A.R.T Pippin — Page 3

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

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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...)

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.

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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.

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.