Lead Actor Explains Show Within A Show Of ‘Pippin’
March 1, 2017 at 8:27 p.m.
Lead Actor Explains Show Within A Show Of ‘Pippin’
By David [email protected]
“There were no acrobatics and it wasn’t under a circus tent,” the Rhode Island native said in a telephone interview Feb. 23.
Fox plays the title role in the musical, which lands at the Honeywell Center in Wabash at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $35, $45 and $58 and can be purchased at the box office or through the website at honeywellcenter.org.
A new production of “Pippin” was developed in 2012 for the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., Fox said. Directed by Diane Paulus, with choreography by Chet Walker, circus acts were developed for the production, and this is the version coming to Honeywell.
“I do acrobatics, but not quite to the level our acrobats do, because that takes years of training that I don’t have,” Fox said. He does get to do some feats, like a two-high where he stands on another person’s shoulders.
He said they’re doing this version of “Pippin,” as a show within a show. A circus troupe is putting on the play, “Pippin,” and Fox’s character is performing it for the first time. Pippin is a prince trying to find his way in the world. He tries war, but finds it’s not for him. He tries politics, and finds it’s not for him. He then just tries to live an everyman’s life.
Fox said being in the musical is absolutely fun “because it’s live theater and you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a big show, it’s grand! You always have to be on your toes and watching out 100 percent of the time because you never know what might happen.”
Rehearsals started Dec. 9 and the tour opened in Washington state Jan. 12, he said. The musical will be on tour through June, takes a seven-week break, then hits Pennsylvania and Florida.
Now that everyone’s become comfortable in the show and their roles, Fox said cast members are willing to try more things with each other in the musical.
He said his favorite song in the musical is “Morning Glow” in Act I, after Pippin has just become king.
“It’s about getting a new slate and he’s optimistic. It’s about what he thinks he can bring and having a new start,” Fox said.
Bob Fosse (1927-1987), known for “Sweet Charity” and “Cabaret,” among many other shows, directed and choreographed the original production of “Pippin” and won a Tony Award for his work. Some of his choreography can still be seen throughout the show, Fox acknowledged.
Stephen Swartz (“Wicked,” “Godspell”) wrote the music and lyrics for “Pippin.” Fox said Swartz is “one of the greatest composers of our time” and writes “timeless songs.”
Besides the musical’s storied credentials, Fox tells theater fans “Pippin” is well worth seeing. “If they have any desire to run away with the circus, ‘Pippin’ is the show for them,” he said.
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“There were no acrobatics and it wasn’t under a circus tent,” the Rhode Island native said in a telephone interview Feb. 23.
Fox plays the title role in the musical, which lands at the Honeywell Center in Wabash at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $35, $45 and $58 and can be purchased at the box office or through the website at honeywellcenter.org.
A new production of “Pippin” was developed in 2012 for the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., Fox said. Directed by Diane Paulus, with choreography by Chet Walker, circus acts were developed for the production, and this is the version coming to Honeywell.
“I do acrobatics, but not quite to the level our acrobats do, because that takes years of training that I don’t have,” Fox said. He does get to do some feats, like a two-high where he stands on another person’s shoulders.
He said they’re doing this version of “Pippin,” as a show within a show. A circus troupe is putting on the play, “Pippin,” and Fox’s character is performing it for the first time. Pippin is a prince trying to find his way in the world. He tries war, but finds it’s not for him. He tries politics, and finds it’s not for him. He then just tries to live an everyman’s life.
Fox said being in the musical is absolutely fun “because it’s live theater and you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a big show, it’s grand! You always have to be on your toes and watching out 100 percent of the time because you never know what might happen.”
Rehearsals started Dec. 9 and the tour opened in Washington state Jan. 12, he said. The musical will be on tour through June, takes a seven-week break, then hits Pennsylvania and Florida.
Now that everyone’s become comfortable in the show and their roles, Fox said cast members are willing to try more things with each other in the musical.
He said his favorite song in the musical is “Morning Glow” in Act I, after Pippin has just become king.
“It’s about getting a new slate and he’s optimistic. It’s about what he thinks he can bring and having a new start,” Fox said.
Bob Fosse (1927-1987), known for “Sweet Charity” and “Cabaret,” among many other shows, directed and choreographed the original production of “Pippin” and won a Tony Award for his work. Some of his choreography can still be seen throughout the show, Fox acknowledged.
Stephen Swartz (“Wicked,” “Godspell”) wrote the music and lyrics for “Pippin.” Fox said Swartz is “one of the greatest composers of our time” and writes “timeless songs.”
Besides the musical’s storied credentials, Fox tells theater fans “Pippin” is well worth seeing. “If they have any desire to run away with the circus, ‘Pippin’ is the show for them,” he said.
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