Hard on the heels of the roaring — 18 million viewer — success of NBC’s live “Sound of Music,” the network has just announced its latest revival project: “Peter Pan.”
NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt says he has a “dream choice” in mind, and we wonder just who that could be.
Here are six stars who may be able to fill Mary Martin’s slippers — and remember, it’s not written in stone that Peter Pan must be played by a girl.
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1. Katy Perry
Pros: She’s fun to be around and manages to be family-friendly and just a little bit naughty — like that rapscallion Peter.
Cons: She has plenty of live experience but nothing that’s required her to also memorize reams of dialogue — no, voicing Smurfette doesn’t count. With Carrie Underwood a letdown in the thespian department, will NBC risk going down that road again?
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2. Justin Bieber
Pros: Bieber can sing, has a rakish charm and loves having a posse. Plus, he already seems to be living in Never Never Land. Poor Wendy doesn’t stand a chance.
Cons: Throwing eggs? Visiting brothels? The Biebster takes Peter’s most famous song (“I Won’t Grow Up”) a little too seriously. It may be hard to overcome his image as an entitled jerk.
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3. Miley Cyrus
Pros: With four seasons of “Hannah Montana” under her belt, Miley has acting chops — or at least experience. Plus, daddy Billy Ray has been in “Chicago” on Broadway, which should count for something. Miley also looks like the kind of daredevil who’d relish the flying stunts.
Cons: High risk of the star going rogue at any point during the live broadcast. Watch out for stray tongues, Tinker Bell!
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4. Hayden Panettiere
Pros: She played a cheerleader with superpowers — OK, one superpower — on “Heroes.” So there’s that for action girl. Then she proved she could act and sing by making her country-pop star character Juliette Barnes the single best thing on “Nashville.”
Cons: May not be a big-enough of a name to sell the show.
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5. Daniel Radcliffe
Pros: The ever-youthful Radcliffe can act, sing and sort of dance. Not only that, but he carried the Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” so he can pull off that live thingy.
Cons: Never mind that he’s a young man in a role that’s somehow become associated with middle-aged women: NBC should bend over backwards to get him.
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6. Pink
Pros: This fearless pop star has been incorporating aerial stunts in her live shows for years now. And her recent turn as an AA member in the movie “Thanks for Sharing” (under her real name, Alecia Moore) indicates both the desire and the ability to branch out.
Cons: Pink’s image is pretty badass, so unless NBC wants to reimagine the Lost Boys as a biker gang and Peter as their leader, she’ll have to tone things down.