Allison Williams, best known as Hannah's (Lena Dunham) best friend Marnie on HBO's series Girls, will play the title role in NBC's live television production of Peter Pan, to be broadcast December 4.
Peter Pan is the network's follow-up to its surprisingly successful The Sound of Music Live!, which starred country singer Carrie Underwood. That production drew 18.5 million viewers in December 2013 and received four Emmy nominations despite mostly poor reviews for Underwood herself.
As previously announced, Christopher Walken will play Captain Hook in the new Peter Pan. Sound of Music producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (TV's Smash), back for the new production, are quoted as saying Williams "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."
Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard both won Tony Awards for their roles as Peter Pan and Captain Hook respectively in the original 1954 Broadway production of Peter Pan. NBC, which had bought the show and thus ensured its financial success despite its limited Broadway engagement, broadcast several telecasts over the next few years with the same stars.
NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt says of Allison Williams, "She's a lovely rising star on the award-winning show Girls--where she occasionally shows off her incredible vocal talent--and we think she will bring the perfect blend of 'boyish' vulnerability and bravado to save the day against Christopher Walken's powerful Captain Hook."
Williams, daughter of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, has recorded a number of songs for the Girls soundtrack and has filmed popular online videos. "I have wanted to play Peter Pan since I was about three years old, so this is a dream come true," she says.
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