Kyle Dean Massey and Ciara Renée join Pippin

Kyle Dean Massey and Ciara Renée begin performances in the lead roles of the American Repertory Theater's 40th Anniversary production of Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz's Pippin on 01 Apr 2014.

Kyle Dean Massey plays the role of Pippin and Ciara Renée the role of 'Leading Player.' They assume the roles from original cast members Matthew James Thomas and Patina Miller who played their final performance on 30 Mar 2014.

Massey has appeared on Broadway in 'Next To Normal,' 'Xanadu' and 'Wicked.' Off-Broadway he has starred in 'Lucky Guy' and 'Altar Boyz.' Renée recently made her Broadway debut in 'Big Fish.' She is a recent graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College.

The coming-of-age musical Pippin, with a book by Roger O. Hirson, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, is directed by Diane Paulus with circus creation by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers) and choreography by Chet Walker in the style of Bob Fosse.

Synopsis: Royal heir Pippin is spurred on by a mysterious group of performers to embark on a death-defying journey to find his "corner of the sky."

Pippin opened at the Music Box Theatre 03 Mar 2013n 25 Apr 2013, following previews from 23 Mar 2013, and is currently booking through to 31 Aug 2014.

The show opened to excellent reviews: Sensational revival (NY Post); Beautifully buoyant, intoxicatingly sensual revival (Back Stage); Eye-popping, jaw-dropping extravaganza (Time Out NY); A wonder to behold (Hollywood Reporter).

The production won four Tony Awards: Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical (Patina Miller), Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Andrea Martin) and Best Direction of a musical (Diane Paulus).

The cast of Pippin currently features Kyle Dean Massey (Pippin), Ciara Renee (Leading Player), Terrence Mann (Charles) Charlotte d'Amboise (Fastrada), Rachel Bay Jones (Catherine) and Annie Potts (Berthe).

The design team includes Tony Award-winner Scott Pask (Scenic Design), Dominique Lemieux (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Tony Award-winner Clive Goodwin (Sound Design). The orchestrations are by Tony Award-winner Larry Hochman with music supervision by Nadia Di Giallonardo, and music direction by Charlie Alterman.

Pippin's score contains the songs, "Corner of the Sky," "Magic To Do," "l Guess I'll Miss The Man," "Glory," "No Time at All," "Morning Glow," and "Love Song."

The musical is being produced on Broadway by Barry & Fran Weissler and Howard & Janet Kagan.

This production of Pippin made its debut at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, MA, where Diane Paulus serves as Artistic Director, where it played from 05 Dec 2012 to 20 Jan 2013.

The original production of Pippin's, directed by Bob Fosse, premiered on Broadway in 1972. It won five Tony Awards and ran for close to 2000 performances before closing in 1977.

- by Tom Millward