Andrea Martin to Play 'Berthe' in Diane Paulus' PIPPIN Revival at A.R.T., 12/5-1/20

According to the New York Daily News, Tony and Emmy award winner Andrea Martin will play 'Berthe' in Diane Paulus' revival of the Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin, running Dec. 5-Jan. 20 at Cambridge's American Repertory Theater, with hopes of heading to Broadway.

"I'm taking classes at the trapeze school to get ready for Pippin," Martin told Daily News theater critic Joe Dziemianowicz. "This new production combines circus acrobatics and Bob Fosse choreography."

Read the original report here.

Directed by Paulus, the production will feature choreography by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main, also known as 7 Fingers.

Broadway buzz has surrounded the production since 2010, when a pre-Broadway stop at A.R.T. was anticipated. The production most recently had a workshop last summer starring Gavin Creel, Katie Finneran, Michael Cumsty and Tracie Thoms as the Leading Player, a role traditionally played by a man. (The original reading in 2010 also starred Gavin Creel and Tracie Thoms, alongside Natalie Cortez and Jayne Houdyshell. Momentum on the production waned when Schwartz decided to instead work on an "experimental" production of the show at the Menier Chocolate Factory in the UK).

The original production of Pippin, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson, premiered on Broadway in 1972. It was directed by Bob Fosse, won nine Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards, and ran for close to 2000 performances before closing in 1977. Pippinhas become a staple of the American Musical cannon, noted for many memorable songs including Corner of the Sky, Magic To Do, l Guess I’ll Miss The Man, Glory, No Time at All, Morning Glow, and Love Song.

Martin, currently starring in her cabaret show with Seth Rudetsky at 54 Below this week, has performed on Broadway in Exit The King, Young Frankenstein, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, Oklahoma!, Candide and My Favorite Year. Her off-Broadway credits include On the Town, The Exonerated, The Vagina Monologues, Nude Nude Totally Nude (which she also wrote), Out of this World, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Sorrows of Stephen and more.

For more about the production, visit americanrepertorytheater.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.