Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan, and Cathy Rigby all share a unique experience -they were all cast as boys on Broadway. Not just any boy, but Peter Pan himself. While an actress cast for the leading male's role may strike the audience as odd, it has been the norm for over 50 years. So why females?
1. In the early production of Peter Pan Live, Charles Frohman specifically requested that his protégé, Maude Adams, be cast as Peter.
2. At the time, there were strict labor laws that prohibited children from working on stage after 9 p.m., thus, an adult had to replace them.
3. So, why not cast adult men? Men are naturally larger than women, meaning the Lost Boys would have to be scaled to proportion to look realistic on stage.
4. The voice of an adult male would not match the story of a group of boys. However, a woman could pull off little Peter's teenage voice.
5.Because women just SLAY as Peter. (pictured: Allison Williams)
A lot goes into making a show look realistic and in this case the gender of the leading role can impact the production as a whole. There are critics who are disgusted by the fact that Broadway casts female after female for Peter, but it is now a tradition. Sure, there have been male actors who portray Peter just fine, but there is something about the tradition of the woman that makes this show extra special.
