J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan Turns 120; Look Back on the Many Actors Who Have Played the Boy Who Never Grew Up

On November 6, 1905, New York went to Neverland. That was the day that Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie opened on Broadway at the Empire Theatre, after wowing audiences in London in 1904. Maude Adams played the title role of the boy who never grows up (a role she would play for a decade after), due to restrictions against children acting on the stage. Though the play has been supplanted by the musical adaptation and the 1953 Disney film in the popular imagination, Peter Pan was revolutionary for its time, not just for pioneering flight on the stage, but for how it tapped into the desire of many children and adults to never grow up—and that everything bad in life can be solved with a bit of applause.

Since its American premiere in 1905, Peter Pan was so beloved that it was produced on Broadway six more times after—though the last Broadway production was in 1950, due to the Mark Charlap-Carolyn Leigh musical version becoming more popular. But if anyone wants to produce your own version of Barrie's Peter Pan, or even rewrite it slightly, you're in luck. Peter Pan, the stage play, went into the public domain in 2024, meaning anyone in America can produce or adapt the play and not pay royalties. That's just for America, though—Peter Pan is subject to a special law in the U.K. that holds it under copyright indefinitely. When Barrie died, he assigned the play's copyright to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, which will forever be the benefactor of the work's royalties. But that's not a bad thing—if you produce Peter Pan in the U.K., you can rest assured that the fees are going to a good cause.

Below, look back on the many actors who have played Peter Pan on the stage, including Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby.

Look Back at the Play and Musical Adaptations of Peter Pan on Broadway

Peter Pan Broadway 1979 Sandy Duncan HR — Look Back at the Play and Musical Adaptations of Peter Pan on Broadway

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Peter Pan Broadway 1915 Maude Adams HR — Maude Adams as *Peter Pan*

Otto Sarony Co./ NYPL Digital Collections

Peter Pan Broadway 1915 Mildred Morris and Maude Adams HR — Mildred Morris and Maude Adams in *Peter Pan*

NYPL Digital Collections

Peter Pan Broadway 1950 Boris Karloff HR — Boris Karloff as Captain Hook in *Peter Pan*

NYPL Digital Collections

Peter Pan Broadway 1954 Mary Martin HR — Mary Martin in *Peter Pan*

Friedman-Abeles/ NYPL Digital Collections

Peter Pan Broadway 1954 Jerome Robbins and Mary Martin HR — Jerome Robbins and Mary Martin in *Peter Pan*

Friedman-Abeles/ NYPL Digital Collections

Peter Pan Broadway 1989 Cathy Rigby HR — Cathy Rigby in *Peter Pan*

Martha Swope/ NYPL Digital Collections

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