‘Pippin’ Returning to Broadway

Acclaimed circus-theme production of "Pippin" will play at the Music Box Theatre

"Pippin" will warble about his "Corner of the Sky" once more, now that the musical story of Charlemagne's son will Broadway this spring.

The Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz musical will begin preview performances on  March 23 and officially open April 25 at the Music Box Theatre. The revival will be directed by Diane Paulus, artistic director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University and oversaw the recent Tony-nominated production of "Hair." The circus-themed "Pippin" is currently playing at the Cambridge, Mass.-based theater, where it has earned raves.

"Anyone who’s seen this production knows how magical the theater can be," wrote Boston Globe critic Jeffrey Gantz.

Choreography is by Chet Walker but draws on the work of Bob Fosse, whose Brechtian-inspired 1972 staging of the musical is considered a seminal moment in musical theater. That production was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and won five, including Best Director and Best Choreographer for Fosse and Best Actor in a Musical for Ben Vereen.

The circus acts will be created by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers).

For the uninitiated, "Pippin" follows a group of traveling performers who help French ruler Charlemagne's son come of age.

The show's pop-infused score includes such songs as “Magic to Do,” “l Guess I’ll Miss the Man”  and “Love Song.”

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