You Can't Hate-Watch 'Peter Pan Live'

After everyone hate-watched The Sound of Music Live ! last year, many people assumed that Peter Pan Live! starring Allison Williams would fall to the same fate. But according to its Neverland leader, it won't. During a chat with the Daily Beast , Williams explained that cynics are not welcome when Thursday night comes along.

"I will say this about last year: today’s audiences like to watch things cynically. And I’m on a show that’s cynical in tone so I’m no stranger to that. Hate-watching is a thing It’s a whole way of watching something, and it’s not an audience that’s natural to a non-cynical performance. Peter Pan, you cannot watch cynically. If you do, you’re going to hate it, no question. It falls apart instantly."

Christian Borle, who starred in last year's production and will play Smee and Mr. Darling in Pan, agreed, even going as far to shame actors who made fun of Sound of Music.

"I don’t mind going on record saying that I was mesmerized by the actors in our community who were so snarky about Sound of Music on Twitter. I just thought, 'Don’t you ever want to work for NBC? They’re reading all of this.' Also, just be nice. I don’t understand the impulse to tear down."

Thanks to the story of Peter Pan being more carefree and Williams having an acting background (unlike Carrie Underwood), this year will be more of a fun-watch than a hate-watch for me. It just needs to embrace a little campiness and not take itself so seriously. What do you think? Will you be hate-watching Pan or singing along and pretending to fly?

Image: Virginia Sherwood/NBC