By Andrew Gans
08 Jul 2004
Last season, an all-star benefit production of Children of Eden was presented on World AIDS Day. Now comes word that another Stephen Schwartz musical will be staged in concert on this year's World AIDS Day.
The New York City concert of Pippin will benefit the National AIDS Fund as well as the non-profit Storm Theatre. Tickets will go on sale in mid-October. Sponsorship opportunities are currently available by e-mailing PippinConcert@aol.com.
Bob Fosse directed and choreographed the original 1972 Broadway production of Pippin, imposing his conceptual vision onto the bittersweet fairytale that Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson created. Ben Vereen was the Leading Player ("Magic to Do," "Simple Joys"), John Rubinstein played the searching Pippin ("Corner of the Sky," "With You"), Jill Clayburgh was his love interest ("I Guess I'll Miss the Man," "Kind of Woman"), Leland Palmer his evil stepmother ("Spread a Little Sunshine") and Irene Ryan was Pippin's feisty grandmother ("No Time At All"). Ryan (the famed stage actress and TV's "Granny" of "The Beverly Hillbillies") left the show for health reasons and died during the run.
The show ran 1,944 performances and was one of a handful of scores that brought a pop sound to the theatre in the 1970's (along with Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar).
