Elias Leight, in a news story at Billboard.com, writes:
James Graham, who wrote the Broadway musical Finding Neverland, believes Peter Pan expresses a common reluctance to ‘grow up,’ conform, and play the game. ‘There’s so many universals in that story about being human,’ he tells Billboard. While the tale was written by an Englishman, it celebrates the outsider spirit that still holds a strong grip on the American imagination. “Peter Pan himself is this massive rebel,’ Graham notes. ‘An anarchist. A carefree dude who doesn’t care what anyone thinks and refuses to conform… the idea of the young rebel trying to hold on to their youth, [who] doesn’t really care, that’s something that survived the passage of time.’”
“Professor Maria Tatar, a Harvard University professor and the author of The Annotated Peter Pan, echoes these sentiments. ‘Some kids really want to grow up too fast, especially today,’ she says. ‘As a kid, I always wanted to stay a kid. For me, it’s the fantasy about flying. Lack of gravity is great — it has to do with not being serious, having fun, playing. The idea of being above it all, being able to escape into this secret other world.’”