The Story
Christmas 1904. Word on the street in London was that playwright J.M. Barrie had lost his mind. His latest play, people whispered, featured of all things pirates, Indians, flying children, and a vengeful crocodile. Rehearsals had been a technical disaster, and the opening was delayed five times. When stuffy Victorian audiences finally came to The Duke of York's Theater for the very first performance of Peter Pan on December 27, 1904, it was with serious trepidation.
According to theatrical legend, at the last minute, Barrie arranged for 25 seats to be given to a local orphan's home. Buoyed by the ecstatic reaction of its most youthful audience members, the evening was a triumph.
Children believed and adults remembered how to be children.
From that evening and forever more, Peter Pan instantly became one of the world's most beloved and enduring stories.