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Pippin is an ambitious undertaking for any theatre, let
alone a high school production, but that’s no concern for the Northwest School
of the Arts. Since education is their primary focus they choose challenging
material. As stated in the program they alternate shows with strong singing,
then shows with dance: “This is a dance year, and we have chosen Pippin,
a play originally directed and choreographed by the most celebrated of all
choreographers – the legendary Bob Fosse.” What’s interesting is that the
dancing, as expertly choreographed by Eddie Mabry, is not an exact duplicate of
Fosse’s style. It is Fosse-like, and I
think that’s the right decision. The
play opened on Broadway in 1972, and Fosse’s style, unique and innovative at
the time, has been copied often. The
“razzle-dazzle” can look a bit worn; Mr. Mabry has done a good job reinventing
it to some extent, still using Fosse’s stronger elements, yet bringing it up to
date.
The co-directors Charles LaBorde (principal of Northwest)
and Corey Mitchell do an excellent job of getting their talented students to
work together as a strong ensemble.
Every singer/dancer/actor stays in character even when the play calls
for the fourth wall to be broken. They
deserve credit for the tone of the play, which is steady throughout. Given the dark themes, and sometimes crude
gags, they ably keep it on the lighter side by letting the audience in on the
joke.
The story of Pippin is of a young man searching for
self-fulfillment, told in a play within a play rock musical format. Pippin is
the oldest son of Charlemagne, the great French king who ruled centuries ago in
the late 700’s AD. Pippin longs for his
father’s approval, but also wants to find his own way and what will make him
happy.
The audience is guided on this “adventure” by Leading
Player, Charles Osborne in a remarkably mature and charismatic performance.
From the first minute he steps out to speak/sing to the audience with “Magic to
Do” he is compelling. This is a good
thing since the Leading Player is the spine of the play. Mr. Osborne gives him
an edginess that is just right; sarcastic and dark, but not too dark. As Pippin, Kyron Turner is sympathetic from
the start. He’s so earnest in his
bafflement about life, even as a self-absorbed idealist, that we want him to
succeed. In his first song, “Corner of
the Sky” he skillfully conveys a yearning for a greater purpose.
Pippin meets with his father, Charles, to try and talk to
him about his predicament, but the King is preoccupied with is own problems,
namely war. Elijah Allred plays Charles deftly as a charming but clueless
monarch who wishes Pippin would be happy enough as he is. In his song “War is Science” he tries to
explain that leadership is a heavy burden, but Pippin won’t understand this
until much later.
To say Pippin is having an identity crisis is a bit of an
understatement; that allows many characters to influence or affect him. He goes to see his grandmother, Berthe, Amanda
Roberge, having fun with her character’s joi de vie, who tells him to relax and
enjoy himself with the crowd pleaser “No Time At All.” Then there is Fastrada, Jessica Richards,
finding a good mix of villainy and mother love, his step-mother who is only interested
in advancing her son Lewis, Colin Moore, convincingly playing the nit-wit half
brother.
Pippin is educated, but that doesn’t bring fulfillment, so
he pleads with Charles to let him become a soldier, but he finds only disgust
and disillusionment. Further, he finds
no calling in art or music. Sex initially intrigues him, but what comes his way
is too much of a good thing…which is quite funny. Finally, he’s literally picked up off the road by a young widow,
Catherine, well-cast and played by Blythe Reinhard, who asks him to do some
mundane labor. He balks, but eventually begins to look at her and her son Theo,
Taylor Griner, in an affecting performance, differently. Yet even here, Pippin is not satisfied, and
leaves Catherine. She then sings, “I
Guess I’ll Miss The Man” much to the annoyance of Leading Player, (and
amusement of the audience), who tries to interrupt her saying she doesn’t have
a song there.
The visual elements of the play are outstanding and add to
the overall success of the play. The
costumes are inspired, especially the muted beige tones and various textures of
the Ensemble actors. The set design
with its raked stage and drawbridge openings on either side, back lit screen (changing
colors and scenes) is effective and spare yet all that’s needed. Large cloth signs held by two signposts that
appear periodically add to the inventiveness.
The directors make use of every opening on the stage for entrances and
exits with actors popping up in unexpected places.
This is a long show and the orchestra of young musicians do
a noteworthy job by not overpowering the singers, for the most part, so that
the lyrics, alternately witty, blunt, mocking, and poignant can be heard.
The story, of course, is not historically accurate, but then the story
of Pippin is really a morality tale. Pippin,
as many young adults do, has a crisis as he finishes his education. Then what?
He wants to matter, but how?
He’s ambitious but misguided as he gives in to life’s temptations and
loses his way. The end is where the
play takes its darkest turn as Leading Player and the Ensemble encourage Pippin
to take part in the “Grand Finale.” Yet
at the moment of death, literal or otherwise, Pippin realizes what finally
matters in his life: the genuine love he ran away from with the widow. The end is not your typical happy ending as
the audience is left watching Theo head for the same journey as Pippin. Life goes on following the same patterns and
cycles, even though every generation thinks they can “do it better” than the
previous one. Wisdom is only gained
after experience, mistakes and heartbreak.
As Leading Player says toward the end of the play, “Nothing ever turns
out the way you think it’s going to.” Likewise,
this skillful production was certainly a surprise in that sense; it exceeded my
expectations.
Performs March 14 - 16, 2008
Ann Marie Oliva
Ann
Marie Oliva's plays have had over 80 productions across the US. She is founder
of the playwrights in residence at Theatre Charlotte in North Carolina. Ann
Marie is producer/editor of ARTS à la Mode, a
website devoted to the arts that includes film and local theatre reviews.
~ Cast ~
PIPPIN
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by Roger O. Hirson
Directed by Charles LaBorde and Corey Mitchell
Choreographed by Eddie Mabry
Originally choreography by Bob Fosse
Musical Numbers Staged by Eddie Mabry and Corey Mitchell
Musical Direction by Matt Hinson
Musical Conduction by C. Shane Marcus
Senior Stage Management by Amy Rowland
Battle Sequences Staged by Zach Laws
Set Design by Charles LaBorde
Scenic Artistry by Brian Hester
Costumes Designed by Barbara Wesselman
Lighting Designed by Andrew Fisher
Sound Designed by Steve Gamble of UltraSound Audio
Technical Direction by David Ward
Principle Characters (in order of appearance)
Leading Player: Charles Osborne
Pippin: Kyron Turner
Charles, his father: Elijah Allred
Lewis, his half brother: Colin Moore
Fastrada, Lewis’ mother: Jessica Richards
Berthe, Pippin’s grandmother: Amanda Roberge
Catherine, a widow: Blythe Reinhard
Theo, her son: Taylor Griner
Female Ensemble:
Adara Blake
Lyndsay Burch
Shannon Byrne
Demetra Drayton
Lily Garzon
Kenzi Harwell
Liz Johnson
Noelle Mapstead
Lauren Ashley Radford
Maia Stewart
Morgan Wilson
Emily Witte
Male Ensemble:
Christian Bufford
Jura Davis
Alex Kelley
James Kennedy
Tyler Jimenez
Brandon Lawler
Joshua Mapstead
Luke Pizzato
Cory Wright
The Orchestra:
Anissa Aquero
Claire Archer
Nick Belvin
Kelsey Dayman
Frank DeRosa
Oscar Diaz
Lane Ellison
Adam Foote
Ross Frady
Gabrielle Grosso
Hilary Kearns
Sam McIntyre
Stephanie Rogers
Willa Smith
AJ Strickland
Timothy L. Stroman, II
Megan Tengel
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