Arriving at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre to observe some auditions for Pippin, I register via a QR code, and enter the foyer where various auditionees are warming up.

The foyer has been marked up in different sections so that they each have their own area where they can stretch and limber up, while maintaining social distancing. There’s plenty of space and they all look happy as they work out.

This production of Pippin, directed by Diane Paulus, was first performed on Broadway in 2013 and has a circus-themed setting so the ensemble requires acrobats as well as singers and dancers. Some of the musical theatre performers in lead roles also have to pull off the odd circus trick.

Sasha Allen as the Leading Player in the US national tour of Pippin. Photo © Terry Shapiro

The sets and costumes have been in Australia since the Broadway production closed in January 2015, and so were ready and waiting when John Frost and Suzanne Jones decided to produce a musical, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with the support of Foundation Theatres.

Previewing from 24 November, Pippin will be the first commercial musical to open in Australia since...