NBC to tackle ‘The Music Man’ as live musical event

NBC is steadily positioning itself as the Great White Way of TV.

The network plans to take on a live production of the 1957 musical “The Music Man, “ Bob Greenblatt, NBC’s chairman of entertainment, announced Monday at the network’s upfront presentation.

An air date has not yet been set, nor has casting begun, but Greenblatt said the network’s production of the classic about a con man in small-town America is imminent.

That NBC plans to continue trying its hand at live musical events makes sense -- despite being met with poor reviews, its revival of “The Sound of Music,” with Carrie Underwood, brought in 19 million viewers.

Hoping to keep the momentum alive, it wasn’t long before it was announced that the network would next tackle a live production of “Peter Pan.” Still in the casting stages, that musical is set to roll out on Dec 4.

NBC isn’t the only network trying to prove its musical abilities. Fox recently announced that it was getting into the game with a live production of “Grease.”

To which Greenblatt said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”