Everything has its season... and this season, PIPPIN returns to Broadway for the first time since it first thrilled audiences 40 years ago! With a beloved score by Tony Award nominee STEPHEN SCHWARTZ (GODSPELL, WICKED) that includes the favorites "Magic to Do," "Glory" and "Corner of the Sky," PIPPIN tells the story of a young prince on a death-defying journey to find meaning in his existence. Will he choose a happy but simple life? Or will he risk everything for a singular flash of glory?
Direct from an acclaimed run at Boston's American Repertory Theater, PIPPIN is directed by DIANE PAULUS, director of the 2010 and 2012 Tony Award winners for Best Musical Revival (HAIR and THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS). This captivating production features sizzling choreography in the style of BOB FOSSE and breathtaking acrobatics by LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN, the creative force behind the nationwide sensation Traces. Join us... for a magical, unforgettable new PIPPIN.
It's been said that a musical has to have at least three 'wow' moments to really grab an audience. Well, the Diane Paulus-directed revival of the 1972 musical Pippin has at least seven. The tale of a medieval lad searching for significance--dotted with both earnestness and shtick, like so many of composer Stephen Schwartz's shows--is done here with a circus theme that makes the work come to vivid, acrobatic life. The look of the piece is ambient, the physical stunts are eye-popping, and Chet Walker has deftly choreographed in the style of the original's Bob Fosse.
Still, distraction, even when it's enchanting and absolutely necessary, is not itself a viable dramaturgy. If Paulus has succeeded, against the odds, in shaping a satisfying modern Broadway spectacle from material that's fairly empty...it's because she must have realized that the other thing she needed was an actor who could definitively cut through the dreck. Enter Andrea Martin as Pippin's feisty grandma, Berthe. A ham's ham but one with total discipline, Martin is both warm and demanding; she knows when to let out some line and when to snap it back...The somewhat stiff, presentational style of the other actors (Patina Miller as the Leading Player is awesome but not exactly mellow) relaxes, and so does the audience, now confident of getting what it came for.
Videos