And how did Peter fly? Peter and other airborn characters were basically human marionettes…held up on wires by stage hands above them (the harnesses the actors wore were not always astutely hidden).
Martin’s strongest point was her incredibly likeability, dancing and wonderful stage voice. Peter Pan in the zippy Broadway musical was played by perky Martin…portraying (not too convincingly, at times) a boy. If you’re too young to have seen the stage Peter Pan, a bit of explanation is in order. The answer to that is that Disney’s Peter Pan eventually triumphed, although Kathy Rigby did a wonderful revival of the stage musical Peter Pan (I saw it here in San Diego and took a 8 year old to see it and she was absolutely enthralled) several years ago. Which Peter Pan was the REAL Peter Pan? Was it stage star legend Mary Martin’s Broadway-based musical Peter Pan? Or Walt Disney’s cartoon Peter Pan? And which would stand the test of time? So a woman it was.Baby boomers growing up in the 1950s faced a choice. Frohman reasoned that a man would be wrong for the part, and if they cast a boy, the other children “would have to be scaled down in proportion.” English law prohibited the use of minors under 14 on stage after 9 p.m. (That phrase has uncertain origins but was- and is- used by some Native Americans to refer to white leaders.) Second, Frohman asked that, in America, the starring role of Peter be played by his protégé, Maude Adams. First, that it be titled, simply, Peter Pan Barrie’s working title was The Great White Father, which is what Barrie has the Indians call Peter. Broadway producer Charles Frohman enthusiastically agreed to produce the play, and he made a couple of suggestions to the author. Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Real Story Behind Peter Pan, English writer and director Andrew Birkin recounts the backstory for the first stage productions.
Initially, the interests of a producer, the logistics of casting, and even English law may have played a part.
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