Rob Ashford, the Tony Award-winning choreographer of Thoroughly Modern Millie whose work on The Boys From Syracuse is now dawning, told Playbill On-Line that one of the favorite shows of his past — and maybe future — is the musical, Pippin.

What are his favorite shows?

"I did Chorus Line," Ashford said in the current Playbill On Line Brief Encounter interview. "I love that show because of the story of the gypsies. One of my first shows when I came to New York was a tour of Pippin directed by Ben Vereen and starring Ben Vereen. And Kathryn Doby re-set the original Fosse choreography. We did this in summer stock then went into a fall tour.We wore the original costumes. It was just unbelievable, for that to be my first job.We'd done that show at CLO [in Pittsburgh], and also at Washington and Lee [University] — that was the one musical they did. I was in that. I also choreographed it at Paper Mill. It was one of my first choreography jobs. Pippin's always had a special place.

At the suggestion that he might choreograph and direct it one day, the West Virginia native said, "Yeah, I would like to."

To view the July 23-28 Brief Encounter interview, click here. — By Kenneth Jones