New Canaan native Allison Williams will star as Peter Pan alongside Christopher Walken’s Captain Hook during a live broadcast of the popular children’s tale on NBC this fall.
“Peter Pan” is set to be performed live on Thursday, Dec. 4, on NBC, where Williams’ father, New Canaanite Brian Williams, is the anchor of “NBC Nightly News.” He and his wife, Jane, live in town. Walken lives in neighboring Wilton.
“We couldn’t be happier that Allison Williams is our Peter Pan,” Robert Greenblatt, chairman at NBC Entertainment, said. “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.”
Williams has starred as Marnie Michaels on the hit-HBO series “Girls” for the past two seasons. She has shown off her vocal talents, recording several songs for the series. She has also had guest-starring roles on Fox’s “The Mindy Project” and FX’s “The League.”
“I have wanted to play Peter Pan since I was about three years old, so this is a dream come true,” Williams said. “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,” added Williams, “what could go wrong in a live televised production with simultaneous flying, sword fighting and singing?”
Williams posted this photo on Instagram Wednesday of herself dressed as Peter Pan when she was child:
She wrote with the post: “Thrilled to be playing Peter Pan live on NBC in December. I’ve been rehearsing for a REALLY long time.”
Last year, NBC presented a live production of “The Sound of Music,” which garnered more than 18 million viewers.
In 1955, the network broadcast the Broadway production of “Peter Pan,” starring Mary Martin and Cyril Richard. It drew 65 million viewers, a record at the time.
In a 2008 interview with the Advertiser, when Williams was a student at Yale University, she talked about what it is like to perform live on stage with her comedy group, Just Add Water.
“It’s the hardest thing I do, and it’s the most fun thing,” she said. “My brain doesn’t stop moving for two hours.”
Her desire to perform was something innate, even from a young age, said Williams in 2008.
“In all the home videos of me and my little brother, you’ll see my face slide into the frame from the side,” Williams told the Advertiser. “I was insanely jealous of the attention he got. My response to that was just being such a ham.”
Brian Williams kisses daughter Allison Williams on stage at the 2013 New Canaan concert for first responders that benefited Staying Put in New Canaan. The two emceed the concert that featured New Canaan residents Paul Simon and Harry Connick Jr. (Kristen Jensen photo)