‘Peter Pan Live!’: How was Allison Williams?

On Thursday night, Allison Williams made her flying debut as Peter Pan in NBC’s big broadcast event, “Peter Pan Live!” There were 9.13 million viewers along with her on the ride, which is about 50% lower than the 18.6 million viewers who watched “The Sound of Music!” last year.

So how did Williams, who has apparently aspired to be Pan since she was a little girl, do in the starring role?

While viewers didn’t lambaste her the same way they laid into Carrie Underwood after “The Sound of Music” last year, she didn’t exactly wow them, either. Safe to say, Williams probably won’t be joining Mary Martin, Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby on the list of definitive Peter Pans.

But that’s not to say no one enjoyed her performance. In fact, many tweeted that her flying, singing and all-around youthful spirit was their favorite part of the production.

Georgia-based TV reporter Ben Williamson wrote, “I hope my #wedding is as awkward as #AllisonWilliams crow.”

And Jess Katz in New York, wrote, “Anyone who compares Allison Williams to Mary Martin needs to have their licence to review musical theatre taken away.”

Another viewer wrote, “Here’s what made #PeterPanLive so unsettling: I don’t believe #AllisonWilliams was ever a child. She was prolly born in an Ann Taylor suit.”

Similarly, Liv Byron wrote, “#AllisonWilliams Good, but just kept seeing a young Brian Williams pirouetting midair.”

While Zachary F. Volkert’s reaction was probably the most extreme, writing, “Watching #AllisonWilliams as #PeterPanLIVE and thinking she should be fired permanently from Girls, acting, going out in public whatsoever.”

In the pro-Williams camp, they spent equal time praising her performance and defending her from detractors.

“Kimmie D.” wrote, “It’s really unfair to criticise #AllisonWilliams just for playing a boy when you have never studied performing arts or Shakespeare.”

But despite the back and forth, indie writer-producer Richard Gustason summed up the situation with the most clear-eyed take, writing, “While you hate tweeted #PeterPanLive last night, #AllisonWilliams fell asleep on a bag of cash not giving a crap about your tweets. LOL.”

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