A.R.T Pippin- Page 3

[BroadwayBrat]

Posted: 12/9/12 at 10:13pm

I saw the show Friday night and really enjoyed it. It was my first real exposure to the show, so I can not comment on previous productions or recordings. I will say Patina was amazing. She was funny, sexy, and slick.

Actually, I found the entire cast completely entertaining. Andrea Martin's headset went out and she had to quickly switch to a handheld. It threw off the cast for a moment and had the audience roaring. She said " This is what happens when you come to the A.R.T."

The mix of Fosse and acrobats worked for me. I think this production deserves a transfer to allow more people the chance to see it.

[djb]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 4:30pm

Updated On: 11/28/22 at 04:30 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 5:07pm

Can anyone help me with seating? I want to grab a ticket to see this and could possibly grab a front row center ticket.

Is this too close? Is the stage high? It seemed to be either up close or pretty far back -- but any thoughts on whether the seats further back are good or bad would also be greatly appreciated.

[timote316]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 6:36pm

I'd sit further back, dramamama. The stage is low, but quite often there are a ton of things going on. I sat in row G, personally, and thought it was a more than fine seat. It's not a massive theater by any means.

[timote316]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 6:39pm

And djb, I don't agree on Thomas's dancing skills. I thought the dance in "On the Right Track" was great, both Thomas and Miller nailing it. An off performance or maybe some sort of minor injury, perhaps? Could also be a case of different stroke... who knows. I do agree on that squatting thing he does, though. It was very Spidey-like.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 7:14pm

timote and djb, can either of you comment on the musical arrangements? I think the musical director is the same one who did last year's Godspell revival. Just wondering how updated it sounded. I'm seeing this on Sunday and so looking forward to it. Thanks for your reviews.

[BroadwayBrat]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 7:31pm

I sat front row center and had no issues.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 7:39pm

Thanks for the reviews! So... where is the intermission? After Morning Glow? And anyone familiar with the various versions, is the script closer to the Fosse one (the talking head, etc), or the some would say softer version they usually license now? a mix?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 8:01pm

Re the choreography, on ART's website it does say Choreography Chet Walker in the style of Fosse and then at the bottom:
"Original choreography for “Manson Trio” by Bob Fosse
“Spread a Little Sunshine” dance arrangement by Zane Mark"

Which is similar to Reinking's credit for Chicago where there's a special note that the Hot Honey Rag is Fosse's original choreography.

[timote316]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 8:42pm

HoldThatThought, there were a few points in the show where I actually thought 'this sounds like the GODSPELL revival'. I didn't look up the connection beyond Schwartz, but that totally makes sense. And for what it's worth, I enjoyed the arrangements quite a bit in GODSPELL and now PIPPIN.

And Eric, the intermission is indeed after "Morning Glow". As I noted, it was my first exposure to PIPPIN, but if I didn't know otherwise, I'd assume it was written with an intermission there.

Updated On: 12/10/12 at 08:42 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 9:25pm

As of only a couple of years ago, the "soft edit" is no longer licensed. The Fosse version (for the most part), is the default version now, albeit with intermission and some of the non-Fosse elements. But the talking head is back in the show permanently, among other things.

The only thing, off the top of my head, that is NOT in the licensed version, is Fastrada's tragicomic monologue about being raped, but I'm not even sure if that made it to Broadway- it's certainly not in the video release.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 9:28pm

That was in the original production. It was in that production that was recorded as well, but it was one of the cuts made for the video.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 9:55pm

Yeah, it is in the "Fosse edit" as people call the full video. I can kinda see why they'd take it out...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 12/10/12 at 10:19pm

I've always preferred intermission after "Morning Glow." When I did the show in undergrad some 11 years ago now we did the final note, black out, house up, then a brief reprise of the final chorus of "Morning Glow" to start Act 2 and on with the Pippin as king scene.

I saw another edit of the show (which may be that "soft" edit) that didn't place intermission until after Pippin "takes back" the murder of Charles and then did a brief reprise of "Corner of the Sky" to end the act. I didn't care for that as it just made the two acts feel that much more unbalanced. Act 1 dragged and then Act 2 felt rushed.

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/11/12 at 12:00am

The "soft edit," as far as I remember, was a mimeographed script in the old-fashioned pre-MTI standardization style, which was still sent out until about six or eight years back. It had no intermission, and very little of the Fosse material.

