Terry Shapiro
In 1972, a new musical burst onto the Broadway stage written by an upstart pretty much fresh out of college, Stephen Schwartz, and directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse. Pippin ran for 1,977 performances before closing in 1977 and winning Tony Awards for Ben Vereen as Leading Player, Bob Fosse for direction and choreography, Tony Walton’s scenic design, and Jules Fisher’s lighting. The show was revived in 2013 and won Tonys for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Patina Miller as the Leading Player), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Andrea Martin as Berthe), and Direction of a Musical (Diane Paulus), but losing in the other categories for which the original production had won. (Trivia note: Irene Ryan, Granny of The Beverly Hillbillies, originated the role of Berthe on Broadway, but had to leave the show in March 1973 after having a stroke. She died six weeks later.)
Now, the 2013 revival of Pippin is touring North America — currently at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre with six announced stops on its calendar — and I will cut to the chase and tell you to run, don’t walk, to your local theatre and see this show! The opening number is the well-known “Magic To Do” and this show is full of real Broadway magic (and actual magic illusions!). The story focuses on a young man, Pippin, son of King Charles (or Charlemagne as his subject call him), who is trying to find his way in life (the characters are based on real Middle Ages people but the show avoids any historical accuracy). Returning from college, Pippin decides he wants to join his father and stepbrother in battle, but discovers he has no taste for the carnage. He also dabbles in the arts and religion, but he still can’t find himself. When he learns what an actual despot his father is, he is convinced to overthrow (i.e. murder) him and ascend to the throne. His stepmother Fastrada hopes that both Pippin and Charles will die so her son Lewis can take the throne.
Pippin tries to be the polar opposite of his father, but learns being the king is not all it’s cracked up to be and flees (after having his father magically revived), ending up on the property of a widow and her young son. When he learns he’ll have to do such mundane things as plow a field and feed animals, he decides to leave Catherine, but her son asks Pippin to help his sick pet duck and he finally feels a connection to them, so he stays. A year passes, and he realizes again that this is not the life for him, but should he stay or should he return to his own home?
Pippin is not your typical Broadway musical. First, the actors on stage are playing actors in the story of Pippin. The whole motif of the show is a circus, with aerialists and acrobats jumping and flying across the stage during the big production numbers. It truly is a visual feast with so much going on that you don’t know where to look for fear of missing something happening on the other side of the stage. Another thing that sets Pippin apart from most shows is that there is no fourth wall. The actors in the show know the audience is there, making them part of the show, the audience within the show watching the circus performers tell their story, addressing the audience directly at times.
Terry Shapiro
The Leading Player is part ringmaster, part MC from Cabaret, part puppet master, basically directing the action that the characters will take (and none too pleased when someone decides to take a stand and give themselves a musical number and go “off script”). On the tour, the Leading Player is portrayed by Sasha Allen, who was a finalist on The Voice. Allen has a very distinctive voice, reminding me of Jennifer Hudson with her powerful vocals. She is the show’s storyteller, but if you really get deeper into the meaning of the story, some might say she’s God, but I felt that she was more Mephistophelean. Allen gives a terrific performance and truly commands the stage.
Martha Rial
Sam Lips is Pippin, and he is also wonderful portraying the awkward young man who has to wrestle with becoming an adult and finding his way in the world. Early in the show, every time he tries to dance it’s like watching a baby deer standing up for the first time, but when he finally gets his legs under him during a number with the Leading Player, he matches her step for step. Lips also has a pure, smooth voice with an amazing range.
Terry Shapiro
John Rubenstein is in the touring company, playing the King and having a great time singing, dancing, mugging and working the audience. He has a stand-out number which keeps getting interrupted so he asks the conductor to speed things up a bit so he can finish and he does, but the music is so fast that he can barely keep up. But he does, without missing a beat or a word. It’s particularly enjoyable to see Rubenstein in this production as he originated the role of Pippin in the original Broadway production.
Sara Hanna Photography
Also on this leg of the tour, iconic actress Adrienne Barbeau has taken on the role of Berthe, Pippin’s grandmother. She’s not a major character in the story, but Pippin does go to her for some advice … and advice she gives him with the showstopping number “No Time At All.” As Berthe sings about not wasting your life, she does an amazing trapeze act with one of the Players, high above the stage, no net, no harness, sometimes in the arms of the Player, or hanging upside from the trapeze, and at one point being held by her ankles, upside down and singing the entire time. When she comes back to earth, she invites the audience to sing the chorus, which is helpfully projected on the circus tent backdrop with a bouncing ball to guide us. This number deservedly gets the show’s longest ovation from the audience.
Other players in the cast are just as notable as the leads. Erik Altemus is very funny as the vain Lewis, and Sabrina Harper is the sultry, seductive and sneaky Fastrada who also has an amazing number where she manages to change costumes three times in the blink of an eye. Kristine Reese is lovely as Catherine, breaking your heart when Pippin leaves and the Leading Player snaps at her constantly to follow the script, but standing her ground to sing her heart-wrenching “I Guess I’ll Miss the Man.”
Terry Shapiro
The Players, members of Les 7 doigts de la main (7 fingers), are simply amazing with the complicated acrobatics they perform that have to be seen to be believed. And they also give performances too, each having their own skills but playing characters as well. They are just breathtaking, making the audience gasp loudly on more than one occasion. The set is basically the interior of a circus tent with various props and small set pieces wheeled in for a specific scene, but the lighting and outstanding costumes bring the whole thing to life.
As I said before, when Pippin comes to your town, do not hesitate to get tickets. You will be in for a night of music, dancing, amazing entertainment, and you’ll also be profoundly moved by the show’s finale. After everything that’s come before, you wonder how they’ll top themselves and what we get is totally unexpected. Magic, indeed.
Share this post
