Pantomime traditions, especially "Peter Pan", are performed quite often, and a few American theatre companies produce traditional British-style pantomime as well as American adaptations of the form. According to Professor Russell A. Peck of the University of Rochester, the earliest pantomime productions in the US were "Cinderella" pantomime productions in New York in March 1808, New York again in August 1808, Philadelphia in 1824, and Baltimore in 1839. A production at Olympic Theatre in New York of "Humpty Dumpty" ran for at least 943 performances between 1868 and 1873, (one source says 1,200 performances), becoming the longest-running pantomime in history. In
King's Theatre Pantomime him. The management asked him to bring back the same production the following year. He refused, but said 'maybe in eight or ten years.' He kept his promise and returned for his final pantomime appearance in 1991. In 2005, the company First Family Entertainment took over production of the annual pantomime, and First Family Entertainment are now responsible for a dozen productions up and down the country. The current productions run during the festive period until mid January, totalling over 70 performances during the run, with two performances daily, six days a week. Gerard Kelly was for 20 years a