Neither had written anything for the musical stage, and Leigh claimed at that point in her life she had seen only one musical. “We had no idea what we were doing,” Leigh recalled. Charlap and Leigh auditioned for Martin and Robbins, and got the job, to Leigh’s astonishment. They discovered that the lyricist, Carolyn Leigh, was no longer working with the composer of “Young at Heart,” but had a new songwriting partner, Morris Charlap (whose ironic nickname, “Moose,” belied his diminutive stature). Inspiration came from an unexpected quarter-she and her husband were driving home one night when the song “Young at Heart” came on the radio, and they were struck by the lyric’s pertinence to Peter Pan. The choice of songwriters was still Martin’s call, however. Barrie’s original 1904 play and his novel, plus the numerous adaptations that followed through the years-fell to Robbins, putting him in a unique position to fashion this new Peter Pan from the ground up. The task of creating a new book out of the existing sources-J.M. When the Civic Light Opera proposed a new musical version of Peter Pan, they weren’t kidding-the show had yet to be written. He was champing at the bit to direct, and here at last was his chance. She later wrote, “the genius of Jerry Robbins really made the show possible.”īy the time Martin’s invitation to direct Peter Pan came through, Robbins had choreographed eight Broadway musicals, including breathtaking work on The King and I. This enormous production was directed by Robbins, and Martin was hugely impressed by his work. As star-studded as this event was, everyone seemed to agree the evening’s highlight was a twelve-minute duo performance by Broadway’s two greatest stars, Martin and Ethel Merman. Martin had worked with Robbins that year on the “Ford 50th Anniversary Show,” a two-hour television variety spectacular celebrating the Ford Motor Company’s golden jubilee, broadcast simultaneously on CBS and NBC. She responded to the offer by telegram: “Yes, if we can get Jerome Robbins.”īy this time, coming off her starring role in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s smash South Pacific, she had the clout to choose the creative team for the project, and she had no hesitation in selecting her director. So when she was approached in 1953 by California’s Civic Light Opera to appear in a new musical version of the piece, she jumped at the opportunity. Mary Martin had long wished to play the boy who wouldn’t grow up, and over the years a number of chances to do so had slipped through her fingers. Robbins was a man with big ideas, and it was only a matter of time before his ambitions would take him beyond choreography. Just as Leonard Bernstein’s score melded a traditional “show tune” sound with an expansive and sophisticated contemporary music sensibility, Robbins’ dances seamlessly blended old-school hoofing with the exacting technique of ballet.Įven though On the Town was directed by the grand old man of Broadway, George Abbott, it is Robbins’ choreography that defined its staging indeed, the show was essentially Robbins’ idea, based as it was on his ballet (with another Bernstein score) Fancy Free, a hit attraction for the American Ballet Theatre. An accomplished dancer with both ballet and musical comedy credits, Robbins made his spectacular debut as a Broadway choreographer with 1944’s On the Town. But Peter Pan was a milestone in Broadway history-it was the first show directed and choreographed by one of America’s greatest and most influential theater artists, Jerome Robbins.īy 1954, Robbins was one of Broadway’s most sought-after choreographers. By Michael Kotze When one thinks of groundbreaking American musicals of the 1950s, Peter Pan might not be the first title that springs to mind.
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