Is it just Us, or is Peter Pan Live! going to be the biggest television event of this holiday season? Though NBC’s debut live musical, last year’s The Sound of Music Live! starring country singer Carrie Underwood, premiered to mixed reviews and much debate about the casting, its top ratings and viewership of around 44 million impressed even the most dubious critics.
Now the network is preparing for round two of this new holiday tradition and this time has placed Allison Williams, the actress and daughter of news anchor Brian Williams, at the helm of its latest live musical production. But does the Girls star really have the pipes to play Peter?
In a word: Yes!
You may only be familiar with Williams’ singing voice from her few awkward performances as Marnie on the hit HBO drama, but her vocal talents go far beyond that of the Brooklyn world. And a side note: It’s not her voice that’s bad, it’s her song choice and unwanted solos.
While attending Yale University (she graduated in 2010), Williams befriended YouTube sensation Sam Tsui and starred in the online film College Musical — a spoof of High School Musical. She recorded an HSM cover of the hit song “Breaking Free” with Tsui that has garnered more than 5 million views.
But it was her 2010 YouTube mashup of “Nature Boy” and RJD2’s “A Beautiful Mine,” that sparked Internet praise, and convinced Girls producer Judd Apatow that the aspiring actress, 26, deserved a part on his show.
Williams has also recorded several jazzy covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Kesha’s “TiK ToK.” Not only did she come up with creative versions of the popular songs, but she also managed to show off her impressive vocal range.
Now, let’s go back to Marnie’s musical moments on Girls. Her most memorable performance happened at her ex-boyfriend Charlie’s tech company party when she sang an acoustic version of Kanye West’s “Stronger.” Sure, it was quite possibly the most humiliating moment that any character suffered on any season of the comedy (which is saying something), but if you listen, her actual voice was pretty on point.
The same goes for Marnie’s music video cover of the 1988 classic song “What I Am” by Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, which caused her character plenty of grief when it hit YouTube.
Watch the rest of the clips, including the preview for the upcoming live special, and tell Us, do you think Allison Williams will do a good job as Peter Pan?
