Music Theatre International Gains Licensing Rights to PETER PAN

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) has acquired the rights to license one of Broadway's most iconic and beloved musicals,PETER PAN.

"PETER PAN is one of the most popular Broadway shows of all time. It is a cultural phenomenon that touches people of all generations," said Drew Cohen, President of MTI. "The show is perfect for all theatre audiences from professional productions to community theatres and high schools and it is a genuine privilege to welcome PETER PAN to our family."

Featuring the iconic songs "I'm Flying," "I've Gotta Crow," "I Won't Grow Up," and "Never Never Land," and a book full of magic, warmth, and adventure, PETER PAN is the perfect show for the child in all of us who dreamed of soaring high and never growing up.

Based on J.M. Barrie's 1904 play and Barrie's own novelization of it, PETER PAN is a classic tale featuring a score by Morris "Moose" Charlap and Jule Styne with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is one of the most beloved and frequently performed family favorites of all time.

Originally directed and staged by Jerome Robbins, the 1954 Broadway production opened on October 20, 1954 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York. It starred Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook. Both stars earned Tony Awards for their performances. It was followed by NBC telecasts of it in 1955, 1956, and 1960 with the same stars, plus several rebroadcasts of the 1960 telecast. The show has enjoyed several revivals onstage.

Producer Edwin Lester, founder and director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, obtained the American rights to Peter Pan and adapted it as a play with music for Mary Martin. The show was not successful in its pre-Broadway West Coast tour, so director Jerome Robbins hired lyricists Comden and Green and composer Jule Styne to add more songs, including "Never Never Land," "Distant Melody" and several other numbers, turning the show into a full-scale musical. The musical, instead of using Barrie's original ending, in which Peter simply allowed Wendy and the other children to return home, includes an additional scene that Barrie had written later and titled An Afterthought. In this ending, Peter returns after many years to take Wendy back to Never Never Land for spring cleaning. He finds that he has been away so long that Wendy is now an adult, married woman with a daughter. Despondent at first, he is delighted when Wendy's daughter Jane offers to be his new mother, and instead takes her with him

For more information about MTI and licensing, please call (212) 541-4684 or email licensing@mtishows.com.

About Music Theatre International

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting schools as well as amateur and professional theatres from around the world the rights to perform the largest selection of great musicals from Broadway and beyond. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these shows to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 60,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger performers. The MTI Broadway Junior Collection® includes JR. titles, 60-minute musicals for performance by middle school children; and KIDS titles, 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children. MTI School Editions™ are musicals that have been annotated for performance by high school students, and the Theatre For Young Audiences (TYA) Collection are 70-minute musicals designed for adults to perform for children.

MTI ShowSpace.com is the theatre world's online community where practitioners and fans from around the world share advice, photos, videos, sets, props, costumes and more, to help bring their next productions to life.