BWW Reviews: A.R.T. PIPPIN Talkback Coverage

Paulus addressed the issues of transferring the show to Broadway, noting that, among other concerns, the stage at the Music Box Theatre is smaller than that of ART. She also felt that the show is currently not finished, right down to "jewels that still haven't been put on costumes." The great thing, to her, about the move is that "we get a chance to continue working on it. A show is great when it feels like it's never done. The process [of the transfer] is wonderful and it gives us more time." She added, however, that "at a point in a process you have to quit dreaming and you have to get real, especially with such a physical show.

In answer to questions from the audience, Paulus also indicated that the entire current cast will be transferring to Broadway with the show, and that "layers of detail will continue to deepen the performance." She was not clear as to whether the current musicians are remaining with the production.

Speaking with Broadway World after the talkback, Paulus added, "We're totally excited about getting the chance to do this. There's a whole generation that doesn't know the show." She was also concerned that many people who believe they know the show have only seen school or community productions of the licensed version which has significant differences from the original Broadway version and therefore do not really know the show. Paulus indicated to Broadway World that she is looking forward to the challenges presented by the move and anticipates that the production will be fully ready for the previews beginning at the end of March.

America's most uncoordinated childhood ballet and tap student before discovering that her talents were music and writing, Marakay Rogers finally traded in her violin for law school when she realized that she might make more money in law than she did performing with the Potomac Symphony and in orchestra pits around the mid-Atlantic. She has never recovered from being chewed out by Terrence Mann in public for hanging up her bow. A graduate of Wilson College (PA), Marakay is also a writer, film reviewer and interviewer for the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Independent Gazette, science-fiction publications, and other news outlets. She's also taught college-level communications, writing, and English literature classes, has received multiple writing awards, and is listed in Marquis' "Who's Who in America". In her free time, Marakay practices law and often gets it right.

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