What's up, guys? Leslie Robbins here, Young Hollywood in the middle of Times Square in New York City. I'm about to take you on an epic behind-the-scenes journey of the Tony Award-winning show, Pippin. Matthew James Thomas, star of Pippin. I've crashed your dressing room.

You have. You are in my dressing room. She's in my dressing room.

Yeah, so you've been here two years and you're already on your second Broadway show.

Yep, that's correct.

Tad bit overachiever, you think?

Yeah, I think. I mean, I mean, that's a pretty good track record. Congratulations. Yeah, I know. Thank you. I it's um, it's um, it's great experience and and and New York is an incredible place. So it's it's one thing just to be here in New York, but to get to do two big shows like this is also really exciting. Um, and um, to do a show like Pippin is even more exciting. It's it's great. This production is fantastic. It's almost like old school Pippin meets Cirque du Soleil and you're just on this journey. And then the second act, you know, you're actually crying. I was I was tearing up.

You were?

I I was tearing up. You you got me. It's um

Good job. Pippin.

Pippin is um got you. Uh Pippin is actually it's an incredible piece of work. I think a lot of people often say, you know, the book this or the book that. You know, that's the one thing people like to comment on. And having spent so much time with this piece now, I'm I'm learning so much through its um simplicity. Um the the show is incredibly complicated, um but I think everybody has, what's so great about it is that everybody can have their own personal relationship with it. It's not too, um, you know, threatening. It doesn't force itself down, you know, your throat. It's just it's just there for you to take from what you want. And um, that's why I think it's such a great story. And now with what Diana and Gypsy have done with with turning into a circus troop. It was supposed to be just an acting troop traveling from town to town. Only makes more sense. You know, life is a circus, you know. It makes complete sense. Given that this whole play is about life. I think I say the word life 500 times in the script. So I think it's um, it's really neat. Uh, you know, people really um respond to this music. I think they always have and I think they always will. It's it's it's an honor to be able to sing these songs.

Speaking of music and songs, you have some of your own that you've actually worked with a master, Duncan Sheik. I listened to your songs. They are gorgeous and I must say it sounds like you had a broken heart somewhere back in the day, cuz those are sad songs, my friend.

That was all that was all New York. That was all, you know, some experiences that um I went through here in my in my early kind of, you know, my first couple of years here. Um, and yeah, I just you know, I wanted I I had written music in London and and and in England, but it it never really I wasn't ready or proud enough of it to let it go out and let the world kind of see it. So I wanted to wait a while and it just seems to have made sense like all this way, like there was I had probably a few more fans in England and like my reputation was a little bigger, but I wasn't ready to release my music when I found Duncan and was introduced to him by my manager Ron. Uh, I I found I found a great connection with him and Duncan is is incredibly smart. Um, he knows, he knows what he's doing.

Grammy winner, Tony winner.

I know, right? Yeah. And um, and a great person. So he he really helped me just stick true to what I it is that I wanted to do. You know, I said to him, I said the first thing, I was like, oh, it's just me banging the cord. He's like, all right, it's nice banging. I like you banging the cord. It's fine. And so from then on, I was like, no, I think this guy understands what it is that I really want to do. So it's a beginning. It's an it's like a fairly preview of music. It's just, you know, we're going to work on a few more songs and then complete the album.

Speaking of what you're doing here, show me around, please.

Okay. Let me show you.

You're putting in a lot of effort right now in your dressing room. What's happening?

Yeah. I'm showing you this is cuz this this is so old. We get to see the stage. And this is actually from my dressing room, which is probably one of the best things about my dressing room.

Wow.

You can see the big top ring. Aaron sound check right now. This here is a prop table. This is the stairs that you will see from the production. You see, we don't actually have much room backstage at all because everything is kind of squeezed around into this area. So we have all as much performance space as we can, it's visible for you guys. Um, and these are actually the flies to the right and on the left. So this is how everything flies in and out controlled by the flyboys down there. But I like this very circusy. This was here before we even came here, so I don't know. It's appropriate.

It is appropriate.

Come this way and I'll show you some more of what goes on. So right now they're just checking all the equipment, making sure everything works and is safe. Um,

Wow. And you get to be, this is where I am when I perform most of my numbers, except there's lots of people out there. And everything that you do on the stage, I'm actually gonna learn today from some of the circus performers.

You are. Yeah. Ryan is incredible. Ryan's actually the person who helped me do all of this stuff, and like he basically taught me to do the back somersault and some of the other things. And um, he's great. You know, he but that's the way this whole thing works. Everybody trains each other. You know, like the acrobats learn from the dancers, the dancers learn from the acrobats. And there's this really interesting merge merging process happening between Broadway and this other world and you know, other people traveling in. Everybody's from all over the place. Ryan's from London too. Um, a lot of people from Montreal, like everybody's, you know, around the world. It's cool.

Any tips for me before I put on my sweats and get down?

Um, good luck. I I reckon um, I think you'll be fine. Ryan's good. He'll look after you. He might he might tease you a little bit, throw you around. That's what he tends to do.

Okay. I think I'm up for the challenge.

Yeah, I think you are too. I think you'll have fun.

Good. All right. So I have changed from my dress into my sweats. Orion Victoria, you guys are probably the best circus performers in this show and you're going to teach me.

Oh, don't say that.

You're going to teach me what you know. This is crazy.

Oh, yeah, we're just going to give you a little idea of what we do and and what it takes to get there. We'll start with warming up and doing a little bit of uh exercises to just get your body lubricated. All you got to do is just put your hair back.

I'll do that. And I think I'm learning from the best. You guys are from generations and generations of circus performers, so I think I'm in good hands. All right, thank you. And let's do it. Let's do it.

So, we're going to start with our shoulders. There's a little warm up right here, just to get some flow in our joints. Now forwards.

Forwards. Good. All right. This is it. This is it. We're done after this.

Gotta warm the body. Gotta warm the wrists.

If I break a bone on this stage, I don't know. All right. Let's do it. What? Okay.

Back bend. So let's do a little back bending. You ready? So all you do, you just have to put your hands on the floor. You ready?

You gonna spot me?

Yes, of course. She's going to get you. Come on. Arms up. Arms up. Yep. And just go for it. Perfection. Look at that. Woo! Bam. And stand up now.

And up. Fantabulous. Very good. Perfect.

Open into straddle. You can come forward. Yes. Keep your knees really tight here.

Tight there. Very good. Keep that really tight. Well, it's easier said than done, Orion.

You push up. Yes, exactly. Perfect. Wonderful. Very good. Now what happens?

And then you can go back down the same way again. And then we're going to try this one. You're going to go down like this and down and bring your legs to the side like this. Close them. You're going to shift over a little like this. You shift onto your fingers like that. And put your arm up here. Back down. Come down. And back together. Okay?

Sure. Orion? All right. Let's do it. Okay.

Right over your shoulder width. Very good. Okay. I'm going to come over you a little bit so I can lift you. Okay? Okay. All right. Here we go. Open your legs now. Open them. Good. Push up. Very good. Good. Go into straddle. Very good. Go into one arm. Oh my God. Look at that. Here it is. together. Wait, I didn't do the one arm with the one hand. We're not going to do that one. Open and come down. Come down. Bring your legs down. Yeah, good. That's perfect.

I want to be in the show. That literally takes like years to perfect.

So what Orion did it made it look very, very simple, but it it literally takes like takes a lifetime. He when we were in rehearsals, like 12-hour rehearsals, we would look around and be like, oh, where's Orion? He was in a one-hand handstand somewhere in the corner.