Cedric Neal to star as Leading Player in Signature Theatre’s PIPPIN
Signature Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for their upcoming production of Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin, running from 12 May-26 July, with Olivier Award nominee Cedric Neal (Guys & Dolls, Bridge Theatre) starring as the Leading Player.
Directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, with choreography by Rachel Leigh Dolan and musical direction by Jon Kalbfleisch, the production will also star Brayden Bambino (The Flea’s Orion and the Goatman, American Theatre of Actors’ GoodTV) as Pippin, Ellison Bihm (A Christmas Carol, Silver Spring Stage) as Theo, Eric Hissom (Our Town, Signature Theatre) as Charles, Naomi Jacobson (POTUS, Arena Stage) as Berthe, Maria Rizzo (Ragtime, Signature Theatre) as Fastrada, Awa Sal Secka (Chez Joey, Arena Stage) as Catherine, and Ryan Sellers (The Tempest, Roundhouse Theatre) as Lewis.
The ensemble includes Ben Bogen (Frozen, Broadway), Calvin L’mont Cooper (Mrs Doubtfire, Broadway), Candice Hatakeyama (Funny Girl, Broadway), Georgia Monroe (Sunset Blvd., Broadway), Alanna Sibrián (Senior Class, Olney Theatre Center), Jacob Taylor Starks (Aladdin, Broadway), Emily Steinhardt (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Signature Theatre), and Hank von Kolnitz (Fiddler on the Roof, Signature Theatre), with understudies Dylan Arredondo (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Signature Theatre), Alonso Nicolas Waller (A Christmas Carol, Ford’s Theatre), and Liz Weber (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Studio Theatre), and swings Veronica Quezada (West Side Story, International tour), and Ian Rubin (Something Rotten, Music Theatre Wichita).
Director Matthew Gardiner said: “Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson wrote Pippin in the early 1970s, at a time when the optimism of the previous decade was giving way to something more uncertain. That feeling runs through the musical: a young man searching for fulfillment while being seduced by a dangerous troupe of traveling players who promise that glory will finally make his life feel complete. My hope is to restore some of the shadows inherent in the piece, creating a production that feels electric, seductive, and alive with danger – all with the intimacy that only Signature Theatre can offer.”
The creative team also includes set designers Christopher and Justin Swader, costume designer Erik Teague, lighting designer Adam Honoré, sound designer Eric Norris, wig designer Anne Nesmith, fight choreographer Casey Kaleba, intimacy choreographer Chelsea Pace, illusions consultant Ryan Phillips, casting director Charlotte Sandor, and New York casting director Geoff Josselson Casting.