Girls‘ Allison Williams it set to play the lead boy character in NBC’s live production of Peter Pan.
“Allison Williams is a major find,” said executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron in a press release. “She will reinvent the iconic role of Peter Pan with her wit, her warmth, her dynamic flying and her wonderful musical abilities. The score will be sung beautifully and introduced to a whole new generation of families.”
Allison’s displayed her singing abilities on HBO’s Girls, where she plays Marnie. She reportedly landed the role in the first place when Judd Apatow watched her mashup performance of “A Beautiful Mine” and “Nature Boy.”
The daughter of NBC’s Brian Williams will star alongside Christopher Walken as he portrays Captain Hook. She said she’s thrilled to work with the “extraordinarily talented team.” She added, “And besides, what could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?”
At least there is precedent: NBC produced two live telecasts of Peter Pan with the original Broadway stars in 1955 and 1956. More recently, NBC aired a live production of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood. The show wasn’t a hit with critics, but the ratings were strong.
The new Peter Pan telecast will air on NBC on Dec. 4.
