NBC has announced that Girls co-star Allison Williams will take on the lead role of Peter Pan in their upcoming live musical event.
Peter Pan Live! will air December 4 on NBC.
“We couldn’t be happier that Allison Williams is our Peter Pan,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of NBC Entertainment in a statement. “She’s a lovely rising star on the award-winning show ‘Girls’ — where she occasionally shows off her incredible vocal talent — and we think she will bring the perfect blend of ‘boyish’ vulnerability and bravado to save the day against Christopher Walken’s powerful Captain Hook.”
“Allison Williams is a major find,” said executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. “She will reinvent the iconic role of Peter Pan with her wit, her warmth, her dynamic flying and her wonderful musical abilities. The score will be sung beautifully and introduced to a whole new generation of families.”
“I have wanted to play Peter Pan since I was about three years old, so this is a dream come true,” said Williams. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this adventure, and I’m very excited to get to work with this extraordinarily talented team. And besides, what could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?”
The network notes that Williams is an experienced singer. She recorded a couple of songs for Girls and has several videos online that she posted prior to her fame, like this one:
The network said earlier this month that the role of Peter Pan almost went to Kristen Bell. The actress had to turn the offer down due to scheduling conflicts
NBC previously announced that Christopher Walken will play Captain Hook.
Peter Pan Live! is NBC’s second live musical and follows their broadcast of The Sound of Music starring Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer.