Mary Martin As Peter Pan: “I’m flying!”

Baby boomers growing up in the 1950s faced a choice. Which Peter Pan was the REAL Peter Pan? Was it stage star legend Mary Martin’s Broadway-based musical Peter Pan? Or Walt Disney’s cartoon Peter Pan? And which would stand the test of time?

The answer to that is that Disney’s Peter Pan eventually triumphed, although Kathy Rigby did a wonderful revival of the stage musical Peter Pan (I saw it here in San Diego and took a 8 year old to see it and she was absolutely enthralled) several years ago.

If you’re too young to have seen the stage Peter Pan, a bit of explanation is in order. Peter Pan in the zippy Broadway musical was played by perky Martin…portraying (not too convincingly, at times) a boy. Martin’s strongest point was her incredibly likeability, dancing and wonderful stage voice. And how did Peter fly? Peter and other airborn characters were basically human marionettes…held up on wires by stage hands above them (the harnesses the actors wore were not always astutely hidden).

The Broadway version of Peter Pan aired “live” several times on NBC during the 1950s. Then, in the early 60s, Martin did one final TV appearance in the role — this time on video tape and in color.

Here’s a classic scene — the magical number “I’m Flying!” when Peter teaches Wendy and her brothers how to fly. It was magical moment in baby boomer TV viewing…and on Broadway: