Welcome to a new Musical Theatre Monday! This month, we’re convening a week early to celebrate the 65th anniversary of NBC-TV’s December 8, 1960 broadcast of Peter Pan, starring the divine Mary Martin, recreating her role in the 1954 Broadway production, which boasted a great score by Moose Charlap, Jule Styne, Carolyn Leigh, and Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

This was the third full-scale TV production of the 1954 musical, featuring both Martin and her original Captain Hook, Cyril Ritchard, with the previous two versions having aired in 1955 and 1956 respectively. Those were both performed live and preserved on kinescope, while this 1960 recreation was prerecorded on color videotape — ideal conditions for rebroadcasting and, later, home video release. This helped make the 1960 Peter Pan a staple for several generations of American kids, and a tradition carried on by Cathy Rigby in her own 2000 TV production — and later by Allison Williams in NBC’s 2014 holiday presentation. Of course, nobody comes close to Mary Martin — the original Peter in this most joyous take on the classic story.

Fortunately, all three of Martin’s performances are commercially available today, including the repeated and therefore best-remembered 1960 color production. But one thing that’s never been released is their soundtracks. So, for subscribers who comment below to alert me of their private, non-commercial interest, I’m offering audio rips of Martin’s three Peter Pan telecasts, along with tracks of all the songs from the nostalgic version that was first run 65 years ago tonight — the start of a wonderful memory for so many people always young at heart.

Come back next month for another musical gem! And stay tuned tomorrow for more Big Bang!