Magic to do : : Pippin's Fantastic, Fraught Journey to Broadway and Beyond

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Prologue. Whose show was it, anyway? -- The prince and the prodigy -- Fresh takes on famous sons -- Enter the showman -- Song and dance (but not in that order) -- From a medieval musical drama to "an anachronistic, cynical burlesque" -- Twelve Players in search of an auteur -- Order, design, composition, tension, and All that jazz -- Bomb scares, death threats, and more fun in Washington -- Glory, glory... and grievances -- The Motown connection -- A boy's afterlife : The Theo ending and other post-Fosse developments -- A night at the circus -- Epilogue. More magic shows and miracles.
"When the musical Pippin premiered on Broadway in 1972, it was the culmination of a long and improbable process. A reimagining of the story of Prince Pippin, son of Charlemagne, and his quest for an 'extraordinary' life, the show had humble origins as an undergraduate project of composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz's, but it would go on to become one of the most popular, influential, and long-running musicals in Broadway history, helping to pave the way for the pop-inflected productions of today. In Magic to Do, veteran theater and music journalist Elysa Gardner dives deep into the legendary clashes, backstage drama, and undeniable artistic alchemy that produced this iconic musical. At its heart is the fractious collaboration between the young, optimistic Schwartz and director-choreographer Bob Fosse, who was on the cusp of a massive career resurgence. Intent on avoiding sentimentality, Fosse liberally revised the script and cast performers whose gifts accommodated his vision of a dance-driven burlesque, among them future and rising stars such as Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen. The director sparred early and often with Schwartz, who was at one point ejected from rehearsals and later took legal action to ensure that he and librettist Roger O. Hirson could retain creative control for future productions. Alongside these outsize personalities and creative struggles, Magic to Do also gives an intimate look at a moment in history, a time and a place in which popular culture was defined by conflict - between youth and experience, idealism and cynicism, creation and destruction, hope and resignation. At the same time, it shows the remarkable extent to which Pippin was able to reconcile these warring impulses and give a timeless portrayal of the search for self, one that is embraced anew by each succeeding generation." -- Book jacket.

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