Peter Pan LIVE — Tomorrow!

Clear your calendar for Thursday night!  Peter Pan LIVE is on NBC at 8/7c!

That’s right, the same folks who brought us The Sound of Music LIVE last year have a new holiday Broadway musical event–the beloved story Peter Pan!  The musical stars Allison Williams, Christopher Walken, Christian Borle and Minnie Driver,  and we will be watching it live as it’s being performed.

My family loves live stage.  I have been active in theater since my youth, doing plays in middle school, highschool, college and community theater up through the present.  My kids seem to have gotten the acting gene–Princess has had major roles in several school plays already, and Buddy had his first trip up on stage just this fall (which he absolutely loved).  Not only do I like being on stage, but I also love watching stage performances–we have been annual season ticket holders since the inception of our local professional theater so see a minimum of 4 shows a year–sometimes more.

Watching a stage show is so different from movies or tv–you don’t get that ultra-realism that cinematography can give you, and yet somehow despite the fact that stage has a distinct style and you know it’s not real–you quickly get drawn in and agree to a “suspension of disbelief” for the length of the show.  Let me explain it to you a bit better by describing the reaction of a friend who came to see a show I was in (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying)–it starts with a guy who is a window washer  sitting on a platform suspended above the stage–he has a bucket (which is empty) and a squeegee and is facing the audience.  He dips the squeegee in the bucket and then proceeds to “wash” the window in front of him–which is obviously just air.  My friend Joe said “There was no window, and I knew there was no window, but I would have sworn there was a window!”–that’s what live theater does–it make you believe!

So watching a live performance of a show, even over the television is like that–you get, for just a little while, to believe!

>Walmart is one of the major sponsors of the show.  I was planning on watching the show with the family anyway, but Walmart asked me to make it into a viewing party and live post/tweet about the show.  How fun!  They even sent us this cool Peter Pan Party kit:

I can just imagine the fun Buddy and Princess are going to have with the swords and hook.  They also included some lessons plans (and here is where you can get your own copy of the Peter Pan Lesson Plans) to make it a more educational experience.