Peter Pan

Yes, the production is lavish. But the performance is wonderful! Cathy Rigby comes across as a real boy: innocently cruel and noble in equal measure. Most kid's fairy tales are rather um, grim -- and this one is no exception.

I found this film to be upbeat and entertaining. The actors did their jobs so well that they made you lose sight of the fact that you were watching this play on a stage with a full audience.

The musical numbers were positive, the acting was excellent. The dog was funny.

All the actors performed their roles exceedingly well. I especially enjoyed the scenes when the actors flew over the stage. All around a nicely filmed stage production of the Broadway play with a great cast and crew. Recommended.

Sorry, but this version, for all its slickness, athleticism, modern broadway effects, superior sound, etc. remains a poor second to the Mary Martin version. In a word, it doesn't have Jerome Robbins, Mary Martin or Cyril Ritchard. Rigby does her best and has a surprisingly effective singing voice, but her accent is awful. Neither does she or anyone else have any timing. Classic lines are just thrown away and garbled. I also found her performance to be very much on one note. She's good as a p***ed-off little boy, but that's it. It has none of the grace or whimsy of Martin's performance. The woman playing Wendy has a good voice but, again, a terrible accent and delivery. Their Hook does the best of the three. He has real power and size (everyone else in this production must be 5' tall!) and reminds me of Captain Morgan. He's got a real operatic baritone. But I thought he botched his solos, throwing away lines with poor phrasing. Tiger Lily is a good dancer (although the dances are just second rate Broadway gymnastic razz-ma-tazz) but has little to do in this version. I also thought the end of the show where Peter returns was poorly performed... it had much more emotional power in the older version. There is much to like in this version, especially if you aren't acquainted with the Mary Martin version, but it's strictly second string. The artistry just isn't there.

Peter Pan is, of course, a timeless classic. But that doesn't mean every production of it is timeless as well. I've been a fan of the Mary Martin version for about 50 years. (Good God!) I, too, have been involved, in a very minor capacity, in an extremely well-produced amateur staging of the venerable Broadway classic. But this new staging is the new standard. (Viewers should be aware that the Mary Martin version which was aired, annually, as I recall, was a re-staged production of the broadway show for a live television studio broadcast. The recorded version we have today was, I think, from one of the last years of the broadcast, and was pre-recorded on video tape for the airing. Quite an ambitious feat for the time, but creaky, in its interpretation and the technical limitations of the time.) Rigby is perfect as a Pan for today's audiences. The Cockney accents seem to be appropriate for the "forgotten" children of London's lower and middle classes of J.M. Barrie's time. The well-known songs sound fresh. The flying is awesome.

This is a great recording of a modern live performance of this "timeless" classic.

I for one, never liked the Mary Martin version. I always thought it was too corny - good songs but BAD casting and worse lines. The mediocre sets and costumes can be forgiven because it was the 50s, but there is no excuse for casting a blonde Tiger Lily. The girl that played Wendy had the most annoying voice in the world - thank God she never appeared in anything else.

Anyway, when I found out that they were releasing the Cathy Rigby version on DVD I couldn't wait to see it. Peter Pan is a wonderful show, it really is. It deserved a much better production than was out there, and Rigby's version is splendid! All of the actors were wonderful! I was SO happy with this Wendy who, for starters, has a lovely voice (what a concept!) and just seems to love her role. She plays Wendy throughout the entire show (grown up as well - in the Martin version the same annoying girl played Jane at the end which never made sense to me) so I was happy to see that.

Cathy Rigby is superb - she LOVES her part and just brings so much energy and love to her role as Peter that you get completely swept up into her world. I wonder how many Olympians, after retiring can say that they've been able to do something like that - playing the lead in Peter Pan - she just seems to be having the time of her life up there, and it's contagious!

I could go on and on, because this is just a beautiful production. Tiger Lily is beautiful and (surprise) actually looks like an Indian! She's a beautiful dancer too, I hope to see more of her in the future. Paul Schoeffler is the best Captain Hook I've ever seen, both as Hook and Mr. Darling he just had so much great appeal and charisma. I can't stop watching this movie! Five stars, 10/10, it's perfect!