I find it interesting that Disney's animated versions of Cinderella and Peter Pan were both followed fairly soon (in the case of Peter Pan almost immediately) by popular live action musicals on the same subject, which aired on TV.
The Styne/Charlap musical of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin premiered just a year after the Disney version, while Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, which was produced in part as an attempt to copy Peter Pan's success, premiered seven years after Disney's.
Both live action musicals are in some ways more faithful to their respective source materials than the Disney versions. Yet I feel as if traces of their Disney predecessors exist in both of them.
Both versions of Peter Pan include an ecstatic song about flying when Peter and the Darling children soar away to Neverland ("You Can Fly!"/"I'm Flying"), a celebration song with the Indians after Peter comes back from rescuing Tiger Lily ("What Makes the Red Man Red?"/"Ugg-a-Wugg"), a lullaby about a mother's care that makes the boys homesick ("Your Mother and Mine"/"Distant Melody"), and an ode to Captain Hook sung by the pirates after Wendy and the boys are captured ("The Elegant Captain Hook"/"Captain Hook's Waltz"). Of course the Broadway musical has many more songs than the Disney version, but four of the Disney version's six songs have exact counterparts in the musical.
As for Disney's Cinderella and the Rodgers & Hammerstein version, they both make the story's message less about kindness and virtue than earlier versions (although of course their Cinderellas are kind and virtuous) and more about hope and optimism: "Have faith in your dreams and someday... the dreams that you wish will come true," or "Impossible things are happening every day."
Welcome to Broadway’s Finest “Foe-lies”: a tribute to some of the best villain songs from the world of musical theatre! (No Disney songs allowed; already did two lists for those.) All throughout October, I’m ranking up my Top 31 Favorite Villain Songs from Broadway, the West End, and Beyond!
TODAY’S LYRICAL HINT: “Who was Bluebeard? NOBODY! Who was Nero? NOBODY! Who was Jack the Ripper? NOBODY!”
NUMBER 19 IS: Hook’s Waltz, from Peter Pan.
Our next option is a somewhat underrated villain song, in my opinion, but it’s one that’s very close to my heart. There have been MULTIPLE musical interpretations of Peter Pan, both onscreen and onstage. In the world of theatre, I know of at least four…five, in fact, if you count “Finding Neverland: The Musical.” (On that note, I would like to give a quick shout-out to the song “Live By the Hook” from that show. It almost made this countdown, but for a few reasons I decided against it.) By far the most popular, and my personal favorite, is the one composed by Moose Charlap and Jule Styne, which first premiered in 1954. It was actually one of the first versions of Peter Pan I ever saw, if not the first: my maternal grandparents used to have the 1960 telecast of the original Broadway production (which is where the image here comes from) on VHS, and I watched it almost every time I went to visit them, I think, as a kid. It was one of three things they had on video - the others being Disney’s Snow White and a collection of direct-to-video Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme videos - that I think I just couldn’t get enough of as a little thumb-sucking tot.
In the Charlap-Styne musical, Captain Hook - that brazen Pirate King of Neverland - has multiple villain songs; at least three, sometimes four or even five, depending on the production. This is actually given a purpose in the play - sort of - as Hook is depicted as being an avid fan of various forms of music in the show, and calls on his crew to play him tunes to think to when he plots and schemes. The first big number is “Hook’s Tango,” as Hook plots to use a poisoned cake to destroy the Lost Boys. Later, he sings “Hook’s Tarentella,” as he changes his plan when this scheme fails, and decides he’s going to work out a new plot to kidnap Wendy and the Boys.
The third and final big, key number for Hook in the show is also my favorite: “Hook’s Waltz.” Instead of plotting and scheming this time, however, the song is sung in wild jubilation. Hook has succeeded in kidnapping Wendy, her brothers, and all the Lost Boys, and he and his pirates have scared off the Natives. On top of that, Hook believes he’s managed to kill Peter himself, his worthy nemesis. In his mind, he’s finally achieved everything he ever really wanted: revenge and victory are not only within reach, they are HIS. And if Hook loves cooking up crooked plans to the tunes of tangos and tarentellas, then there’s only one way to celebrate his triumph: a final, self-aggrandizing song set to a waltz-like melody.
