As announced in the spring, the Harker Conservatory has again been invited to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in summer 2011. Originally, the group had planned to perform “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” However, that show is currently making its British premiere in London’s West End theater district, so rights to perform it in the U.K. have been restricted.

Undeterred, Laura Lang-Ree, director, and her creative staff brainstormed and have announced that “Pippin” will replace “Spelling Bee” as next year’s spring and Fringe musical.

The show, the 30th longest-running production on Broadway, is an unusual take on Pippin, son of Charlemagne, and his voyage of self-discovery. The play will be updated to modern times and given a current sensibility along the lines of the Broadway smash “American Idiot.”

Audition times have not changed, and more information is available in the Harker Parent Portal (HPP),in the back-to-school hub under Optional Programs and Forms in Encore!, the Conservatory’s newsletter.