\'Pippin\' Is Returning to Broadway

The memorably tuneful musical “Pippin,” a staple of high school and college theater troupes, will return to Broadway this spring for the first time since its original five-year run ended on Broadway in 1977, the show's producers announced on Thursday night. The approximately $8 million production â€" a transfer of the current “Pippin” revival running at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. â€" will begin performances on March 23 at the Music Box Theater and open on April 25.

The production is directed by Diane Paulus, the artistic director of the A.R.T., who was nominated for Tony Awards for best direction for her last two Broadway shows, “Hair” and “The Ger shwins' Porgy and Bess” â€" both of which won Tonys for best musical revival.

“Pippin,” about the wanderlust of a son of the French King Charlemagne, has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked”) and a book by Roger O. Hirson; its songs include “Magic to Do,” “Corner of the Sky,” and “Morning Glow.”

The original Broadway production won five Tonys, including for Bob Fosse's direction and choreography. His dances are reflected in the revival, which also features acrobatic and trapeze numbers and other circus acts created by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based company 7 Fingers.

Casting for Broadway is not confirmed. Playing the lead roles at the A.R.T. are Matthew James Thomas (“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”) as Pippin, Tony winner Andrea Martin (“My Favorite Year”) as Pippin's exiled grandmother, and Tony nominees Patina Miller (“Sister Act”) as the Leading Player, Terrence Mann (“Les Miserables”) as the king, and Charlotte d'Amboise (“A Chorus Line”) as his wife Fastrada.

The Music Box is usually home to plays because, with only about 1,000 seats to sell for each performance, it can be difficult for bigger-budget musicals to turn a profit there. But the producers - Barry and Fran Weissler (“Chicago”) and Howard and Janet Kagan (the coming Broadway musical “Hands on a Hardbody”).â€" are counting on high demand for “Pippin,” given its popularity as a title and its decades away from Broadway. The advent of premium-priced tickets has made it easier for producers to make money in relatively small Broadway theaters, too.