Chet Walker News

Happy New Year, BroadwayWorld! As we eagerly anticipate the amazing musicals and plays coming up in 2016, we're taking a moment to look back at the significant Broadway closings of 2015.

The "magic to do" in Broadway's "Pippin" owes as much to simple storytelling and relatable "players" as to actual magic tricks and acrobatic wonders. A knife-throwing act here, a disappearing act there, the grand circus tent concept that helped the musical win its Tony Award for Best Revival fits flawlessly. But a beautiful new conclusion and a quest for meaning set to Stephen Schwartz's spellbinding music also capture the soul of live theatre. On that count, nothing has changed since the show's 1972 premiere. Young prince Pippin searches for his "corner of the sky," dabbling in war, sex and politics as a "Lead Player" guides him toward one grand "finale."

Experience the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - described as 'An eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. THE THRILL OF THE SEASON!' by NY1. PIPPIN will have a limited engagement at Sacramento Community Center Theater from Dec. 29 - Jan. 3. The cast includes Gabrielle McClinton as Leading Player; Brian Flores as Pippin; John Rubinstein, who played the role of Pippin in the original Bob Fosse-directed Broadway production, as Charles; Sabrina Harper as Berthe; Bradley Benjamin as Catherine; and Kate Wesler as Fastrada.

BroadwayWorld is excited to report that Berkeley Playhouse will present the world premiere of BRIDGES: A NEW MUSICAL, with lyrics and book by Cheryl L. Davis (2009 Writers' Guild Award winner and Daytime Emmy Award nominee for As the World Turns), composed by Douglas J. Cohen (2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Off-Broadway's Children's Letters to God, Richard Rodgers Grants and the Gilman & Conzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation Award for Off-Broadway's No Way to Treat a Lady), and conceived by Founding Artistic Director Elizabeth McKoy (developer of new musical theatre works for Berkeley Playhouse including: Born And Raised, Bravado, and Just So Stories).

Experience the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - described as 'An eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. THE THRILL OF THE SEASON!' by NY1. PIPPIN will have a limited engagement at Sacramento Community Center Theater from Dec. 29 - Jan. 3. The cast includes Gabrielle McClinton as Leading Player; Brian Flores as Pippin; John Rubinstein, who played the role of Pippin in the original Bob Fosse-directed Broadway production, as Charles; Sabrina Harper as Berthe; Bradley Benjamin as Catherine; and Kate Wesler as Fastrada.

Experience the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - at Shea's Buffalo Theatre January 26 -January 31, 2016.  Described as "An eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. THE THRILL OF THE SEASON!" by NY1.

Following the critical acclaim and record-breaking ticket sales and attendance of Festival 2015, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival announces a new season of exciting programming featuring international artists, world premieres, and an impressive number of live music engagements. This season signals an exciting new era in Pillow history, as the Board of Directors plans to name a new Jacob's Pillow Director in early 2016. Former Executive and Artistic Director Ella Baff stepped down from her role in September of 2015, following a successful 17-year tenure.

Long Wharf Theatre presents, in conjunction with Eva Price, THE LION, written and performed by Benjamin Scheuer, directed by Sean Daniels, from January 6 through February 7, 2016. The play will take place on Stage II. Tickets are $25-$85. The press opening will take place on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 7:30 pm.

There are the warhorse musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin; there are the lavish productions befitting Phantoms in opera houses and French revolutionaries and revisionist fairy tales (and you know the ones I mean); there are the Disney powerhouses; and . . . there are musicals of a quaint, mind-nudging nature that don't quite fit into any category. Certainly THE FANTASTICKS comes to mind, and -- at least in the previous productions I have seen -- Stephen Schwartz's PIPPIN. Somewhere in my video collection is a filmed version of the musical with William Katt, and just a few years ago PIPPIN was the first musical staged at the shiny, new Playhouse on the Square (with Alvaro Francisco stepping in for a sidelined Jordan Nichols). I sometimes think that small-scale musicals are better suited to venues less grand than the Orpheum; I needn't have worried, however, as PIPPIN has acquired the kind of theatrical, Cirque du Soleil-style atmosphere that perfectly suits the show's opening number, 'Magic to Do.'

The circus is in town and I ain't talking about Barnum & Bailey! The national tour of the 2013 revival of PIPPIN made its way to the Bayou City and I'm hippopotamusly happy to see this tour! When creative geniuses such as Bob Fosse and Stephen Schwartz are at the helm of the original material, there's no denying that a musical theatre maven such as myself would be overzealous.

Broadway in Boston has announced that tickets for the highly anticipated upcoming engagement of PIPPIN will go on sale to the public this Sunday, October 25th.  Following its acclaimed run at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA this captivating new production comes straight from Broadway where it won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. PIPPIN will play a limited two week run at the Boston Opera House February 2 - 14, 2016 as part of the 2015-2016 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season.

Ring in the New Year with the South Bay premiere of the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - hailed as "an eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. 

Experience the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - described as 'An eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. THE THRILL OF THE SEASON!' by NY1. PIPPIN, presented by Victoria Theatre Association, kicks off the 2015-2016 Premier Health Broadway Series with a one week engagement, tonight, Oct. 6, through Oct. 11, 2015 at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.

Experience the thrilling 2013 Tony Award-winning musical PIPPIN - described as "An eye-popping, jaw-dropping, VISUALLY STUNNING extravaganza. THE THRILL OF THE SEASON!" by NY1.  PIPPIN, presented by Victoria Theatre Association, kicks off the 2015-2016 Premier Health Broadway Series with a one week engagement, Oct. 6-11, 2015 at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center.  Tickets are on sale now at Ticket Center Stage, located in downtown Dayton, or by calling 937-228-3630 or 888-228-3630 and online at www.ticketcenterstage.com.

PIPPIN will play the Aronoff Center, October 13-18, 2015 as part of the 2015-2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati Season presented by TriHealth. Tickets will be on sale today, August 21 at 9AM at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS.

PIPPIN will play the Aronoff Center, October 13-18, 2015 as part of the 2015-2016 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Cincinnati Season presented by TriHealth. Tickets will be on sale Friday, August 21 at 9AM at the Aronoff Center Box Office downtown at 650 Walnut Street, online at CincinnatiArts.org or by phone at 513.621.ARTS. Group orders of ten or more may be placed by calling 513.369.4363.

PIPPIN will play a limited engagement at The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN November 17 - 22. Tickets for PIPPIN will go on sale to the public Today, July 31st at 10:00 AM and will be available for purchase online at the official Orpheum Theatre website, www.orpheum-memphis.com, The Orpheum Box Office (901.525.3000), the ticket counter at The Booksellers at Laurelwood, and all Ticketmaster centers (901.743.ARTS). 

PIPPIN will play Seattle's Paramount Theatre from August 16 - August 23, 2015. Tickets are available on-line at stgpresents.org and tickets.com, by calling 877-STG-4TIX (784-4849) or in person at select Ticketmaster locations and at The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm).

Contemporary ballet company Jessica Lang Dance, led by founder, choreographer, and Artistic Director Jessica Lang, returns to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival for an extended two-week run of The Wanderer, July 29-August 9 in the Doris Duke Theatre.