A.R.T Pippin — Page 5

Just wondered if anyone saw this notice on the A.R.T. website:

"There will be post-show discussions with the cast after the 2:00PM performances:
Saturday, 1/5; Wednesday, 1/9; Saturday, 1/12; Wednesday, 1/16; Saturday, 1/19"

I got an email from them after the show asking to do a survey. I think one of the questions asked was regarding a group discussion after the show. At the time it didn't click, but this is what they must have been referring to - sounds interesting. Wonder if they'll allow for autographs, etc.??

I love posts like that -- filled with the awe of theater. (It doesn't even matter if I end up agreeing with the post -- but I hope I do!)

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"I love posts like that -- filled with the awe of theater."

Me too! 3 days later and I'm still buzzing from this show!

Ok, I have a bit more time to organize thoughts now.

Hmm...where to begin.

This production is not perfect....yet. But it has the potential to be.
You couldn't slap the grin off my face last night during the show.

Let's start at the very beginning....
"Magic To Do" is breathtaking from beginning to end. From the moment Patina appears (in sexy Fosse silhouette), she's firmly in control of the whole show. Her performance reminds me a lot of Ben Vereen's. I've only seen the video/DVD of the taped 1982 production, but I recall that from beginning to end, Vereen was in charge, giving 120% and being the central presence, even when he wasn't central and when he wasn't on stage. Patina is doing the same thing here. While I loved the rest of the cast, I missed her when she wasn't on stage. She is committed to this with a capital "C."
During "Magic to Do," the orchestra sounds incredible and as it swells with the big curtain drop/reveal, ("Sit where everybody can see-ee........")it's really a moment. I really loved how the cast sang directly to the audience, and sitting in the 2nd row, I got to have a moment with Rachel Bay Jones singing directly to me.

Matthew James Thomas then wrapped his unconventional, but striking vocal chords around "Corner of the Sky," adding some riffs that really should be written right into the song. Thomas is an enigma to me. I always thought he was good looking in the photos of him in Spider man (much better looking than Carney IMHO), and he's gorgeous here, though not traditionally good looking. I totally fell for him though, and he strikes a nice balance between naive sweetness and brooding bitterness with his role throughout. He's not in any way what I expect of Pippin, but he grew and grew on me. I especially loved him trying to hold it together during Andrea Martin's ad-libbing.

Speaking of Andrea Martin.....Tony Award? Hello? Well....I really can't say because I haven't' been to NYC in a while and haven't seen any of her potential competition, but she's screaming for award recognition with this role. What I've always loved about the character of Berthe is that she is written so that she reminds me of my own grandmother, and Martin didn't disappoint me. Her number is well sung, and she occasionally ad-libs, but without chewing scenery or being desperate for laughs. What she does during her number is also amazing (I won't give it away), but I think it's a bit overdone. I think "No Time At All," is one of the best pieces in the show, and the "direction" in the number distracted from the song.

This might be a great time to mention the biggest problem I have with the show. The whole circus thing is overdone. I get it as a theme, and it works in spots, but there's too clear of a distinction between the circus performers and the musical theatre performers. This is a major fail. It's not seamless enough. At times it felt too "Look what we can do!" This was particularly noticeable in "No Time At All, " and "Simple Joys." For the former number, let's be honest....Andrea Martin doesn't need smoke and mirrors to put a song across. In the latter song, I couldn't help but think, "Patina is KILLING this song...and leaving it all on the stage....so why the hell is she so deep stage left while unrelated circus trick after unrelated circus trick is directed to pull focus from her." This flaw in the show could be fatal. Keep the tricks, but turn them down, cut a few of them, and make the blend amongst the actors more seamless.

Back to the good stuff....

Terry Mann...perfection

Charlotte...she's still got it, though I actually missed the creepy relatiionship with Lewis...I thought it made the role more sinister

Rachel Bay Jones....an unconventional Catherine, but ultimately very moving

vocals....superior

dancing....could be a little tighter, but very...very good

sets....no issues here. I actually loved the pre-show curtain.

costumes....fine except for Charlotte's.....the woman is a goddess....her costume made her look frumpy

Matthew James Thomas' shirtlessness....I could't get enough. Meow.


In summation, Paulus has a solid production on her hands that could be magnificent, but I think the pressure is on her at this point to tighten things up. This runs until Jan 20th, and I have every intention of going back.

I'll be glad to answer any questions.

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Updated On: 12/19/12 at 07:39 PM

Princeton78,

Great to hear your perspective on this.

