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Annie Potts Joins Broadway's Big Top in Pippin

Just short of a year ago, Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson’s Pippin snagged four Tony Awards, including 2013’s Best Revival of a Musical. Inventively unorthodox, with endless OMG! physical and musical surprises — as well as a spectacularly funny/bizarrely poignant book — this Pippin sparks joy at every quirky twist, turn, bounce, swing, and swoop.

All of this is in keeping with the production’s tantalizing backdrop: a circus tent overflowing with big-top paraphernalia, aerialists, clowns, contortionists, jugglers, tumblers, and the like. Add to this mix the pivotal Leading Player (Ciara Renée), wearing a ringmaster’s signature top hat (in this case, more of a cheeky fascinator) and serving as a combination tour guide and emcee through the fairy-tale storyline that follows King Charlemagne’s (Terrence Mann) son Prince Pippin (Kyle Dean Massey) on his quest to find his distinct “Corner of the Sky.”

Pippin on Broadway
Photo: Joan Marcus

Director Diane Paulus’s wickedly exuberant re-imagining of the musical that first dazzled Broadway in 1972 (the one that catapulted a young Ben Vereen into the musical stratosphere) is a multi-generational goldmine. Young, buff, gorgeous, and talented, Massey (Next to Normal; Wicked) and Renée (Big Fish) are the newest cast additions, having taken over their roles this past April 1st from Matthew James Thomas and Tony recipient Patina Miller, respectively. And despite their newbie status, Massey and Renée clearly have the power to spellbind their audience.

Meanwhile, Mann and real-life spouse Charlotte d’Amboise bring polished brio to the consummate Medieval power couple: he as monarch; she as the ravishing Fastrada, Pippin’s conniving stepmom. It doesn’t hurt that the production features choreography by Chet Walker “in the style of Bob Fosse”: d’Amboise is a dancer with a résumé teeming with Fosse musicals.

Which brings us to the production’s mind-blowing secret weapon, aka Berthe, Pippin’s grandmother, who is played by actress Annie Potts.

Annie Potts in Pippin on Broadway
Photo: Joan Marcus

Best known for her roles in the sitcom Designing Women and the two Ghostbusters movies, Potts assumed her scene-stealing Pippin role last January, replacing Tovah Feldshuh, who had stepped in when Andrea Martin, the revival’s original (and Tony-winning) Berthe, left the production. 

“I am always mindful that I came in as a replacement,” says Potts, last seen on Broadway in God of Carnage. “It’s like jumping on a moving train. Luckily, everyone was very supportive.”

In some cases literally, since Potts’ most memorable Pippin moments involve a heart-stopping routine with Cirque du Soleil alum Preston Jamieson that is anything but stationary — or earthbound.

Fortunately, Potts, an age-defying baby boomer, was in top physical condition and willing to take on a challenge — make that an elevating challenge — when she signed on. “I don’t love heights, but I am focused. I don’t have time to think when I’m 30 feet in the air,” she says.

Annie Potts in Pippin on Broadway
Photo: Joan Marcus

Circus elements aside, Potts’ character is by far the most inspiring part of the show. After all, it’s she who sings to Pippin: “Oh, it’s time to start livin’ / Time to take a little from the world we’re given / Time to take time, for spring will turn to fall / In just no time at all.”

But it also seems that the veteran performer — who’s happily returning to her musical-comedy roots, put into cold storage for her TV and film career — is also impacting her audience, from kids to grandparents.

“I talk to people at the stage door all the time,” she observes. “And while children see you a something unusual, almost like a unicorn, I’ve had people my age tell me, ‘You’ve inspired me… I’m getting back to the gym.’” 

As for the show itself, Potts concludes: “It’s a spectacular company and a fabulous production. I understand now why people have run away to the circus.”


Pippin is playing at the Music Box Theatre, 239 W. 45th St. For tickets, call 212-239-6200 or click here.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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