In 1955 and '56, NBC aired live telecasts of the Broadway hit Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin. Critic Lloyd Schwartz calls the performances, now available on Blu-ray, a "tribute to freedom and youth." ...

Episode Notes On March 7, 1955, actor Mary Martin stepped on stage in front of tens of millions of people. Well … kind of. Martin was starring as Peter Pan in a musical production televised on NBC.

Nevertheless, on March 7, 1955 — 70 years ago today — NBC broadcast the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Peter Pan” starring Mary Martin in color.

(Important to remember: There are many, many versions of the “Peter Pan” story, and this is an adaptation of Jerome Robbins’ 1954 Broadway musical, starring Mary Martin.

Many adaptations later, 1954's Broadway musical version of "Peter Pan" came to TV in a live NBC telecast in 1955, then was re-staged a year later with Mary Martin yet again in the title role.

J.M. Barrie’s classic story of the boy who never grows up was made famous by the television version starring Mary Martin and reprised in 2014 with Peter Pan played by Allison Williams in a live ...