The production of Pippin of the Hope Mill Theater in Manchester arrives in London!
This production, which opened last August in Manchester, arrives on the boards of the Southwark Playhouse from February 23 to March 24, 2018.
Staged by Jonathan O'Boyle, choreography by William Whelton; Zach Flis in the musical direction and designs of Maeve Black.
A little bit of history
Pippin opened on October 23, 1972 at the Imperial Theater on Broadway and then at the Majesty Theater in London a year later.
The music was composed by Stephen Schwartz (world famous for Wicked), the libretto written by Roger O. Hirson, and the staging and choreography designed by Bob Fosse (to whom we owe, among other things, the choreographies of Sweet Charity et Chicago).
This musical follows a mysterious troupe of performers, who introduces a young Prince, Pippin who is in search of meaning in his life. It includes the tunes "Magic To Do" and "Corner of The Sky".
The show was nominated in 11 categories at the 1972 Tony Awards and won 5 Tonys including Best Actor in a Musical for Ben Vereen, Best Direction and Best Choreography for Bob Fosse. But it's A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim, who won the trophies for the best musical, best original score and best booklet.
And today ?
In Manchester, the role of Pippin was played by Jonathan Carlton, alongside Bradley Judge playing Lewis and Genevieve Nicole as Leading Player; Tessa Kadler in Catherine and Rhidian Marc in Charles. We do not know if the same cast will be present in London but we hope to find this production at the Southwark Playhouse.
Until February 23, we can only get acquainted with the music of Stephen Schwartz thanks to the New Broadway Cast Recording of the Revival of 2013 with notably Patina Miller and Terrence Mann.
To buy seats, go to Southwark Playhouse website.
We learned on November 27 of the death of Olivia Faulkner. This 19-year-old performer graduated from Laine Theater Arts school and Pippin marked his professional debut on stage. Her family created a foundation "The Olivia Faulkner Foundation" to raise awareness of mental health issues in the artist world. You can participate in the campaign here.
We would like to express our condolences to family and friends.