Goodspeed to Present Li’l Abner, Pippin, and Pirates of Penzance
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
The Goodspeed Opera House will unveil new productions of Li’l Abner, Pippin, and The Pirates of Penzance during its 2006 season.
Li’l Abner, the Tony Award-winning musical version of the beloved Al Capp comic strip, will play April 21-July 2. The show has a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, and a score by Johnny Mercer and Gene DePaul; it will be directed by Scott Schwartz (Bat Boy, Golda’s Balcony) and choreographed by Patti Colombo.
Keeping things in the family, Goodspeed will proceed with one of Scott’s father Stephen Schwartz’s most popular works, Pippin, July 14-September 24. Gabriel Barre, currently represented by the Off-Broadway show Almost, Maine, will direct the musical, which tells the story of Charlemagne’s oldest son as he searches for his place in the world. Choreography will be by Mark Dendy, whose New York credits include Taboo and Miracle Brothers. (Goodspeed plans to produce a national tour of the show after this engagement.)
The season will conclude with Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, October 6-December 10. Gordon Greenberg, whose recent credits include the Off-Broadway musical Slut and the Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Baker’s Wife, will helm the beloved operetta.
