Ciara Renée and Kyle Dean Massey in pippin- Page 4

[ethan231h]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 8:57am

I think Patina's first absence was in May when she got sick.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 11:39am

last night's show must have been fun. Colin Cunliffe on as Charles, McClinton on as Leading Player, Sabrina Harper on as Fastrada with swings Tighe(for Cunliffe), Mansfield(for Moore) & Musgrove(for McClinton) all on!!

Billy Tighe's tweet make's it sound interesting:

"Billy Tighe ?@BillyTighe 11h
Tonight's show was one for the ages. Proud of our company this evening. Such focus and dedication under pressure. Well done Pippin!"

Updated On: 4/6/14 at 11:39 AM

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 1:08pm

So. My point since the beginning has been people should judged in performances.

[ShakinBaconGirl]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 1:14pm

"She just went in and she's calling out sick? That's what they get for hiring a 23 year old to cover a "veterans" role."

Ummmmm overreact much?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 10:25pm

just curious, but does anyone know if she was back for today's show.

[getatme]

Posted: 4/6/14 at 10:58pm

She was indeed back this afternoon!

[brdway411]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 6:35pm

Just home from the matinee, and here are my thoughts having seen the original cast multiple times.

-Kyle is TOO OLD for the role of Pippin. Sorry, but he looks 32. Also, I don't know if he had a cold or it's just the way he talks but his "S" es were a mess. I felt like I was listening to an adult Winthrop. Drove me nuts.
-Ciara is TOO Young and does not have the edge that Patina had (but she can work on that.)
-Terrence Mann and Charlotte d'Amboise both look like they are sleep walking through their roles.
-Annie Potts was solid when I first saw her a few months ago, but is getting flaky, she screwed up the words today to her song (I know it happens).
-The acrobats had a few close calls with near misses.
IMHO the show is not as tight or clean as it once used to be, the magic has faded.
Will not be back until there is another cast change or it's closing night. The theater was half full today.

[brdway411]

Posted: 4/9/14 at 6:47pm

@ Ethan,Patina missed several performances starting the day after the Tony nominations came out. Someone was sick in the recording studio and the whole cast got the bug. I was at the first show that S. Pope went in for Patina and she was just getting over being sick herself and she only had 15 minutes notice she was going on.

As for the sweater, there were 2 or 3 designs, Matthew preferred the lighter loose knit. Kyle is wearing the tighter knit sweater (which had pulls in it today on the back and looked like crap). I think they are working on new sweaters which take time since they are hand made and custom dyed.

[Eboj3]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 3:09pm

Have a friend in production who told me that Ciara had a complete meltdown of epic diva portions about an hour before the show. Refused to go on. Said s/he had never seen anything like it. Needless to say the entire cast was in turmoil. Understudy (I think McClinton) had an hour to get ready. Did anyone see that show. I understand the entire cast was on fire.

[laserphats]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 3:50pm

Did this really warrant a separate thread and a message here?

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/11/14 at 6:48pm

Is your friend a real she/he or just undecided?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/12/14 at 12:10am

I think I found someone new to block.

[ex-gypsy]

Posted: 4/12/14 at 1:39am

Never happened, You're "friend" is "unreliable."

[karen24]

Posted: 4/13/14 at 5:02pm

Just to give another point of view regarding the current cast/performances (after brdway411's post): I saw the show this past Friday night (4/11). I know there is no doubt a difference between a Friday night performance and a Sunday matinee, but at the performance I saw, the orchestra was full (can't speak for the upper levels as I couldn't see them), the audience was full of enthusiasm and energy (clapped as soon as the overture started and were very responsive to all the songs) and I thought all of the performers were giving their all. D'Amboise was wonderful and absolutely not "sleep-walking" that night! And Mann was funny and sounded great to me.

I unfortunately did not see the original revival cast so I can't compare Massey to Thomas except on the basis of what I've seen of Thomas in videos - which isn't really fair. Massey was playing the role very geekily and awkwardly - for laughs, I guess I'd say - which was OK, although I didn't think it was completely successful. His voice sounded good overall to me although perhaps not as strong as what I've heard of Thomas's. On the other hand I absolutely hated what Thomas did with "Extraordinary" on the recording and I liked Massey's version of that better. I thought his chemistry with Rachel Bay Jones was very nice - didn't have any issues with that.I felt overall that Massey got stronger as the night went on.

I saw Ciara Renee in Big Fish and was really quite impressed with what she did with the role of the Witch, so I was looking forward to seeing her as the Leading Player. I thought she did well. She did seem a bit hesitant on the trapeze but perhaps she will get more comfortable with it as she goes on. I didn't feel she seemed too young at all and to me she definitely projected an edge, although again I can't compare her with Patina.

