![]() ![]() Why not? I’ll go take some lessons,” Miller says. “They asked me, ‘Are you afraid?’ and I was like, ‘No, course not,’ because in your audition you’re going to say I can do everything, even if you can’t. You’d never know she’s terrified of heights. Paulus set this revival in the world of the circus, and Miller opens the show performing tricks on a trapeze 17 feet above the stage. Her inviting eyes speak a language all her own, and when she starts singing, the result is, as the opening number says, magic. Vereen may have created the character, but Miller’s re-invention makes the character feel brand-new, fitting her as tightly as her spandex suit and knee-high boots. ![]() And the way it felt on her body and her attack and her precision, that was kind of the clincher.” “I had never seen her do movement like that. “When she came in and showed us the ‘Manson Trio,’ it was a revelation,” says Paulus. No one’s wanting you to fail.”įor Paulus, this was the moment she knew. And the thing you forget about it is they want you to be good. And as long as I was having fun-because sometimes in auditions you forget to have fun. “I just went in there and wanted to sell it as best as I could. “Then I said, ‘You know what? There’s nothing to lose,’ ” she says. The Fosse choreography is one of the most difficult parts of the show, and Ben Vereen, who originated the role (and won a Tony for the 1972 production), helped make the movements iconic. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, really?’ I literally had a moment where I was like, ‘Is this really about to happen to me?’ ” “Literally, I walk into my audition, and they’re like, ‘Actually, you’re going to go into another room, and you’re going to learn the “Manson Trio.” You only have 30 minutes,’ ” Miller remembers, adding that it was the first time she’d been asked to dance at an audition. However, there was one thing everyone needed to be able to do: dance. ![]() Miller was not familiar with “Pippin,” and although Paulus wanted her for the role, she went through a huge casting process, seeing men and women of all ethnicities and types. That first challenge came in her audition. “She has such an appetite for working hard and conquering any challenge that is put in front of her,” Paulus says. When Paulus started thinking about reviving “Pippin,” Miller was the first person who came to mind. She later made her Broadway debut when “Sister Act” came to New York, earning her first Tony nod. The pair worked together on “Hair” at the Delacorte in 2008, but Miller chose to go to London to star in “Sister Act” instead of moving with the show to Broadway. The next day, she’ll win the Outer Critics Circle Award for leading actress in a musical, bringing her one step closer to a Tony on June 9.Īs Miller unwinds from the performance, her director Diane Paulus drops by to deliver some notes and encouragement for the weeks to come. A surprising sense of calm permeates the space, considering she’s in the midst of one of the most critical times in her career. It’s Sunday afternoon, and Miller is relaxing in jeans and an oversize cardigan after completing another eight-show week. “You couldn’t ask for a better time in your life,” says the luminous actor, resting in her dressing room on the third floor of the Music Box Theatre, where she is starring as the Leading Player in “Pippin.” “I happen to be one of the luckiest people on earth right now.” So how does it feel to be Patina Miller right now? If she were a ballplayer, she’d be batting 1.000. Oh, and she became engaged to the love of her life on her opening night.
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