(Photo by: Patrick Randak/NBC)
Brian Williams‘ daughter, Allison Williams, cross-dressed yesterday to play the boy who will never grow up. Following her debut as Peter Pan, Allison became a hot trending topic online.
When I saw her, she was ranked number 9 in the US.
My question is… Why? I will never understand the reason that the theater loves to have a woman play Peter Pan. It is uncomfortable for viewers and hard to imagine a grown woman being a little boy.
I think NBC should have played it smart and hired a real live boy.
That is just my opinion.
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They didn’t hire a boy because it is about tradition… How would you feel if a Woman played the mother in Hairspray instead of a man in drag?
I never saw Hairspray, but its good to break with tradition too. 🙂
Just a theory mind you, but I think the reason she trended was because the show was SO awful and weird that ordinary, non-theater geek types could spot the problems and rant about it.
The reason Peter Pan is traditionally played by a woman goes all the way back to the first productions in England, in 1904. It used to be illegal for actors under age 14 to be on stage after 9pm. The solution was to hire a woman as the main “boy”. I agree that it can lead to some sexual identity confusion if you aren’t smart about the choreography. After 100 years of female “Peters” (ha ha), it’s rare for even amateur productions to cast a male in the part.
Still… there are so many boys who probably would have loved to land the role. They should start a new tradition.
I can see your point.