Search - Moose Charlap, Jule Styne :: Peter Pan: Original Broadway Cast Recording (1954 New York Cast)

The Definitive Peter Pan...

Pope | Wisconsin, United States | 02/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all versions of Peter Pan that have been performed since the play was written, this is by far the best one. The tale of the boy who wouldn't grow up has appeared in various forms on Broadway since at least 1907 or 1908. This musical version is the one people are most familiar with, as it played for a short run on Broadway and was then broadcast on television (with Martin and Richards) on 3 separate occasions and lives in videotape form. Sadly, many of the children of today are familiar only with Disney's cartoon version (Grrr...), as has happened with so many other tales and stories. The original 1954 recording is the true gem of the Peter Pan legend. This musical Peter Pan has also enjoyed several revivals (one in the late 70s, one in 1991, and one in 1997, the former featuring Sandy Duncan and the latter 2 starring Cathy Rigby) and was restaged on television in 2000 (with Rigby). The most recent television production prior to that was in 1960 (with Martin).That said, this Original B'way Cast Recording is definately the album of choice. It features the original stars of the 1954 musical version (including the personal favorite, Mary Martin) and sound quality is excellent. Sound is in mono, but one would never know that listening to this album. Too bad they didn't make the recording 4 or 5 years later when stereo recordings appeared."

MARY WAS MAGIC.

Boz | 10/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just to hear Mary Martin sing "Never-Never Land" is well worth the purchase of this cd. She was a truly magical performer. The songs are wonderful and the supporting cast is great. 5 Stars! In glorious monaurel sound!"

A Classic family show

Mark Andrew Lawrence | Toronto | 05/20/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all I would like to clear up a popular misconception about the original Broadway production of PETER PAN as several people here have noted that it only ran 152 performances and therefore conclude it was a flop. Not so! The original Broadway engagement of PETER PAN was only scheduled to play 4 months. It was sold to NBC BEFORE it even opened on Broadway, so the scheduled run was strictly limited to 19 weeks. The first (live) telecast happened barely two weeks after the final Broadway performance. (The telecast, by the way, was not done from the Winter Garden theatre but rather from a TV studio.) Because of the money advanced by NBC, PETER PAN was also a financial hit. It was a Hit in every sense of the word!As for the recording, this was one of the best in the early years of RCA Victor who were not having the same luck with their show albums as Columbia was achieving. From the opening bars of the overture right through the finale the album gives you delightful potted version of the show with welcome bits of dialogue here and there. Even without the advantage of stereo imaging you can hear Peter and the children fly across the room.It's no wonder the role of Peter Pan was to be Mary Martin's favorite. She is obviously having the time of her life and for once her recorded performance captures for the ears alone what she must have been like on stage: It's not always the case with her cast albums. Cyril Ritchard is the most perfect of Captain Hooks relishing the wordplay in his his Tango and Tarantella numbers. Also enjoyable is Margalo Gilmore playing one of those loving mother roles that made up most of her career.The CD remaster is good though not quite the best. The old tapes reveal some technical limitation of the day (The original recording was made in November 1954.) There's not a lot of high end here and the bass is a bit muddy. Happily the performances provide the needed sparkle."