NY Public Library's Curator of Exhibitions Barbara Cohen-Stratyner on the Treasures of PETER PAN

BroadwayWorld.com continues our exclusive content series, in collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which delves into the library's unparalleled archives, and resources. Below, check out a piece by Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Ph. D., Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg Curator of Exhibitions, Shelby Cullom Davis Museum, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on PETER PAN:

On December 4, NBC will present a live broadcast of Peter Pan. As television transitions from a networked gathering occasion to eventually watching at one's own convenience, many are fixating on the live broadcast of the musical Peter Pan that they can remember watching. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Museum staffs, volunteers and the summer and fall interns decided to research and develop a pop-up mini exhibition on the original musical and broadcast. Then, it started to get interesting...

Unlike annual broadcasts of films like The Wizard of Oz or The Sound of Music, we may not all remember the same broadcasts of Peter Pan. The original live broadcast was in March 1955 on Producers' Showcase. It was re-staged on January 9, 1956. Both times, it was broadcast in color but documented on kinescope, so you may have seen it as a black and white. It was re-made again in December 1960 at the NBC studios in NY for the purpose of being available for re-run. That broadcast also became the "Home use" version, coming out on VHS and DVD.

As is well know, this Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin and Cyril Richard, was one of two contemporary musical settings of James M. Barrie's 1904 play (and related writings). The other, by Leonard Bernstein, starred Jean Arthur and Boris Karloff and enjoyed a Broadway run and national tour. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts focuses on process and collaboration. Among the vast collections are the papers, scripts and scores of many of the major figures in the mid-1950s, the period in which Broadway had its greatest influence on its young protégé, television. The Library volunteers Mana Allen, Misy Singson and Emma Winter Zeig, began by doing what most of you are probably doing now - checking IBDB - to learn the names of the participants. You know most of these names well - their works are still active parts of our lives. The others were famous at the time and unjustly forgotten. In the collections here at The Library for the Performing Arts, we found treasures in the extensive papers of the directors behind the musical and broadcasts. Jerome Robbins' Papers had blocking notes, music and rehearsal notes, set concepts, and many versions of the script. Vincent Donehue, who linked Broadway and television directing and design, kept and donated the shooting script, with cues, notes and shooting schedule. Leland Hayward and Richard Halliday, the powers behind the productions, had an extensive correspondence that documented everything.

But why are so many songwriters listed in the credits for Peter Pan? Sometimes, following process brings you to strange places and multiple collaborations. Peter Pan, as staged and broadcast had a score by Moose Charlap and Carolyn Leigh, with additional songs by Comden & Green and Jule Styne. We discovered that, in addition to those lyricists (whose papers and scores are all here at the Library), Peter Pan once had had contributions by Nancy Hamilton, a prolific songwriter and performer best known for "How High the Moon." What really fascinated us is that the lyricists all contributed versions of the same two self-defining songs - Peter's, which resolved into "I've Gotta Crow" and Hook's Waltz -to solve the problems that the director(s) saw in the show.

If you are intrigued, watch the live broadcast and then drop by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts to see the pop-up case exhibition. The kinescopes can be requested and viewed in the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. The 1960 broadcast is available in the circulating collections. There is even a screening on Saturday, December 6 of the silent version, starring Betty Bronson.

Photo Credit: Mary Martin as Peter Pan. NBC Press Photograph, nd. Billy Rose Theatre Division, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts