PIPPIN Begins Broadway Preview Performances Tonight

Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's beloved coming-of-age musical comedy Pippin returns to Broadway when performances begin tonight, Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street). This all new production is directed by Diane Paulus featuring choreography by 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). Opening is set for Thursday, April 25. On March 23rd only, box office hours have been extended to 10:00 p.m. to accommodate any patrons seeking to purchase advance tickets.

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, Grégory Arsenal, Andrew Cekala, Lolita Costet, Colin Cunliffe, Andrew Fitch, Orion Griffiths, Viktoria Grimmy, Sabrina Harper, Olga Karmansky, Bethany Moore, Brad Musgrove, Stephanie Pope, Philip Rosenberg, YanNick Thomas, Molly Tynes, Anthony Wayne, Ashton Woerz.

Matthew James Thomas is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance on this production.

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 Dominique Lemieux, lighting design by Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner, sound design by Tony Award-winner Clive Goodwin, illusions by Paul Kieve, fire effects by Chic Silber, flying effects by ZFX, Inc., and the music director is Charlie Alterman.

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