Patina Miller first got noticed on the theater scene in 2009 as the star of Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy. She earned rave reviews for playing the accidental nun who led a choir to stardom. Now she's center stage again in the Broadway revival of Pippin, the musical first launched in 1972. Miller takes on the role of Leading Player, the circus artist who guides a young prince in finding meaning and magic in his life. She won this year's Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical. You can also hear her on the newly released CD of the show's songs.
Miller spoke with Tell Me More host Michel Martin about her role, which was originated by theater legend Ben Vereen 40 years ago. She also talked about the intense physical training and personal sacrifices that went into recreating Pippin.
Interview highlights
Becoming the Leading Player, and stepping into Ben Vereen's shoes
"I had worked with the director Diane Paulus before in 2007. Then I got a call from her after I left Sister Act in 2011. And she was telling me that she was gonna revive Pippin, and that she had this idea for the Leading Player to be a woman. And that immediately sparked my interest.
"I'm sure there were tons of people who were like, 'No one could ever top Ben Vereen.' So I came into this process with a challenge – a really big challenge – is how do you make Pippin different, but also how do you also take people's minds off the fact that people come in expecting Ben Vereen? And that's why I think that Diane is so smart in that she completely made it so different in making the Leading Player a woman. ... And I didn't really know Pippin that well, so I could come into it, you know it's like a blank canvas. I could just make this world my own and there wasn't something that I had to compare myself to."
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