‘Pippin’ puts point on Summer Lyric’s 2024 Season at Tulane

There’s a lot of good stuff packed into an evening’s entertainment when the main course is “Pippin,” a real slice of theatrical fun from the 1970s that has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years.

The story of a young prince and his various desires, with music by Stephen Schwartz and original direction by Bob Fosse, is told via an ensemble of players that often welcomes the audience directly into the story.

Audiences at Tulane’s Summer Lyric Theatre will get a chance to take part when the theater wraps its season with “Pippin” from Aug. 1-4.

The play is filled with memorable stage tunes like “Magic To Do,” “Corner of the Sky” and “No Time At All.” There are darker aspects — war, patricide and more than a bit of playful sexiness — but the broad story is a fun theatrical journey of self-discovery.

The action is moved along by the Leading Player, a taskmaster/magician/foil role that has brought Tony Awards to both Ben Vereen and Patina Miller. 

New Orleans native Chase Kamata, a performer and artist living in New York, steps into the Leading Player role, bringing global experience in musical theater ranging from Australia to the United Kingdom.

E.J. Dohring takes the role of Pippin and was most recently seen in Le Petit Theatre’s production of “Beautiful.” Michael John Smith plays his father, Charlemagne; Bob Edes Jr. is Bertha and Stephanie Abry is Catherine. Also appearing in the show are Hannah Alexis, Jauné Buisson, Victoria Hickman Cantrelle, Kayla Ceasar, Christian Collins, Donavan Davis, Peter Elliott, Bailey Gabrish, Joshua Griffin, Keita Kawahara, Violet Keller, Garrin Mesa and James Peuler as Theo.

Summer Lyric and local stage veteran Diane Lala directs and choreographs the production, with C. Leonard Raybon as the musical director.

The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1-3 and 2 p.m. Aug. 4 at Dixon Hall on Newcomb Circle at the Uptown campus of Tulane University. Tickets start at $31.50. visit liberalarts.tulen.edu/summer-lyric-theatre/.

Opening this week July 25-31

“HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie. JPAS Theatre Kids! production based on the hit Disney movie of the same name about breaking cliques and being true to one’s self. The cast features 59 from grades six to 12. The infectious “We’re All In This Together” is the hallmark tune from the show. Tickets start at $15. jpas.org.

In production

“THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE”: 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; Playmakers Theater, 19106 Playmakers Road, Covington. W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s classic operetta of swashbuckling, maidens and a “modern major-general” hits the high seas. Tickets start at $30. bontempstix.com.

“A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays through Aug. 4; Marigny Opera House, Marigny Opera House, 725 Ferdinand St., New Orleans. The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company presents the hallmark work set in the Crescent City about a pair of sisters, their relationship and those with others, plus the tenuous hold on reality that seems to keep them from spinning completely apart. Tickets start at $13. twtheatrenola.com.