I have to say that my one real complaint about the show, which probably very few agree with, is all the acrobatics. Yes, they are impressive, and the audience seemed to love them (the woman next to me seemed to have come primarily for that - she was really oohing and aahing at every trick, as if she were actually at Cirque de Soleil) but I felt that it often detracted from the show. At points (for example in Simple Joys) I just wanted the acrobats to go away so I could appreciate the song.

Overall, though, I did enjoy it a lot. I saw the original production when I was a teenager and can't believe it's been 40 years. Boy, I'm old

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/14 at 4:40pm

I hadn't seen this since near the end of the run in Boston. I loved the show then. Saw it on Saturday's matinee and was truly impressed. I felt like everyone was fresh and alive.

Kyle Dean Massey: for the most part I really liked his performance. I did worry he would be too old, but didn't find there was any problem in that department. I thought he sounded fabulous, and enjoyed much of his character choices. I did not, however, like his physicality. I think, maybe, they gave him some of that clumsy bit to try to distract from his (very nice) physique.

I really liked Ciara Renee as the Leading Player. (I liked Patina, too!) Her singing was beautiful and seemed so effortless. I thought she brought a little more edge to the role and I really liked it.

Annie Potts was delightful, but I was disappointed in her trapeze performance.

I also thought that Charlotte and Terrence were so much more comfortable and exciting now then when I saw them back in Boston. I was truly entertained.

The odd thing (in a good way) is how much I was affected by Theo's end. For whatever reason, I just kept thinking about all the lost souls in the world.

[brettarnett]

Posted: 4/24/14 at 6:17pm

Pippin was at Google Talks this week. I haven't watched it yet but I remember the one Hair did a couple years ago was very informative.


Pippin @ Google Talks

[darreyl102]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 2:26am

Just got back from seeing the show. I will admit that I had my doubts about Kyle Dean going in.
I have seen the show 3 times before (with Matthew) and LOVED him in the role. Kyle Dean was excellent and I really loved everything about his performance. He was wonderful in all aspects really. I was front row on the side which gave me a great view of his physique- Interesting fact- he doesn't wear underwear under those pants. I think I liked him equally as much as Matthew- I thought his hair looked funny though. He was also super sweet at the stage door and actually talked with me for a few minutes- really cool guy. No sense of ego or anything at all.
Ciara was wonderful as Leading Player. I did notice a little bit of vocal problems at first, but she quickly got better. she has a lisp that made it kind of hard to make out a few lines- Patina had a slightly similar lisp. I think I liked Patina more in the role, but I am really torn and on the fence.

The rest of the cast were all in fine form- Annie Potts was really into it tonight and better then when I last saw her. At the stage door she went down the line with a cane and a limp but was extremely sweet and very talkative. she told me she is with the show for 6 more weeks. Charlotte was out and Sabrina was on for Fastrada- She was pretty good in the role, but something seemed a little off. Terence was really having a lot of fun with the role and added some new bits. Erik Altemus is still the cutie he always has been. The entire cast put on a wonderful show and I enjoyed it just as much as I did with the OBC.

[skylight2]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 4:20am

Saw this a couple of weeks back, hadn't seen Patina and MJT so I couldn't compare them to the current cast.

I was actually surprised to find out that KDM is 32! He didn't look like it. Ciara Renee was quite good as well. She brought a creepy quality to the LP which I liked. Is she just really 22? She looks a bit older. LOL. The cast were all so nice at the stage door!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 1:29pm

"he doesn't wear underwear under those pants."

I don't really know how you would know that, but a lot of costumes have built in, or at least seamless underwear. I doubt they would let him freeball in costumes night after night.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 4:33pm

Easy- sitting front row during the orgy scene (or whatever it is) provided a angle where you could look right down the back of his pants when he"s crawling around on the ground. And you could see full butt. If he had underwear on, it sure did not look like it. LOL

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 4:36pm

That's AWESOME!

[darreyl102]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 4:51pm

I have to admit he was extremely good in the show. I had seen him in other things and thought he was just okay-but I loved him in the role. His vocals and everything else were really good too. SOO glad I went. I have a question about Annie Potts- does she always use a cane and have a limp ? It did not show at all on stage, but at the stage door it was really noticeable

[dreaming]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 4:54pm

She gave an interview where she talked about being in an accident. On stage as far as I remember she didn't limp or use a cane. I hope she's okay. (Isn't she supposed to leave in July? I was wondering if they were going to announce her replacement soon.)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 5:01pm

I saw her in March, and she wasn't limping or using a cane then.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 6/18/14 at 11:49pm

She told me she was in the show for 6 more weeks