The upcoming production of the soft-rock, classic musical, Pippin, is populated by a cast from four counties, including a family of seasoned performers from Bellefonte.
Terri, Desiree and Emily Dennis will perform together on a theater stage for the first time in 12 years in the May 7-8 presentation of Pippin, produced by The Tyrone Community Players.
Terri and her husband perform professionally with their band, Mick And The Mystics, playing standards and big band music. Terri, the lead singer for the band, also performs with her two daughters, Desiree and Emily, for parties and smaller venues. Desiree, an accomplished pianist, accompanies this group as they travel and entertain.
“I haven’t done a stage production for 12 years,\” said Dennis. “Not since I had my children and began concentrating on them. When the opportunity arose for Pippin, and the girls wanted to be in the show so badly, I decided it was a fantastic chance for us to perform together.”
Although this is Terri’s first appearance onstage in a number of years, Desiree and Emily are seasoned theater performers at the ripe old ages of 13 and 10 respectively.
Desiree first came to Tyrone and The Players in 2002, when she played Michael, the youngest Darling child in Blair County’s first flying Peter Pan production. She has since had the title role in TCP’s presentation of FGMIT’s Accidental Magic, a children’s musical, and most recently performed in the 20th anniversary retrospective, Music, Magic and Memories.
Emily also performed in FGMIT’s Accidental Magic and the anniversary production, and will make her TCP debut in their main stage season, as a principal character in Pippin. She will breathe life into the character Thea, the young child who gives Prince Pippin’s life its much sought-after meaning.
In addition to their TCP performances Desiree and Emily have been onstage with the Penn State Thespians, State College Community Theater, where they portrayed two of the VonTrapp children in The Sound of Music, and the Altoona Community Theater.
In addition to adding their vocal talents to Pippin, Desiree and Emily are accomplished dancers and gymnasts, using those skills to enhance this colorful, energetic theater production.
“The Tyrone Community Players are a wonderful, creative group of people. They treat each other like family, and the girls love to perform with them,” Terri continued. “I have also watched Cindy Bennett, the director of Pippin, work with Desiree and Emily, have admired her innovative approach to theater, as well as her skill and professionalism, and decided that this company, this director and this musical would be the perfect selection for us to get a chance to perform as a family on a theater stage.”
Pippin is a musical about choices. It uses imagery, energetic music, vibrant choreography, and imagination to tell the story of a young man’s journey to come to terms with the reality of his world. Winner of three Tony Awards in 1972, Pippin is a classic of American Musical Theater.
The rich, honeyed tones of Terri’s voice as she guides the audience through Pippin’s crossings, singing all varieties of music from gospel to calypso to rock, and her fabulous stage presence as she becomes her character, Lead Player, add an exquisite depth to an already lush, beautiful use of music and dialogue.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this powerful family of performers in our production. It has been a delight for me and the entire cast to share our stage with them,\” Bennett said.
The Tyrone Community players production of Pippin can be seen in the historic theater of the Tyrone YMCA on Friday and Saturday, May 7-8. Ticket information may be obtained by phoning 684-ART2.