Charlotte - I remember a bit of innuendo going on between her and the guy who plays Lewis. What comes to mind is his sensuous kiss on her neck, her sort of bouncing her butt in his face, his constant following her like a dog, and at the end when all the guys were kind of stacked on top of her. Maybe not enough? Totally agree about her costume - wish she had less on like Rivera did in the '82 video production.

What did you think about the whole Pippin, Catherine, Theo section? To me that was the part that dragged on. It just didn't have the same flow as the rest of the show. Gratefully, the Finale picked it back up.

Updated On: 12/20/12 at 08:39 PM

So, assuming this does come to Broadway, would Patina Miller and Andrea Martin be competing against each other for a nomination/win? I am unfamiliar with the show, so don't know if they are both lead roles, both supporting, or one and one.

The MTI edit was also used in the recent, fantastic (despite what the reviews would have you believe) Video Game inspired version at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

Rejoice!
Tons of clips here!
http://www.wgbh.org/programs/Greater-Boston-11/episodes/Dec-18-2012-Pippin-43116

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I'm waiting for a broadway transfer asap....I'm dying to see this

Just wanted to mention: Andrea Martin will be sixty-six in a few weeks. (That will mean more to those that have seen the show.)

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If they transfer as quickly as the rumors suggest, I would think they would almost have to.

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I could see Theo being replaced...while I think he had an absolutely lovely voice, I DO think he was too old -- or at least too tall -- doesn't give us the visual image of adorable little boy.

However, the kid has been acting all over Boston, I wouldn't be suprised if the parents were willing to let him go to b'way, if given the chance.

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We saw it tonight because I hoped it would be the perfect New Year's Eve show and it was. I don't even know what the point is pretending to wonder if there's a transfer planned, everything about it screams THIS IS BEING BUILT FOR A COMMERCIAL TRANSFER. The pedigree of the actors, singers, acrobats, everything.

And I have to hand it to Diane, this falls squarely in the win column with her "Hair" and is directed with a much surer hand than "Porgy & Bess." Plus, her collaborators are a helluva lot better than those she had on "Porgy." Boston has been immersed in visits from many of the Montreal cirques over the past several years, including 7 Doigts, Cirque Eloize, and of course, du Soleil, at least twice each. These cirques with their narrative arcs were just waiting for somebody to ask whether or not a real musical could be its scaffolding, and vice versa. That that somebody turned out to be Diane Paulus shouldn't be a surprise. It seems so obvious now because she really does live for this stuff.

All I ever saw before this production was the Broadway broadcast, during which my mind wandered. The problems with the book were obvious. I had a feeling this company could make something good out of Act One, and they did, but I really loved Act Two as well. Then again, I love the second act of Into the Woods best, too.

I'm not particularly interested in whether this role "should" be played by this kind of person or that gender or if the boy should be "younger" (or, GOD FORBID, if there's some alternative production somebody else is just waiting to mount, enough with that isshh, PLEASE, g.d.e.l.g.i) ... I just want to see a show and evaluate whether it succeeds at what it's trying to do, with the cast that they have and the creativity in their imaginations. To borrow a theme from another problematic show about a guy trying to find himself, I believe Diane Paulus and her many collaborators have created the best of all possible Pippins.

We who have loved her forever knew Andrea Martin would be divine, but she goes so, so far above and beyond that I want to put a velvet rope around her and declare her an international treasure. Really superb. I loved the d'Amboise-Manns, Miller, the alternative Broadway Spider-man kid in the title role, Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine, who really perfectly pulls Pippin down from the sky and grounds him on earth. I just loved her.

The circus work is thrilling but also used in a way that compliments and often punctuates the action of the scenes. I feel special mention must be made of Yannick Thomas, the strong man who assists in some breathtaking moments. He was in the 7 Doigts production of "PSY" in Boston two seasons back. He has a LOT of responsibility in this show. There are no nets or safety wires anywhere.

If you have a fondness for Pippin, I can't imagine you won't LOVE what they've crafted here. If you never liked it, it might win you over. I have often held Paulus in contempt for her hucksterism, but she won me over with this one. It's always worth thinking about when the show was written, when its story takes place, and the times in which it's being performed. This production is GREAT for that. The '70s thing of stripping away the trappings and characters wandering away from the authority of the story teller takes on a different resonance in this era of scripted things presented as reality. It may not be shocking or new, and it may be an hallmark of its time, but it works in a different and valid way in this production.

BTW, Zachary Quinto was across the aisle from me. He whooped as loudly as I did for Andrea Martin.

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Updated On: 1/1/13 at 01:36 AM