"Pippin" At Bryant Park

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

thoughts? I enjoyed this video of the "Pippin" understudies: Pippin, Leading Player and Catherine.
Pippin

[After Eight]

I was there, and thought they did a good job with their songs.

The understudies in Cinderella sang "Do I Love You" very nicely. What a joy to hear the beauty of Rodgers and Hammerstein in a verdant setting!

The Natasha and Pierre songs also came over very well.

So glad we are given this little taste of theatre free of charge.

[dave1606]

Pippin looks to have some really good understudies! Wish I could have gone!

[darreyl102]

Sucks the video is only highlights- REALLY want to hear Erik's Corner of the Sky IN FULL!! lol

[darreyl102]

Sucks the video is only highlights- REALLY want to hear Erik's Corner of the Sky IN FULL!! lol

[steven22]

Stephanie Pope sounded great! I can't believe she is 20 years older than Patina!

[Visceral_Fella]

The full length clips are on youtube. Just search Broadway in Bryant park and use the Sort by Upload Date Filter.

I don't think Stephanie sounds very good. Especially if you look at the entire clip of Simple Joys.

[justincharacter]

Simple Joys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvvJY4N4YZM
Corner of the Sky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_vIvnPJg1o
Love Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=himcHdvmB08
On the Right Track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OlPIshmXXs

Stephanie Pope wasn't that bad to me, she sounded exactly like Patina during times and did pretty well. Erik was terrific. Their "On the Right Track" was actually pretty good, Stephanie added her own things in there and her dancing was great.

[budfrump]

Am I the only one who thinks Erik doesn't sound very good in Corner of the Sky? There are certain points in the song where it sounds alright, but for the most part his tone, vowels and breathing are really off. I don't want to sound too picky, and I would love to see him in the role, but something in the video just sounds off to me.

[darreyl102]

I can't tell if it's the recording or his voice, I mean, I really liked him- but liked Matthew Better. What's funny is he sounded better in the BWW video then the Youtube one so I am wondering if it's just the recording. I still REALLY wanna see his Pippin!

[brettarnett]

No I agree in regards to Corner of the Sky. His voice just didn't seem to fit...

[Visceral_Fella]

I thought something was "off" too. I can't put my finger on it. He's clearly talented and he didn't make any real vocal mistakes, but it just didn't come together.

[darreyl102]

I can't figure out what it is- is it maybe that his voice style doesn't fit the song/character??? I don't know, something was just off.

[Up In One]

His voice has more character in it than Matthew's. It feels younger - maybe too naïve - borderline Disney character. I found Matthew's voice a bit bland and too old for Pippin. Personally I am looking forward to cast replacements down the road.

[bjh2114]

I think the problem is the version of Corner of the Sky. They have both Erik and Matthew singing it like a contemporary pop song. The third verse drives me nuts with all of the riffs and runs. That being said, I think Erik's voice is way better suited to Pippin than Matthew, who I thought was solidly miscast in the show.

[Starship]

I feel like I'm the only one who just doesn't like Matthew's singing in Pippin. I MUCH preferred Erik's. Matthew's singing feels very strained, and the last note in "Corner of the Sky" for Matthew sounds very harsh to me. With Erik, it felt more natural.

[broadwayboy924]

I'm surprised at the lack of fans of Matthew in this thread. For me, he really made the show. I've seen a lot of Youtube clips of various productions of Pippin and I think Matthew has the best voice (and all around talent). I think Michael Arden was strong as well when he played the role in LA but I still like Matthew better. I think his voice is exceptional and he brings a lot of character to the part.
I like Erik as Lewis and I think he was decent in these videos as Pippin, but I think Matthew is worlds above him as a singer.

On a side note, I've seen this production three times now (once back in Cambridge) and I am still amazed by the new production. I think the producers/Diane casted this show perfectly.

[NYC4Life]

I remember liking Matthew when I saw it but now I have completely forgot his performance.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

I like both performances. Each has his own spin on the role of Pippin. I will say that Erik sounds very young...almost as if he's 20 or so. Plus, he's a cool Fosse dancer as well. from RC in Austin, Texas