Daily News claimed that he didn't feel the magic. He said, "NBC's annual live musical event had spirit and lively dancing Thursday night. It also felt long and flat, even when it briefly morphed into a superhero showdown." Hinckley added, "It didn't help that television has never conveyed the magic of live stage musical performance."
Watch the clip of "Peter Pan Live!" below and tell us what you think of it:
