The Play Won’t Grow Old

Joan Tewkesbury and Sondra Lee both have had successful careers.

Tewkesbury wrote the screenplay for the 1975 Robert Altman classic “Nashville” and has directed such TV movies as “The Tenth Month” and “Cold Sassy Tree.”

Lee was a protegee of renowned choreographer and director Jerome Robbins and starred on Broadway in “High Button Shoes,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “Sunday in New York.” She’s also been an acting coach to Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando and Matt Dillon.

And both women agree that appearing in the legendary musical “Peter Pan” with Mary Martin was one of the greatest experiences of their lives. Not only did Lee and Tewkesbury perform in the Robbins-directed version of the James M. Barrie classic on stage in 1954, they also appeared in the Emmy Award-winning 1955 live TV broadcast and the 1956 live broadcast.

The two reunited with Martin as the boy who refuses to grow up and Cyril Ritchard as Peter’s nemesis, Captain Hook, in 1960 for a third and final telecast, which was taped at NBC’s color studio in Brooklyn and aired on Dec. 8, 1960.

“It is kind of a phenomenon,” says Lee, who was memorable as Tiger Lily, the feisty head of the Indians in Neverland. “There are many people in the theater today who say, ‘You are responsible for [my] being in the theater.’ ”

Beginning Friday, the Museum of Television & Radio will be offering a holiday screening of the color version of “Peter Pan,” which features original music and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and Moose Charlap, Jule Styne and Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The museum also has in its collection the black-and-white kinescope of the 1956 live telecast.

Tewkesbury, who played the Ostrich and one of the Indians, and was Martin’s flying understudy, was just out of high school when she auditioned for “Peter Pan” in 1954 in Los Angeles.

“My mother wanted me to be Shirley Temple,” she says. “I took the bus into Hollywood and auditioned. I was eliminated several times because I was too tall and then I got a phone call to come back because the girl he had hired couldn’t count [the beats]. It was very important to count for Jerry [Robbins]. Initially, that’s how I got the job as an Indian. Then the Ostrich came as part of Robbins’ creation.”

Lee, who had appeared in Robbins’ production of the musical “High Button Shoes,” was originally cast as a Lost Boy. “He was determined for me to be in it,” she says. “I was actually at that time called Jerome Robbins’ discovery. He had an affection for me and wanted me to be in ‘Peter Pan,’ but really had no idea in what capacity.”

Her part as a Lost Boy began to grow in rehearsals. She was given a song and dance to do and her character evolved into Tiger Lily. Lee also points out with great pride that she was allowed to create her own feather headdress for her part.

Lee recalls that when the musical opened in San Francisco, the reviews weren’t very kind. “They brought in Jule Styne and Comden and Green, and they contributed songs and worked on the book a bit,” Lee says. “By the time we got to Los Angeles, it spread like wildfire. They put us in a limited engagement in New York and then it became a national phenomenon [on television].”

Tewkesbury remembers the dress rehearsal in San Francisco at which they performed for the cast of “The King and I.” “When I was leaving the theater, Yul Brynner tapped me on the shoulder,” recognizing her as the Ostrich.

She also recalls making a guest appearance on “The Today Show.” One of the hosts of the NBC series in those days was a chimp named J. Fred Muggs. The monkey, Tewkesbury says, “didn’t know what to do with my costume and so he went after it. He decided he wanted to make love to it or attack it. He couldn’t decide which.”

Though Tewkesbury says doing the play was a remarkable experience, “it got to be pretty unremarkable when you got to be doing it night after night. If you don’t have enough to do, it can get pretty boring. So you start making things up. Jerry came one night and I had made up this divine new walk for myself. He later met me backstage and went, ‘Do that again and you are out of here.’ ”

Robbins, she says, was very difficult. “But I can honestly say I learned more about everything from Jerry than practically anybody else. Jerry was precise and exacting and terribly funny. I’ll go a long way for a sense of humor, but he could be extremely grim and worked you into oblivion. It was insane what he would do to people.”

Both women admired Martin, and they adored Ritchard. “He was one of the funniest men,” Tewkesbury says. “Between [Martin and Ritchard], they are truly hilarious. One night during the performance, Cyril had a gallstone attack on stage, but he simply sat down and got through [the performance].”

“I loved Cyril,” Lee says. “He was amazing. He was not only brilliant, but he was just amazing as a human being. He was sweet and gentle.”

Tewkesbury says being around the cast of “Peter Pan” was like attending a “special kind of college. Sondra Lee was incredible. She was the funniest dancer I have ever seen.”

Because Robbins was in Hollywood choreographing and co-directing the film version of “West Side Story,” Vincent J. Donehue directed the 1960 version of “Peter Pan.” Donehue also had directed Martin on Broadway in “The Sound of Music.”

The 1960 production was broadcast by NBC off and on over the years before moving to the Disney Channel, which last showed it in 1997.

Tewkesbury and Lee believe the 1960 version isn’t as good as the two live telecasts.

“It was a little pale in comparison because there was something about Jerry’s directing,” Tewkesbury says. “I mean Vincent was very nice, but it was Jerry’s vision.”

“It just wasn’t the same,” Lee echoes. “Not that the magic was gone, but those Robbins-esque moments were lost along the way.”

Tewkesbury watched the 1960 production about a year ago. “I just thought, ‘Oh, my God!’ I couldn’t believe it. By today’s standards it seems very pale. But there is something still so magical about Mary flying out that window.”

BE THERE

“Peter Pan” will screen Wednesdays through Fridays at 3 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30 and 3 p.m. Friday through Jan. 9 at the Museum of Television & Radio, 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. Admission for members is free; for nonmembers: $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and students and $3 for children under 13. Information: (310) 786-1000.