I recently attended a performance of "Peter Pan" with Cathy Rigby in the title role. Let me tell you...the flying sequences are a far cry from Mary Martin's... but Mary Martin was a Broadway star--not an Olympic gymnast. The original flying sequences were "up and down and back and forth and into the nursery and out the window". When Cathy Rigby flew off to NeverLand, she was sailing out over the audience and not only flying but tumbling head over heels as well. It was an unforgettable moment of theater magic...and almost had this middle-aged man believing in fairies all over again.
Cathy Rigby's performance is available on DVD...I just hope that bit of "magic" transfers to the screen as well as it did in the audience!