While other songs for Hook come and go throughout different productions, these three are constants. Seeing Hook’s musical evolution over the show, told through different forms of ballroom music, is such a bizarre yet fun idea for a musical interpretation of the story, and it helps to ensure that, however menacing Hook may or may not be portrayed by any given actor, he never becomes TOO serious a foe. And of all three of these big numbers, it’s the one I feel is the hardest to mess up: I’ve simply never seen any professional production or major performer do it badly. Cyril Ritchard, Paul Schoeffler, Tom Hewitt, George Rose…heck, even Christopher Walken, who I’d be hard pressed to call my favorite Captain Hook by any stretch of things, I think genuinely did a decent job with this particular song. It’s not one that’s likely to be referenced by a lot of other people, but it’s definitely one I cherish.
One quick bit of random trivia for you all: J.K. Simmons, of all people, once played Captain Hook in this same musical. I’ve never been able to find audio or video of him in the role, but I would KILL to hear him doing this song. Though I would insist that, halfway through, he interrupt things with this line: “SMEE! FETCH THAT LAZY FIRST MATE OF MINE, PARKER! I NEED THOSE PICTURES OF SPIDER-PAN!”
Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 18!
LYRICAL HINT: “The rack was in fashion! The plagues were my passion! Each day held a new joy in store!”
thoughts on the 2000 cathy rigby musical version of slightly? i’ve always appreciated how >:( he seems to be the whole time
HI ANON! I hope you know this ask has made my absolute day, thank you for the ask!!
So I will say that I have a very complicated relationship with the Charlap and Leigh musical*. I find it pretty badly paced for a musical adaptation of a play, and the soundtrack is very hit or miss w me. It's no secret I much prefer the Stiles and Drewe "Musical Adventure", but for all my dislike of Charlap, I've always said that the Cathy Rigby version is by far the best staging of it.
*Charlap is the musical with "I won't grow up" "I gotta crow" and has had Mary Martin, Allison Williams and Cathy Rigby as Peters at different points. It's the one anon is talking abt
A way a lot of Peter Pan adaptations fail for me, top fan of the Lost Boys, is to make the boys too analogous. This is why I dislike the boys in the Mary Martin ver, they're all identical to eachother (save for Tootles, kinda) I can't even tell which one is which at times. Double for the Allison Williams ver (they also fail from looking like the fucking Newsies and there being like 30 of them. I dislike large Lost Boy casts anwyays but that's a diff post for a diff day). A good way to differentiate the Lost Boys is their introductory scene, which a lot of adaptations choose to cut for some reason.
The Cathy Rigby version of Charlap does include this scene, which is why I like it significantly more than the MM and AW productions. CR Charlap is a lot more like a staging of Peter Pan with Charlap's music at intervals, not a staging of Charlap's musical with Peter Pan at intervals, which is how IN MY OPINION, a lot of Charlap productions end up.
(also in this review thingy i'm gonna be referring to the cast of THIS proshot!)
(waayyyy more under the cut)
There's an individual in the Peter Pan fandom with an absolutely huge following so I'm not going to name names but if you know who I mean then you know who I mean, that considers Cathy Rigby the best on stage Peter Pan ever, and the rest of her cast to be the best stage cast of PP, and honestly, to an extent I'm inclined to agree.
My focus is always gonna be on the Lost Boys and it's an immediate con for me in the pros and cons list if the Lost Boys (and ESPECIALLY Slightly, but we'll get to Slightly in a sec!) are handled poorly, and CR doesn't handle them poorly, I honestly love them. Now they're definitely not perfect. No Curly and Nibs and Tootles are blended into Tootles and Nibs is just there.. ig, but I really like them. Another important thing to keep in for the Lost Boys is their comedy. I like when stage productions have them almost clowning, Barrie himself described Slightly as the comedic figure.
The boys are a great source of comedy especially on stage. CR keeps a lot of their physical theatre elements, they roughhouse a lot, something which the original 1904 boys were instructed to do in the script, and the number "Wendy" reminds me of my GCSE drama piece the way it's full of physicality, humour, and clowning! I also really like their costuming!
I like how distinct they each are, and that they don't get a "uniform" like the Disney lost boys, or AW Charlap ones. I also love that they don't just look like... normal kids (MM CHARLAP I SEE YOU!). They each have personality whilst still looking like... The Lost Boys.
They remind me a lot of the '03 boys, design wise, too, with the scrappy roughness of their look.
So, yeah, I do actually like them.
Onto Slightly, then.
One thing that I think Barrie did wrong was cutting the Slightly Soiled joke from the 1911 novel. Yes I know it's stupid toilet humour yes I know it's unfunny. But I think it's a good character establishing moment for him when he gets to be his egotistical self, bragging to the others. CR keeps it and it does genuinely get a laugh, which is cool.
