Arden & Benanti Cast in Pippin, Tix Now On Sale

As announced previously, the cast of the November 29th Concert of Stephen Schwartz's PIPPIN will include a choir of 80, full orchestra and several Broadway notables. The concert will take place at The Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom at 311 West 34th Street (at 34th and 8th Avenue) at 7PM.

Michael Arden, from the Tony-Award winning ensemble of Big River and the star of the Off-Broadway hit, BARE, will be portraying the title role, with Laura Benanti (Tony-Award Nominee from the casts of Swing, Into The Woods and Nine) as Pippin's love interest, Catherine. Also joining the cast as young Theo, is Caroline, or Change's Harrison Chad and Cameron Mathison of daytime's All My Children will play the role of Pippin's half-witted step-brother, Lewis.

The role of the Leading Player will be played by multiple actors. Included among those are Darius de Haas (Marie Christine, last year's Children of Eden Concert), Billy Porter (Grease, and the upcoming Ghetto Superstar at The Public Theatre) and Kate Shindle (Cabaret, Jekyll & Hyde, Miss America 1998). Also joining the cast, as Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire will be Terrence Mann, who originated the role of The Beast in Disney's Beauty & The Beast and in the role of Berthe (originated by The Beverly Hillbillies' Granny, Irene Ryan), will be actor and playwright, Charles Busch. Julia Murney, well known from the benefit concerts of Children of Eden, Chess and Funny Girl will be playing the role of Fastrada. Included in the ensemble will be Sarah Chase, Kristoffer Cusick, Adam Fleming, Barrett Foa, Sriram Ganesan, Julie Garnye, Jordan Gelber, Kearran Giovanni, Jenna Leigh Green, Colin Hanlon, Cheyenne Jackson, Natalie Joy Johnson, Michael Longoria, Jennifer Malenke, Kate Pazakis, Erin Quill, Randy Redd, Robb Sapp, Marty Thomas, Caitlin van Zandt, and Josh Young.

Pippin, which opened on Broadway on October 23, 1972, tells the story of a young man searching for ultimate fulfillment and his "corner of the sky." While flanked with decision after decision, Pippin maneuvers his way with the help of the Leading Player (the role which won Ben Vereen a Tony Award in 1973). The show was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and ran for 1944 performances. To this day, it remains one of the most revisited musicals in the country-with hundreds of professional and amateur productions every year.

The concert is being produced by the same team that brought you the New York City Professional premiere of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden last year (also commemorating World AIDS Day). Jamie McGonnigal, (Snoopy! In Concert, Embrace! for The Matthew Shepard Foundation, BroadwayWorld.com's Standing Ovations Series at Joe's Pub for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS) along with Kate Shindle, will again be assembling a star-studded cast and choir under the musical direction of Mark Hartman (Avenue Q, Children of Eden, Finian's Rainbow). Andy Blankenbuehler (Lippa's A Little Princess) will be choreographing and Gabriel Barre (Off Broadway's The Wild Party) will be directing the concert.

Tickets range from $50 to $1000 and many prices include invites to the VIP After-Party with the company of Pippin. All seats are available through Smarttix by calling 212-868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com. Further information including donation options and sponsorship opportunities are available through www.PippinConcert.org or by contacting PippinConcert@aol.com.

As with last year's concert, the proceeds will be benefiting The National AIDS Fund, which supports nearly 400 community based organizations and agencies nationally, doing battle in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The National AIDS Fund also promotes educational efforts to effectively stop the spread of the virus. This is especially important when newly released data states that in 2003, there were 5 million new HIV infections and an unprecedented 3 million deaths from AIDS.

The co-benefactor and co-presenter of the event is The Storm Theatre. Founded in 1997 as a non-profit theatre company, The Storm has been producing new and classic works that offer audiences compelling documentation of what it means to be human. While struggling after the effects of 9/11, they are just beginning to re-emerge as one of New York's most exciting success stories.