Monday, February 04, 2013

Two Quick Pippin Updates - The Magic Continues on Broadway


The Broadway musical Pippin is never far from my mind.  Here are a couple of quick follow-ups to what I have already written about the terrific new production that premiered recently in Cambridge at the A.R.T. and is heading to Broadway soon.

The producers of the show have just announced that the entire cast that Cambridge audiences came to love have all been signed to contracts to continue in their roles when the show re-opens in New York.  This is great news, since the ensemble cast functions as a seamless machine, and replacing any part of it would have been a challenge.

Here is the BroadwayWorld.com announcement about the casting of the show:


Producers Barry & Fran Weissler and Howard & Janet Kagan have announced casting for Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's Pippin, directed by Diane PaulusPippin will begin preview performances on Broadway Saturday, March 23, 2013 and officially open Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the Music Box Theatre. Tickets are available through www.telecharge.com/pippin, by calling             212-239-6200      , and in person beginning Saturday, March 2nd at the Music Box Theatre box office (239 West 45th Street).
The cast, all of whom appeared in the premiere of Diane Paulus's production of Pippin at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA, features Matthew James Thomas as Pippin, Tony and Olivier Award nominee Patina Miller as Leading Player, Tony Award nominee Terrence Mann as Charles, Tony Award nominee Charlotte d'Amboise as Fastrada, Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine and Tony Award winner Andrea Martin as Berthe. Other members of the company include Erik Altemus as Lewis, Gregory Arsenal, Andrew Cekala, Lolita Costet, Colin CunliffeAndrew Fitch, Orion Griffiths, Viktoria Grimmy, Olga Karmansky, Bethany MooreBrad MusgroveStephanie PopePhilip Rosenberg, Yannick Thomas, Molly TynesAnthony Wayne.
The beloved coming-of-age musical Pippin, with a book by Roger O. Hirson, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, is directed by Diane Paulus with circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers) and choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse.
The design team includes Tony Award-winner Scott Pask (Scenic Design), Dominique Lemieux (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Tony Award-winner Clive Goodwin (Sound Design). The orchestrations are by Tony Award-winner Larry Hochman with music supervision by Nadia Di Giallonardo, and music direction by Charlie Alterman.
Royal heir Pippin is spurred on by a mysterious group of performers to embark on a death-defying journey to find his "corner of the sky." The original production of Pippin, directed by Bob Fosse, premiered on Broadway in 1972. It won five Tony Awards and five Drama Desk Awards, and ran for close to 2000 performances before closing in 1977. This production of Pippin made its debut at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA, where Diane Paulus serves as Artistic Director; December 5, 2012 to January 20, 2013. Pippin is noted for many Broadway standards including "Corner of the Sky," "Magic To Do," "l Guess I'll Miss The Man," "Glory," "No Time at All," "Morning Glow," and "Love Song."


Broadwayworld.com article

In addition, my White Rhino Report review of Pippin has been uploaded to Stephen Schwartz's official Blog:

Stephen Schwartz Blog

"Gotta Find My Corner of the Sky"!

Al


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