Ryan Anderson (West Side Story, Curve Theatre, Grease UK tour) will return to the role of Pippin when director Stephen Dexter’s new version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Pippin opens at London’s Charing Cross Theatre later this month.
The actor who first played the title role last summer at the Garden Theatre will be joined by fellow returnee Dan Krikler (Loserville, Garrick Theatre, Mamma Mia! Novello Theatre), Ian Carlyle (We Will Rock You, international tour, Five Guys Named Moe, Marble Arch), Alex James-Hatton (Book of Mormon, UK tour, Heathers, The Other Palace/Theatre Royal Haymarket), Gabrielle Lewis-Dodson (The Boyfriend, Menier Chocolate Factory, 42nd Street, Theatre Royal Drury Lane), Natalie McQueen (9 to 5, Savoy Theatre, Kinky Boots, Adelphi Theatre), Genevieve Nicole (Pippin, Hope Mill theatre/Southwark Playhouse, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Savoy Theatre) and Jaydon Vijn (Starlight Express, Germany, Mamma Mia! international tour).
Running from 30 June until 14 August, the innovative re-imagining of Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson’s well-loved musical will be the reopening production at the popular London venue.
Welcoming the seven-week run for his immersive production, Dexter said: “Pippin opened on Broadway in October 1972. However, Stephen Schwartz started writing an early version of the show while he was a student at Carnegie Mellon University in 1967. Flower power was at its peak, war was raging in Vietnam and Hair opened on Broadway. It was the year of The Summer of Love. My take on the show (which I have been lucky to direct three times before) is told by a group of hippie travellers of that time.”
Schwartz added: “I’m delighted that Steven Dexter’s new and re-imagined production of Pippin will have further life this summer at Charing Cross Theatre. By stripping back Pippin to its essence, it draws the audience directly into the heart of the story. I’m excited to come over to see it for myself, and if COVID rules permit, I will be there!”
Presented by Adam Blanshay Productions, Edward Johnson and Steven M. Levy, the creative team for the production includes choreographer Ashley Nottingham, musical supervisor Michael Bradley, designer David Shields, musical director Chris Ma, lighting designer Aaron J. Dootson and sound designer Keegan Curran. Casting is by Anne Vosser
Pippin was originally produced on the Broadway stage in 1972 by Stuart Ostrow in a production directed by the legendary Bob Fosse. The 2013 Broadway revival directed by Diane Paulus won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
An earlier version of the production produced by Peter Bull for LAMBCO Productions ran at the Garden Theatre in Kennington, South London from 8 September until 17 October 2020.
Angela Thomas
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