Back on the stage, we are over at the Bristol Opera House and I'm so excited to be here with you guys.

We're putting on a fantabulous musical this time.

It's a big musical.

Yeah, and Pippin is really a classic.

It's kind of become a classic, right?

I mean, like, it's it's still has a little bit of a modern feel to it.

It's from Stephen Schwartz who wrote Wicked is like his first.

Yeah, it's his first big Broadway show, I think was right after Godspell.

Okay.

And so, yeah, this is his first big Broadway show.

I love it.

Okay.

So when as a show going to be happening.

So the show's happening this weekend.

It's Friday, Saturday, and then next weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, which is a matinee.

Okay, Kylie, this is not your first time here on the stage, does it?

Okay.

What other shows have you done here?

I was in Sweeney Todd.

I played Vince's.

Love it.

Yeah.

Oh, I recognize, yes.

And then previous, I did end of the woods.

And then when I was really little, I did Music Man here.

Love that.

Okay, so this is your first time doing Pippin?

Yes.

And what's your role?

My role is leading player.

Leading player?

This very fancy.

Very specific.

The leading player is really, one of all the players.

So everybody in that it's really an ensemble show.

Everyone that everyone is, it's a troupe of actors and everyone's coming together to tell the story.

And the leading player is just that, the person in charge.

I love it.

I love it.

So far, I haven't actually ever seen Pippin.

I know some of the music and we can talk about the music too, but for anybody else who's like me and hasn't seen it yet, they're coming this weekend.

But tell us the synopsis of the story.

Like what can we expect from it?

So if you've never seen Pippin, this is a great intro.

Look at me like that.

If you have seen Pippin, this is a totally different Pippin than you've ever seen before.

So we've set it in the 70s.

It is set in the Holy Roman Empire.

It tells the story of the son of Charlemagne, and his search for his purpose in the world.

And he is kind of guided by this troupe of players led by Kylie, who kind of he learns about war and pleasure and, what else I think I think, like the heart of Pippin is the sort of struggle that every person and, you know, particularly like young people have in their lives, where you have dreams and you have hopes and you've aspirations, and sometimes those don't materialize.

And sometimes when they do, they're not what you thought they would be.

And so this sort of question of can you find the extraordinary in the ordinary?

I love that.

How do you relate that back to your own personal life?

Like how did those experiences, oh my goodness, write a book that you and so that you can portray them.

I mean, you know, I think everybody goes through, you know, thinking that you're, you know, going to do something big with your life.

And then, you know, life is really made up of ordinary moments.

And you have to sort of romanticize your own life and the moments that you're having.

Yeah.

Because we're all like, I don't remember.

I mean, I think every single one of my kids when they were 16 was like, I'm going to be a millionaire by 21.

Yeah, those are big, big names.

And that translates to the audience, right?

How do you how do you draw them in with that information?

Well, I think what's Pippin is really fun for me because as the leading player, I get to break the fourth wall a lot.

So I get to talk.

I get to talk to the audience a lot.

Okay.

I mean, yeah, I mean, so we kind of, as you can see, we've got all these kind of seating areas around here.

So for this production of Pippin, the entire cast stays on stage the whole time.

Really?

Nobody leaves the stage, and they are.

We've got hidden water.

We've got like, we've we've got little things hidden all over so that if people need to take a drink or something, they can.

Is that typical for the storyline or something that you guys are doing uniquely?

It's I don't know that it hasn't been done before, but it's not typical.

I wouldn't say the last, production on Broadway in 2013 was a circus inspired.

So it was a very big and very produced.

And so what we're doing is kind of focusing on the storytelling aspect of a troupe of players sitting around in a circle, and when it's your turn to get up and tell the story, you just step into the story and step into your role.

Cool.

And you guys have dramatically changed the set here.

I mean, I walked in and I was like, this is something.

Something is different here.

I can see it.

You've got four more feet at the front of the stage.

That's so, we kind of wanted to bring it down towards the audience and make them feel like, as the players are a part of the story, that the audience is also a part of the story and that we're all in this room together, experiencing the story and going on this journey.

I love it so people can see the show this weekend.

How do they get their tickets?

For sure!

Get your tickets at Elkhart Civic theater.org/pippin.

Or you can call the box office at (574) 848-4116.

And the content for this, this is not a G-rated production.

Right?

Okay.

Honestly, I think it's a in a lot of ways, we've we've taken some things and played up the 70s aspect.

Yeah.

We've got some trippy, aspects to it.

But I think it is a little bit tamer than some productions of Pippin.

Yeah.

We suggest things more than show them.

But I would definitely say it's PG 13.

Okay, good to know.

So maybe not.

You don't bring your family to this one, but not the little ones.

Like if you're like, oh, I love wicked, I'll bring my little kids.

It's not it's not bad.

It's not wicked.

It's better than wicked.

I love it, I love it.

We're doing right here.

Tell me more.

You guys have just released all of your season coming up.

Yeah.

So, like, this is the start of your new season.

Pippin to start off our new season.

So we're kicking off with Pippin.

And this season the kind of focus is on storytelling, art, artists, creation.

So Pippin I was like, oh, this is a perfect show to kick this season off.

We're going to do You Can't Take It With You, which is classic comedy about, you know, an eccentric family in New York.

Followed by Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.

Okay.

Which just ran on Broadway two seasons ago.

Story of some composers, a friendship.

How friendships change, evolve, and fall apart over time.

It's told backwards.

Really great show.

Then we've got what's after that?

We've got, Stephen, William Shakespeare's a midsummer Night's Dream.

We're doing Shakespeare for the very first time here at Elko Civic.

Yeah.

What made that change or what made that decision?

We've always wanted to do a Shakespeare show, and it just it was the right season to do it.

And then we're going to do, a show called, Moriarty, which is, Sherlock Holmes, but it's told with five actors playing a number of roles, and it's very theatrical, very creative, closing things out with The Sound of Music.

Oh, okay.

Come on, come on.

I don't know if you know this, but when I competed in America's Junior Miss, I did like a song.

And I did it from The Sound of Music.

But I made it a comedy.

Sing it again.

My favorite thing, I love it, I love it.

So the great season.

So many reasons for you guys to come on out and support the theater and the arts.

So thank you guys for being here today.

Thanks for having us.