NBC aired its follow-up to last year’s The Sound of Music Live!, with musical Peter Pan Live. The special starred Girls actress Allison Williams and Academy Award-winner Christopher Walken as Pan and Captain Hook, respectively. Peter Pan scored a 5.9 metered market rating, a little over half of the 10.9 Sound of Music pulled last December. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“Technically and visually, Peter Pan Live! delivered. The smartest thing the production did was to be unashamedly stagey. It showed us the wires and built dreamlike sets–the transition from turn-of-the-century London to lurid Neverland was especially sharp.”
—James Poniewozik,Time
“Williams held her own and in the process held the show together for the most part. The rest of the glue was provided by the inimitable Walken, who was simultaneously playing himself and playing Captain Hook, though for some long stretches one couldn't be sure if he was forgetting lines left and right or just letting the play breathe."
—Tim Goodman, THR
“It mostly sounded great, too. As Mrs. Darling, five-time Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara sang so beautifully, she made everyone forget for a little while that this wasn’t an actual Broadway production.”
—Melissa Maerz,EW
“While [Williams] delivered in flight, she struggled with fight, looking positively awkward and unbalanced throughout the finale battle with Hook. But overall, she clearly committed to the part and gave 100% in every scene — and we applaud that!”
—Dina Sartore-Bodo,Hollywood Life
“Peter Pan Live! was a loving, lavish tribute to a beloved musical that offered a new generation of children a chance to use their smartphones to keep Tinkerbell alive.”
—Alessandra Stanley,NYT