In fact, this production just does a great job at nailing the "most conceited of all the boys" nature in him. He's really vain and just has this air of arrogance about him which I think every version of Slightly needs to have. One thing I love watching in scenes with a large cast including the boys is to watch their background actions, and I love how in Ugg-A-Wugg, before the big group dance at least — he legitimately looks like he doesn't want to be there (me too man, i also would not want to be in ugg a wugg), which is def giving the "i'm better than this + all of you" Slightly Soiled vibe.
I also really like how the other boys pick on him a lot? The other boys being mean to Slightly as a staging choice goes way back to the earliest castm where he was the only one played by a man, the others played by women, and it'd look inappropriate for him to share a bed with them, them all playing young children in 1904, so they would gang up on him and chase him out the home before any bedtime scenes. Of course this was later changed in modern adaptations where we don't bat an eyelid at that anymore and Lost Boy casts have been a variety of genders... but him being the go-to target of their scuffling remains. Probably because he's a huge jerk still, and always has been.
Thing only I even noticed: how he gets the "I will stay a boy forever" verse in I Won't Grow Up!! I've been saying for years that's Slightly's verse and no one has listened to me! (It's a bit like how I talk to the wall about how the 'wallet fat and an old man's hat' line in Be Back Soon from Oliver! is Charley Bates, these are things only I care about).
I just really love how the actor playing him carries himself too. This production does a great job of the minor parts, chorus, and ensemble staying in character all the time, I really enjoy it. How he walks with the snootiness and vanity you'd expect from Slightly Soiled, but yet how he drops the bravado around Peter. How he seems perpetually annoyed by being surrounded by the others and thinks he's better than them. I think the dude playing him understood the assignment, he's so fun and so Slightly.
Agree that he's perpetually walking around like >:[, Very him. Nails the egotism of Slightly.
I love him, actually. Wish we got to see him dancing w an ostritch (my favourite Slightly moment literally NOT ONE DIRECTOR HAS EVER ADAPTED!! 💔) but yeah. This Slightly Soiled gets the @/slightlys0iled stamp of approval!
thank you for the amazing response and i totally agree with everything you said!!
BUT ESPECIALLY WHEN PRODUCTIONS HAVE A THOUSAND LOST BOYS 😭 give me the ogs or give me death 💪🏻
i love the cr lost boys because of how distinct they all are— you can really gauge their personalities just from watching them react in the background (a personal favorite is when slightly is yapping about kisses and the twins give each other a very annoyed glance). i do miss nibs in that production, though 😭 someday we’ll solve the mystery of why they got rid of him
Hi and thanks for your ask tooo ❤️❤️ I didn't mean to turn it into an essay I swears it!! (changed the pfp but it's still me i prommy!)
FRR IF THERES MORE THAN 6 LOST BOYS I GET DEEPLY UPSET! I used to be suuuper into Oliver! the musical where it was common to see about 30 kids in the pickpocket gang where there is. meant to be 9 of them. Same issue w the Losties too methinks (guiltiest of this is the Allison Williams charlap ngl)
Watchung the background action with the Lost Boys is so fun and real cute too. My favourite was how annoyed they all seemed at the start of Ugg a Wugg personally. (I too would be annoyed performing that number), and their choreography for the song Wendy is so cute! I rag on Charlap a lot because of how much I really dislike the Mary Martin and Allison Williams vers but I really love how CR does the boys!
I'm assuming the removal of Nibs may have just been to give Tootles more to do?? But keep in mind Tootles and Slightly do kinda too much anyways?? A travesty really, but one of my favourite stage versions (National Theatre Live which I recommend so much) does get rid of Slightly, so I guess I can excuse the Nibs erasure... I guess...
Thanks for your lovely ask, too. It did make my day getting to yap :)
When I was in Los Angeles last week, I made my customary pilgrimage to Amoeba Records, but this time I uncharacteristically bought only one album: the original cast recording of Whoop-Up, which at one time was one of the hardest-to-find (and therefore most-sought-after) Broadway discs.
Of course, it's the perfect week to reacquaint ourselves with this score by Moose Charlap and Norman Gimbel before we collectively experience Charlap's more famous show, Peter Pan, on Thursday.
Besides Charlap's music, both musicals share problematic portrayals of Native Americans. Whoop-Up is based on the novel Stay Away, Joe by Dan Cushman, which was also made into a film with Elvis Presley. Cushman's obituary noted the controversy this book stirred up among readers.
This number is snappy, clever, and unfortunately rather racist despite its clear intention to be the opposite.
