Breaking News: Annie Potts to Join Cast PIPPIN as 'Berthe'; Tovah Feldshuh to Depart on 1/19

The producers of the Tony Award winning Pippin just announced that Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominee Annie Potts ("Designing Women," God of Carnage) will assume the role of "Berthe" in the production beginning Tuesday, January 21, 2014. Four-time Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh will play her final performance in the role on Sunday, January 19th. Pippin is now playing at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street).

Annie Potts made her Broadway debut in Yasmina Reza's Tony Award winning black comedy God of Carnage and has appeared off-Broadway in The Vagina Monologues,Diva, Love Letters, Charley's Aunt, The Merchant of Venice, A Little Night Music, Cymbeline and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Most recently she received rave reviews for her performance of a distraught wife dealing with her husband's suicide in Aftermath, which received the LA Times' Critics Choice Ovation Recommendation. Ms. Potts returned to series television in the ABC drama "GCB." Her character on the show 'Gigi' ranked among the many iconic female roles Potts has created including 'Mary Jo Shively' from "Designing Women." Her work in "Love & War" garnered her an Emmy nomination and with "Any Day Now" she scored two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. She has also played recurring or guest star roles on "Law & Order: SVU," "Huff," "Joan of Arcadia," "Men in Trees," "Ugly Betty," "Two and a Half Men" and "Boston Legal." Potts also starred in the Hallmark movies, "The Music Teacher" and "Freshman Father" along with "Marry Me" for Lifetime. Her film credits include Ghostbusters I & II, Pretty in Pink, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Who's Harry Crumb?, King of the Gypsies and Corvette Summer for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. Additionally she voiced the memorable 'Bo Peep' in the first two Toy Story films.

Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's Tony Award winning musical comedy Pippin is directed by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus and features choreography by Tony Award nominee Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse and circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers).

The current cast features Matthew James Thomas as Pippin, Tony Award winner 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 four-time Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh as Berthe. Other members of the company include Erik Altemus, Colin Cunliffe, Andrew Fitch, Orion Griffiths, Viktoria Grimmy, Sabrina Harper, Kelsey Jamieson, Preston Jamieson, Olga Karmansky, Richard Maguire, Luke Kolbe Mannikus, Gabrielle McClinton, Bethany Moore, Brad Musgrove, Billy Harrigan Tighe, Molly Tynes, Anthony Wayne, Ashton Woerz, Florian Zumkehr.

PIPPIN is the winner of four Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Patina Miller) and Best Direction of a Musical (Diane Paulus). The show is also the recipient of four Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical (Diana Paulus) and Outstanding Choreography (Chet Walker and Gypsy Snider). The production also led the winners of the Outer Critics Circle Awards with seven wins including Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical (Diane Paulus), Outstanding Choreographer (Chet Walker), Outstanding Lighting Design (Kenneth Posner), Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Patina Miller), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Terrence Mann). Pippin received the Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and two Fred and Adele Astaire Awards including Outstanding Choreographer of a Broadway Show (Chet Walker) and Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show (Charlotte d'Amboise).

With a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, Pippin features music supervision and arrangements by Nadia DiGiallonardo, orchestrations by Tony Award winner Larry Hochman, scenic design by Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by Tony Award nominee Dominique Lemieux, lighting design by Tony Award winner Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Award nominees Jonathan Deans and Garth Helm.

Barry & Fran Weissler and Howard & Janet Kagan present the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) production of Pippin with Lisa Matlin, Kyodo Tokyo,A&A Gordon/Brunish Trinchero, Tom Smedes/Peter Stern, Broadway Across America, Independent Presenters Network, Norton Herrick, Allen Spivak, Rebecca Gold, Joshua Goodman, Steve McManus, David Robbins/Bryan S. Weingarten, Philip Hagemann/Murray Rosenthal, Jim Kierstead/Carlos Arana/Myla Lerner, Hugh Hayes/Jamie Cesa/Jonathan Reinis, Sharon A. Carr/Patricia R. Klausner, Ben Feldman, Square 1 Theatrics, Wendy Federman/Carl Moellenberg, Bruce Robert Harris/Jack W. Batman, Infinity Theatre Company/Michael Rubenstein, Michael A. Alden/Dale Badway/Ken Mahoney.

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 ofPIPPIN, 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," "Glory," "No Time at All," "Morning Glow," and "Love Song."

PIPPIN will launch a US national tour in September 2014, at the Buell Theatre in Denver, CO. Productions are also planned for London, Australia and Amsterdam in 2015. The New Broadway Cast Recording for Pippin is now available on Ghostlight Records.

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