Mary Martin "PETER PAN" Jule Styne / Comden and Green 1956 "Live" TV Press Photo

Description

This is a rare press photograph of MARY MARTIN used to promote the 1956 "live" telecast of the
Original Broadway production of the CAROLYN LEIGH, MOOSE CHARLAP, JULE STYNE, BETTY COMDEN and ADOLPH GREEN version of the musical "PETER PAN" which played the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. (The production opened October 20th, 1954 and ran for 152 performances.) ..... The musical starred the legendary MARY MARTIN as "Peter Pan" and CYRIL RITCHARD as "Captain Hook" and included KATHY NOLAN, MARGALO GILLMORE, ROBERT HARRINGTON, HELLER HALLIDAY, JOSEPH STAFFORD, RICHARD WYATT, DON LURIO, DAVID BEAN, IAN TUCKER, STANLEY STENNER, PARIS THEODORE, JACKIE SCHOLLE, JOAN TEWKESBURY, DARRYL DURAN, JOE E. MARKS, SONDRA LEE, FRANK BOULEY and NORMAN SHELLY ..... Side Note:
The historic live 1956 telecast of Mary Martin as "PETER PAN" is generally considered the definitive performance of this beloved musical. Only nine days after the initial Broadway run had ended, the cast and crew (under the supervision of Director Jerome Robbins) assembled in the large Brooklyn studios of NBC to perform the show live for television. Describing the enormous success of that telecast, Cyril Ritchard (Captain Hook) noted "...it was not just a TV performance, it was a stage production brought to the cameras." A year later, in preparation for the second "PETER PAN" live telecast, essentially the same cast reunited for several performances at the Ambassador Theater in New York City for invited audiences of children. This gave the 1956 telecast the same fresh theatrical quality as the first. The New York Times hailed the second telecast as "Thrilling!... The production had that electrifying excitement of theatre at its most finished and, above all, that contagious spirit that joins player and audience in a sublime escape from reality." Both MARY MARTIN and CYRIL RITCHARD were honored with Tony Awards in their respective categories ..... CREDITS: Music by MARK "Moose" CHARLAP ("Whoop-Up", "The Conquering Hero", "Kelly"); Lyrics by CAROLYN LEIGH ("Wildcat", "Little Me", "How Now, Dow Jones"); Additional Music by JULE STYNE ("Gypsy", "Bells are Ringing", "Darling of the Day", "Do Re Mi", "Fade Out, Fade In", "Funny Girl", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "Hallelujah, Baby!", "Hazel Flagg", "High Button Shoes", "Lorelei", "Sugar", "Prettybelle", "Subways Are For Sleeping" and "Two on the Aisle"); Additional Lyrics by BETTY COMDEN and ADOLPH GREEN ("On the Town", "Wonderful Town", "Fade Out, Fade In", "Bells are Ringing", "Do Re Mi", "Subways Are For Sleeping", "Two on the Aisle", "Applause", "Hallelujah, Baby!", "On the Twentieth Century", "Lorelei", "The Will Rogers Follies"); Incidental Music by TRUDE RITTMAN and ELMER BERNSTEIN; Sets designed by PETER LARKIN; Costumes designed by MOTLEY; Directed and Choreographed by JEROME ROBBINS; Produced by RICHARD HALLIDAY
..... DETAILS: This rare press photo measures 7 1/8" X 9" inches and includes instructions on the backside for publication in the "Tribune TV Week". It is stamped Jan. 10, 1956 (second scanned image) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light edge wear, this rare photo is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.