Adrienne Barbeau had forgotten how prescient her bio was.
“The strangest thing is I went to my website to cut and paste from my bio and the intro talks about what an eclectic career it has been. And I say there, ‘All that’s left to do is be a radio disc jockey or a circus performer,’” she says with a throaty laugh.
The woman who came to the nation’s attention as Bea Arthur’s daughter on Maude, then made a string of horror films with her then-husband John Carpenter, will soon only have spinning records to look forward to.
For she has just joined the circus or, at least, has joined the national touring company of Pippin, the Stephen Schwartz musical about the 9th-century son of Charlemagne, in the Tony Award-winning revival set in a circus big top.
She joins a small sorority of actresses that includes Tony winner Andrea Martin, Designing Women’s Annie Potts, Lucie Arnaz and Priscilla Lopez, playing Pippin’s life-embracing grandmother Berthe, who turn the number “No Time at All” into a showstopper by singing it far above the stage, perched on a trapeze.
Not much of a fan of musicals, Barbeau had never seen Pippin — which premiered on Broadway in 1972 — until she had already signed to be in it. “No, it was not on my radar. I wasn’t thinking of going back onstage,” says Barbeau, who has not been on Broadway for the past 35 years, since she appeared in Grease.
“When they indicated that they were interested in having me do it, I did go online and saw Andrea’s scene from this production. I agreed sort of based on that, because it’s a wonderful character and a wonderful scene to do.”
Asked if she considers herself naturally fearless, Barbeau thinks for a minute and says, “You know, the only thing that I can think of so far that I wouldn’t do is E.G. Marshall’s role in ‘Creepshow.’ I don’t think I could handle working with roaches. I’ve worked with tarantulas and bees and rats and snakes, but roaches don’t appeal to me.
“In terms of physicality, I’m not sure how enthusiastic I would be about bungee jumping. Sky diving, I think I’d be terrified, but if they got me out of the plane, I probably would do it,” she says, concluding, “No, I don’t think of myself as too fearful. I suppose we’ll see.”
Like the other women who have played Berthe, Barbeau was sent to circus boot camp to prepare for the role. “I went to a place called LA Cirque, where we took the actual piece that I’m doing, step by step, so I was pretty prepared.”
As to how dangerous her stunt is, Barbeau says, “You know, I don’t know. I guess it would depend on Preston, (the circus performer) who is up there with me. I’m hanging onto him, he’s hanging onto me. There is someone somewhere below me that could hopefully get there in time if I dropped.”
She has had the opportunity to talk to her predecessors in the role about it. “All of them said it’s just a wonderful experience. They all talked about what great shape they were in after they had started training. They loved that part of it.”
Later this year, Barbeau turns 70, a time to reflect and take Berthe’s philosophy to heart. “You shouldn’t spend time worry about things you can’t control,” she says. “Live in the moment, because this is what we have.”
Pippin opens tonight at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, and runs through April 12 with shows daily except for April 6. Tickets start at $34.75. Call 800-745-3000 or visit browardcenter.org. The show comes to the Kravis Center from April 28 through May 3. Tickets start at $25. Call 832-7469 or visit kravis.org.