Tory Trowbridge: A Wandering Broadway Jew
By David R. Cohen | david@atljewishtimes.com
The Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of “Pippin” is coming to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre from May 5 to 10 and includes Jewish cast member Tory Trowbridge. The show, about King Charlemagne’s son, has been on a nationwide tour since August and is scheduled to continue through 2016.
Trowbridge, who is a player in the show and the understudy for the character of Catherine, talked to the Atlanta Jewish Times about touring with “Pippin,” living on the road and being the only Jewish cast member.
AJT: Pippin has been touring since August. How has it been so far?
Trowbridge: It’s been great. We started in Denver and were there for a month and a half. We rehearsed in New York City for four weeks, and then we transferred our show to Denver. It was the first time that we were on a full-sized stage. After Denver, we hit San Francisco, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, which is my hometown. What’s great about this tour is we are somewhere new every week. [Pippin just wrapped up the Florida leg of the tour with stops in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.]
AJT: You are the only Jewish member of the “Pippin” cast. What’s your Jewish background?
Trowbridge: I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have been going to temple for as long as I can remember. I attended Temple Israel of Hollywood. Throughout my training, looking back, I was singing and going to school during the day and then dancing at night. At the time it didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but it was always just a known thing that Wednesdays and Sundays I would not be at dance because I would be at Hebrew school.
AJT: How is it being the only Jew in the production?
Trowbridge: It goes back to how I was raised because it’s always a part of me. When it comes to practicing and celebrating Shabbat and even Passover, which just passed, it’s sometimes tough. I went to Whole Foods and bought some chicken liver and matzah and called it my Passover. I think it’s just something that I’ve grown accustomed to. It’s still a part of me even if I’m not with my family and celebrating Passover or having Shabbat with them.
AJT: Can you pull any Jewish themes from “Pippin”?
Trowbridge: I think, when it comes to the end, Pippin finding his own path and his own way and not being distracted by other things around him. He decides on his own without anyone else’s help to find his happiness his own way. I feel like growing up, I went to such a nice temple, and it was very spiritual in the same way. My mother and father raised me to find my happiness, whether it’s what someone else is doing or not. I’ve always tied that into Judaism.
AJT: Favorite part of being in a traveling production like “Pippin”?
Trowbridge: My favorite is the people I get to travel with for sure. You kind of create a family. Last week, everyone knew it was Passover, and I’m the only Jewish actress in the show, so they all wished me “happy Passover,” and I even had a few friends who wanted to do a seder, but we didn’t have the time. It’s the family aspect that I really cherish and love. Of course, I also pinch myself every time I’m onstage because I’m doing a Broadway tour. It’s pretty unreal.
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What: “Pippin”
Where: Fox Theatre
When: Eight shows May 5 to 10
Tickets: $30 to $90; foxtheatre.org
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