This May, the drama department will have magic to do for the U-High community.

The department  announced the Broadway success “Pippin” will be the Spring musical. Tryouts were Feb. 28-March 5, and rehearsals have begun to prepare for the shows on May 17, 18 and 19.

In “Pippin,” a 1972 musical, a traveling performance troupe of actors led by the Leading Player tells the tale of  a prince searching for adventure and meaning in his life, only to find that happiness is not as easily achieved as he thought.

Throughout the story, Pippin realizes that it is not about the destination but the journey.

Over the years, there have been many different interpretations to the story.

The lyrics and music were written by composer Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote hit musicals “Wicked” and “Godspell” as well as contributed lyrics to films “Enchanted” and “Pocahontas.”

“‘Pippin’ has great music, and when it first came out it was a huge hit and then they did a revival where it was once again very successful,” drama teacher Liucija Ambrosini, who will produce the show with her husband and teaching partner, Allen Ambrosini, said. “It’s a terrific show. It’s got a lot of really interesting characters that we are very excited about.”

Over the years the theater department has produced a number of highly acclaimed musicals.

“All of our past shows have had really strong characters just like ‘Pippin,’ so I know we are building a great musical theater situation for students,” Mrs. Ambrosini said.

Senior Nicole Horio has been involved in nine U-High productions and explained that “Pippin” has more dancing in it than any show they’ve ever done, so she’s excited to learn how to dance in “Pippin.”

“I’ve seen ‘Pippin’ once, and it’s a phenomenal show, and I’m very excited to see how the Ambrosinis stage it because it’s a very technical show with a lot of tricks,” Nicole said.