I found my corner of the sky in Connecticut!

This is only my second time out to Goodspeed and what fun it was. We drove July 23 from New York to Chester, Connecticut where we stayed at the historic Griswold Inn (interesting coincidence since we were on a family vacation...).

Chester is so lovely -- a wonderful little town with shops, boats -- we found an awesome Christmas shop called the Christmas Barn and bought a Christmas Advent Calendar Box, just like in the CHRISTMAS VACATION movie!

We checked into the hotel, and then sped off to East Haddam. We made it just in time (actually, in time enough to pre-order our intermission drinks before the show!). I really love that theatre -- it has a lovely, intimate feel, yet doesn't feel like "summerstock". The production values and talent always feel first class.

PIPPIN, with book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, was directed by Gariel Barre (who also directed TOM JONES at NYMF 2005), choreographed by Mark Dendy and had musical direction by Michael O'Flaherty. What a great show -- the cast were really great -- Joshua Park as Pippin, Andre Ward as Leading Player, Micky Dolenz (formerly of The Monkees) as Charlemagne and a terrific Shannon Lewis as Fastrada. It was a very colorful, magical production, and of course the music was great. I wish I had a dime for every time I've heard "Corner of The Sky" in auditions!

From the director's notes:

PIPPIN was originally written as a beautiful, pastoral coming of age story. Once Bob Fosse was brought on board however, he injected elements of vaudeville and cynicism into his direction and choreography and found ways of undercutting the sentimentality of the play with humor and surprise, creating a tension in the piece that hadn't been present before. The company came to represent the torturous "demons" in our heads that attempt to manipulate and control us. However, the truth is they can never have more power than we permit. His notion that the players actually exist in Pippin's mind was wonderfully evocative and brought tremendous depth to Pippin's entertaining and colorful adventures.

In preparation for this production, Mark Dendy, the choreographer, and I studied Bob Fosse's work and his approach to PIPPIN. We wanted to keep the "feel" of the original show, but have plenty of fun finding our own ways of recreating it for a modern audience and at the same time, making sure that it never takes itself too seriously. We have been inspired to add elements of magic and the circus, and have taken full advantage of the tools of the theater that weren't available 30 years ago and incorporated them into this production.

In addition, Stephen Schwartz and Roger Hirson, the original composer and author, have been intimately involved throughout the process of mounting this production. They have created a new ending for the show, added an intermission, made some cuts, and rewritten dialogue and lyrics. We believe we have found a good balance of paying tribute to the original production, while drawing upon our own creativity to reinvent a show that is modern and fresh, thereby, rather than a revival we prefer to think of this production as giving PIPPIN a rebirth.

We were very fortunate to have assembled an amazing design team and cast for this production, with actors, dancers and singers who all bring their unique individuality and special skills to this show. Their sexiness, humor, and palpable energy entice Pippin and hopefully, the audience, to come along for the wild ride.

That is where the real magic of this production will occur. In reacquainting those who first loved PIPPIN 30 years ago and, at the same time, introducing it to a whole new generation of audiences who are also trying to find their "corner of the sky".

The kids loved the show as well, although Trinity was a bit disappointed that Pippin didn't light himself on fire at the end...

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