Review: PIPPIN at Short North Stage

As it opened its 15th season with PIPPIN last weekend, Short North Stage had a chance to show off the many renovations to the Garden Theatre (1187 N. High St. in downtown Columbus). The Garden has a new marquee, will-call window and lobby, bar setup, and stage.

All those upgrades are overshadowed by SNS’s meticulous production of PIPPIN, which runs Aug. 6-30. Thanks to dynamic performances, breathtaking choreography, and on-point costuming, makeup and set design, the production is the star.

Production director Edward Carignan said PIPPIN is a “legacy” show – a performance that can be pulled out of the vault, dusted off, and re-released every five years or so. SNS last did this Stephen Schwartz musical (a personal favorite of Carignan’s) in 2019.

However, this time it isn’t simply a rehash of the past production. It’s a reinvention.

Carignan brought back a half-dozen performers from the 2019 run. Corbin Payne is back as the title character who tries to find self-fulfillment on the battlefield, in the bedroom, and on the throne. Amber Knicole also reprises her role as the Leading Player, a puppet-master who pushes Pippin from experience to experience.

The two focal points of PIPPIN couldn’t be more different. Payne’s Pippin is confident, earnest, and ambitious. In his signature song, “Corner of the Sky,” Pippin details his quest: “So many men seem destined/To settle for something small/But I won't rest until I know I'll have it all.” While he is self-centered in his ambition, he generates this “nice guy” quality while he interacts with the Boy/Theo (Cason Leavitt) or tries to please his distant father, King Charlemagne (E. Mani Cadet).

Knicole, on the other hand, is sinister, diabolical, and haunting as she takes a wrecking ball to the Fourth Wall and to Pippin’s life. Her menacing smile and the way she curls her fingers when summoning an actor creates this evil ringmaster persona. She has some of the best barbs in the musical. When love interest Catherine (Dionysia Williams Velazco) “misses” her cue, she rolls her eyes and asks the audience, “How long has she been playing this role?” Later, she asks Pippin how he could settle for a woman with “a mole on her chin.”

Those two would make any musical great. However, mix Payne and Knicole’s mastery of their roles with supporting performances by Craig Blake (the self-absorbed yet dimwitted Lewis) and Connor Lyon (the conniving queen) and the colorful turns by Cadet, Velazco, and Leavitt and suddenly, you have an extraordinary production.

In an age when many musicals are using prerecorded music, the addition of a nine-piece orchestra is a stellar choice. Under the direction of keyboardist Patrick Schaefer, the musicians skillfully handle Schwartz’s demanding score and sound like a much larger orchestra.

The choreography by Carignan and Associate Director/Choreographer Louis Contreras Hansen is simply mesmerizing. The two recreate Bob Fosse’s original Broadway dance routine in “Glory.” Their presentation of “With You” is sensual and steamy without being sleazy. Each dancer creates his or her own character, yet they remain cohesive as a unit.

While some of those elements were present seven years ago, Short North Stage reworks the show’s look. In 2019, PIPPIN was set in the abandoned three-ring circus with Knicole suspended above the stage on a lyra and others using silks for aerial acrobatics.

Seven years later, Carignan set this version in a traveling magic show, which fits the opening number, “Magic to Do,” perfectly. Magic consultant Chris Hanowell and Scenic Designer Antonio DiBernardo worked with Dayton’s Scenic Solutions to design set pieces where performers suddenly disappear and reappear. One of the highlights is Pippin’s conversation with a severed head of a soldier as it keeps sliding down its pike. “Unless you die, all battles seem the same,” the head drolly tells Pippin.

Costume Designer Max Adrian puts his own thumbprint on the musical. This time around, the Players don clown white/mime makeup and wear outfits that seem like they were stolen from a production of GODSPELL. It sounds odd, but it works. It helps recreate the Seventies vibe that surrounded PIPPIN when it debuted in 1972.

Some might find PIPPIN hard to follow or say its flashy special effects and music crowd out the storyline. I disagree. The showmanship not only reminds audiences of the quality of work SNS has been producing since 2011 but it also makes them wonder what the next 15 years might hold.

“Magic to Do” indeed.

Photo Credit: Kyle Long Photography

Reader Reviews

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Don't Miss a Columbus News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...