History: Peter Pan could make you a star! [dramaturg's desk]

During this week in 1905, the character of Peter Pan made his American stage debut when Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up opened on Broadway at the Empire Theatre on November 6. In retrospect, this date is significant because it was largely responsible for the creation of a cultural icon. At the time, however, producer Charles Frohman was celebrating for an entirely different reason: he had successfully created a star out of Maude Adams.

This wasn’t the first production to bring together Adams, Frohman, and Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie. When Barrie was seeking to dramatize his novel The Little Minister, he worried that there was no actress who could properly play Lady Babbie, the minister’s wife. But Frohman then invited Barrie to attend a performance of Rosemary, a play he was producing that featured Maude Adams, and Barrie allegedly proclaimed during the audience’s ovations for Adams that no one else could play the part in The Little Minister. Frohman, who self-consciously reinforced his sobriquet of “star maker,” encouraged Barrie to flesh out the role to further highlight Adams, and Barrie acquiesced. The notices for her portrayal of Babbie were mostly positive, but she didn’t become an instant celebrity.

Frohman believed in Adams. Her mother had been an actress, and she made her stage debut when she was only nine months old. She appeared in her first Frohman production before she had reached her 18th birthday, and he knew she had great potential. When Peter Pan was a success in London and Barrie began planning to bring it to New York, Frohman pushed to cast Adams in the title role; Barrie, who had grown quite fond of her, readily agreed. Since Barrie rarely came to America, Frohman was at liberty to allow his star to freely adapt the J.M. Barrie text to suit her needs and desires. Frohman’s goal was to create a star, not to faithfully adhere to the playwright’s words, so it may come as no surprise that one reviewer observed how Adams “appeared in a version of her own in which speeches were shifted because she fancied them; characters, like Wendy, subordinated lest they should draw too close to the star-part; the whole piece conformed to her wishes or necessities.” But the play was an even bigger hit than in London, Adams had achieved star status, and Peter Pan became an indelible part of American popular culture.

Fascinatingly enough, the play was the true introduction of the character, not Barrie’s subsequent prose version of the story. Peter made a somewhat brief appearance in print in Barrie’s The Little White Bird, but the play was the first time he had a central role. The play has certainly left its mark, as one can glean from the numerous revivals and stage and screen adaptations. There have been multiple interpretations of the story in New York this season alone, notably with Peter and the Starcatcher (which is slated to come to Broadway in Spring 2012). Perhaps most of all, the fact that Cathy Rigby is still playing Peter is indicative of just how much of a theatrical mainstay Peter Pan is.

Russell M. Dembin is a theatre educator and freelance dramaturg. Past production dramaturgy credits include the Drama Desk-nominated world premiere of Underground and the U.S. premiere of GBS at The Clockwork Theatre; the New York premiere of “Finding the Way” at Manhattan Theatre Source; and Annie Get Your Gun at Albany’s Park Playhouse, which featured a historically accurate recreation of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and an accompanying exhibition, “Annie Oakley: A Natur’l History,” in honor of Annie Oakley’s 150th birthday. You can reach him at Russ.Dembin@thecallboard.com.