Stage productions Numerous performers have played Peter Pan in plays and musicals since he first appeared onstage in 1904. • Peter’s stage debut came in December 1904 when the legendary director and playwright Dion Boucicault brought J.M. Barrie’s most famous character to the London stage in a play called “Peter Pan or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” Boucicault’s production began the tradition of having the role of Peter played by a female when he cast his daughter Nina as Peter. • Three women in particular have played the role so many times that they are now closely identified with Peter Pan: Maude Adams , who had made her Broadway debut in 1888 and was 33 when she starred in the original Broadway production in 1905. She returned to the role for Broadway revivals in 1906, 1912 and 1915. Mary Martin , who played Peter in the 1954 Broadway debut of the musical “Peter Pan.” Martin was an established actress, having played in the Broadway debut of “South Pacific” as Nellie Forbush. The musical debut of “Peter Pan” ran for only 152 performances, and Martin never played the role in any of the five later revivals. But she and the show became widely known and bound together in baby boomer pop-culture memory when a version of the Broadway musical was shown — live and in color — on the NBC television network on March 5, 1955. Because of its popularity, it was remounted live in 1956. Thereafter, a recorded version was rebroadcast frequently during the 1960s and early 1970s. It is now available on DVD. Cathy Rigby has played Peter in revivals on Broadway in 1990, ’91, ’98 and ’99. Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera audiences have seen her do the role here in 1987, ’91 and ’98. She also has appeared in several national touring productions, the last of which was in 2005. A video of Rigby’s “Peter Pan” was created for A&E Network in 2000. It is available on DVD. = An amazing number of prominent actresses have played Peter Pan on Broadway, including Sandy Duncan, Eva La Gallienne and Jean Arthur (with Boris Karloff as Captain Hook). Those who have played Peter in London productions include Elsa Lanchester, Glynis Johns, Joan Greenwood, Maggie Smith, Susan Hampshire, Hayley Mills and actor Mark Rylance.

Movie versions For some, their memories of “Peter Pan” are firmly tied to the 1953 Disney animated feature film for which a teenage Bobby Driscoll gave voice to Peter. A two-disc platinum-edition DVD was released in 2007. Three recent films — all available on DVD — offer contemporary spins on J.M. Barrie’s apparently immortal tale: • “Finding Neverland” (2004), a sort of prequel to “Peter Pan,” stars Johnny Depp as James Matthew Barrie, a writer who develops a friendship with three boys and their mother, played by Kate Winslet. The stories he invents for the children and the games they play inspire Barrie’s story and later, the play. • “Hook” (1991) Robin Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan who works as a lawyer and is married to Wendy’s granddaughter. When Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps Peter’s children, he returns to Neverland with Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) to battle Hook once again. • “Return to Neverland” (2002) a sequel animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures that’s set in WW II London. Captain Hook turns up in London, mistakes Wendy’s daughter, Jane, for her mother, and kidnaps her in a plot to trap Peter. Peter discovers he can’t return her to London until she learns to believe in the magic of imagination.

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