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/11/12 at 11:50am

What would be curious is to see a breakdown of what does and does not appear in each version of Pippin: the rape monologue is in the original Broadway production and the "Fosse Cut," but not in the soft script, the license script or the current revival (nor did it appear in Papermill).

However, there are things from the soft edit that also disappear from the Fosse versions and their deriviatives, i.e. every other variation. For instance, the return of the Headless Man's Body seems to appear only in the soft edit, if I remember... and the AIDS Day benefit, when it was re-added to give Rod The Gay Republican a second appearance in the show.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 12/11/12 at 4:04pm

"That's how I feel, Patina is beautiful but she doesn't look frightning or scarey at all. And the show does not need any more sexual tension, it had plenty."

First of all, yes, Patina is gorgeous!

But when did Ben Vereen ever - in Pippin or out of it - look frightening or scary?



Read more: https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1054137&dt=65#ixzz2EmOjD7pT

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/11/12 at 8:50pm

Darque, I'd love to see a list, too. For ages I heard the, as we're calling it, "soft edit" was the one Schwartz prefered, but either that was never true, or he has come to terms with the Fosse version (which does seem to be true--he speaks pretty highly of it now). You're right, the decapitated head's body doesn't return in the Fosse version (which works better for me...)

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 3:42pm

""That's how I feel, Patina is beautiful but she doesn't look frightning or scarey at all. And the show does not need any more sexual tension, it had plenty."

First of all, yes, Patina is gorgeous!

But when did Ben Vereen ever - in Pippin or out of it - look frightening or scary? "

I just watched the video version and Ben Vereen does not look scary or frightening in that at all. I'd be curious as to why the original poster of that comment thought the LP should look that way.

And last time I viewed this video a few years back, I didn't care for it too much. But now I really got it. What a show! I'll be curious to see how Paulus handled the finale, if she changed anything to put across her spin on it, or kept it the same.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 4:30pm

For those unable to follow part of the discussion, there are basically three versions of the script, to my knowledge:

1) "Soft edit" (mimeographed script Greg describes)
2) "Fosse cut" (what appeared on Broadway and in the "Fosse edit" of the video that has circulated in trader communities)
3) MTI version (the currently licensed version with the new "Theo ending," the return of some Fosse interjections, and a better overall balance between the soft and Fosse)

My ideal script combines the Fosse cut and the MTI version, because I LIKE NICE THINGS.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 5:37pm

Nice things are good :P

What is the Theo ending? Is that something to do with the Player sorta moving on to try to entice him, instead of Pippin or something?

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 6:04pm

Yes. The soft edit ended with Pippin revealing his "Trapped/Trapped- but happy/Trapped. Happy. Not bad for the end of a musical comedy/Hot-cha-cha-cha!" variation on an ending line, blackout.

The MTI edit (which I believe reflects Fosse's plan) ended with him and Catherine leaving Theo alone onstage, as the Players circle in on him, humming the "Magic to Do" hook. This ending was used at the Papermill, where the "woo" hook is sung to the words "Join us" throughout the show, essentially paying off at the end when it is sung not to the audience but to Theo.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 7:11pm

The MTI edit sounds more interesting and natural as the end of the show. Any idea why they used the soft edit for the 1981 video version? Fosse was still alive at that point, his choice for the ending just makes more sense considering Catherine kept breaking from the script and the whole love thing was an unexpected turn for the LP. Was Pippin more of a collaboration between Schwartz, Fosse, and the book writer?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 7:19pm

The "soft edit" ending is the original ending. I think--to be more clear the ending of the video (in the sadly edited commercial version AND the complete "Fosse edit") is the version that played on Broadway in previews and during its run. The MTI ending was added later--I don't think Fosse had anything to do with it.

I like the creepiness of the MTI ending as described too, but I'm not sure it would jive with Fosse's vision since by the ending the house lights come up, etc, and essentially with Pippin's final thought the Players are powerless and shown to be a construct of theatre and not real. At least that's how I see it (kinda--I admit as brilliant as I find Fosse's take--and it does seem to be a show about whether to commit suicide on some level--the themes are kinda muddled.)

Schwartz and the book writer (Hirson?) did Pippin (called Pippin, Pippin) as a very different college show when it was picked up by a producer, and handed to Fosse. Fosse greatly changed it (I believe writing much of the new material himself) and famously locked Schwartz out of rehearsals much of the time.

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/12/12 at 8:14pm

As far as I can tell, the players are not a construct of the theatre- the theatre is a construct of the players. Pippin is their wayward creation, not vice versa.