On the heels of an extremely successful showing for “The Sound of Music LIVE!” starring Carrie Underwood, Laura Benanti, Christian Borle and Stephen Moyer, the execs over at NBC announced Sunday at the Television Critics Association tour that they have plans for another holiday special production.
Taking flight on December 4, 2014, NBC presents “Peter Pan LIVE!” a new TV version of the James M. Barrie’s revered musical. NBC President Robert Greenblatt stated that producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who produced “The Sound of Music Live!” will again executive produce the production. Per the official release, casting is currently “on a fast track.”
“The Sound of Music Live!” that starred Carrie Underwood averaged a phenomenal 5.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 22 million viewers overall in the live-plus-7 totals from its Dec. 5 telecast.
“We’re very pleased to be underway on ‘Peter Pan’ as our next live holiday musical for the whole family,” said Greenblatt. “We were all delighted to see how ‘The Sound of Music Live!’ struck such a chord in December and brought nearly 19 million people to the live telecast plus another several million viewers over the weekend. In the hopes that lightning strikes twice, we think we’ve landed on another great Broadway musical — which ironically also starred Mary Martin — that is a timeless classic for all audiences, young and old, who just never want to grow up.”
“We’re thrilled to be reteaming with NBC and Bob Greenblatt in bringing ‘Peter Pan’ back to its roots as a live television event,” said Zadan and Meron. “We hope to create the joy that has made this musical so beloved. We would like a whole new generation to experience ‘Peter Pan’ and for families across the country to share the magic.”
Greenblatt did state that Peter Pan will likely be a male, unlike the original Broadway production which starred women in the leading role.
Who would you like to see star in the upcoming production?