Peter Pan is NOT always played by a woman. All of the Peter Pan productions I have been in so far (4) have been teens to full-grown MEN. True, ladies and girls do play peter at times, but that's only because the songs that peter has to sing are too high pitched for many guys to sing well....... at least that's what I heard.
In the days when the play was first produced children were not allowed to perform professionally. Work and labor laws. So Peter was played by a woman so that his voice would stay seemingly young. It became tradition just as it is that the same actor plays Mr. Darling and Hook. They were probably short an actor. LOL
Women are chosen to play the part on Broadway or other long-running productions because their voices (and bodies) aren't going to be changing. It's like on television and movies, where teen agers are generally played by people in their post-acne 20's.
In the musical version, the vocal parts are written for a women's voice (see "My Mysterious Lady"). Also, the harnesses utilized for flying seem to work better with female anatomy.
This may be because traditionally in English pantomine the 'principal boy' (ie the lead male) is always played by a woman. I don't know when this started, but it continues to this day. In the case of Peter, he is a boy, so a woman can look and sound more like a boy than a man can (see Bart Simpson), and they are generally prettier, so they look like handsome young men.<br><br>Any help?
When "Peter Pan" first opened in 1904 it was illegal for children to work at night-time, including acting. The closest look & sound to a young boy was an actress, since adult actors" voices had already changed.
When Barrie first wrote his play, HE was the one who started the tradition. This was because womens' voices are more high-pitched, so they seem like young boys. Also, back when the play was written, they didn't have all of the high-tech steering cables and flying illusions that they have now, so Barrie decided that it would over-all be better to have a light woman rather than a man, or even a teenaged boy. The very first night "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" opened, Maude Adams was the very first person ever to play Peter. Barrie saw that this was the best, so he continued the tradition. There are more versions now that have men starring, although I think that women playing Peter are actually better.
Because in theater women were usually ones to take the role because people felt they liked the sound of their voice better. And a woman could play a young boy better when it came to singing, since a 12 year old boy is 10 to 1 going to be an alto when it comes to singing at his age.
The reason is because in the book Pan is such a graceful, fairy like boy that it is hard to find young boys who are the same as him. It was much easier to take the older women to fill the spot just because it fit the discription, Pan is not thought of as a buffed up man which most older guys tend to be... But now they have a movie out called Peter Pan (of cource) and Peter is played by Jeremy Sumpter a 14 year old boy who i think was born for the part! By the way just incase you need it www.jeremysumpter.com will tell you more about him! Hope that helped
I have a question about something that has been bothering me for a long time. Why is Peter Pan always played by a women? If the answer is because it's tradition how did it start? Thank you for your time.<br><br> John P. Shay<br> [email protected]
I found a quote that answers the question:
"... Nina Bouciacault, as Peter Pan. Hanving an actress play the boy - a tradition that continues to this day - began as a practical matter. The role was too demanding for a child; only an adult could handle all the lines. And only an adult female could pass for a boy."
Hope that answers it.
-megz-
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