PIPPIN

[coolphantom919]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:11pm

Any fans of this show on this website???

[halyiaganitefiz]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:14pm

One of my favorites. A lot of people dislike it because they compare it to today's musicals, or they compare it to stuff that came before it. It is its own kind of thing, though... something you really have to experience before you like it or not.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:15pm

I like the music, love the original direction and choreography, but overall, I can take or leave the show. It's just hasn't ever really gripped me.

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:16pm

I adore Pippin... though not the part where "trifiling" and "life-a-ling" are rhymed.

[NewMusical]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:30pm

The show is stunning, I love the dark, sexual side. Also, its rather 'Camalot' which is rather amusing at some points. It's best songs are most often overlooked... if you get the opporutnity go see it! x.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:31pm

Well...it was the very first show my folks ever took me to see on Broadway. It was Christmas 1972. The Imperial Theatre on W. 45th Street. Still the original cast. I was 7 1/2 years old...and my fascination for Bob Fosse's work (and musical theatre itself) started on that night.

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 4:32pm

Oh, I love Pippin. I think its a great show with lots of excellent music in it. The story has a great message, and I hate the fact that people feel it doesn't work as well anymore. I completely disagree. The first I ever saw this show, or even hear of it, was two years ago, and I completely enjoyed it and felt it had a lo of meaning, unlike a lot of today's shows.

[shiksa_goddess]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 6:55pm

I had seen it before with very...amateur casts, and that led me to believe it was a less than stellar show. However, after seeing Michael Arden perform the role I do enjoy the show quite a bit.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 6:56pm

I've never seen it. I just ordered the DVD of it the other day.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 7:29pm

The DVD was shot in Australia, but with the NY cast (or at least most of it). There are a couple of small cuts, but most of the show's biggest moments are performed in their entirety. The "War" sequence is amazing, and the finale, even though it drags on a bit, still works. Hands down, some of Fosse's most imaginative work.

PIPPIN was among the very first shows I saw on Broadway; it holds a very special place for me.

[Julian2]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 7:58pm

I enjoy it

[jv92]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 8:10pm

I think it's Schwartz's best score. Lyrically, it is much better than Wicked and melodically, it's just great.

Fosse saved Pippin, however. Without him, it wouldn't have been remotely successful.

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 8:56pm

I love the score - the book is just OK. The choreography on the DVD is awesome.

The score, though, is my favorite Schwartz other than The Baker's Wife.

[duroc]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:17pm

yeah, the score for Pippen is phenomenal. Is there any chance of it being revived on Broadway?

[alliez92092]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:19pm

I love it, and would love to see it revived on Broadway.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:31pm

Nope. Never heard of that one.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:41pm

Love it!

[fakeblue]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:47pm

one of my favorite. "corner of the sky" is my theme song lol

[teh_pretty]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 9:59pm

It's definitely one of those shows that has to be done perfectly, or not at all. The meaning/goodness (for lack of a better word) gets lost so easily, so the show has to be done really well to be understood and appreciated.

But I love it and that's that!

[Mirama]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 10:27pm

I'm a new fan. I just saw it twice at the Goodspeed Opera House in CT. It will be heading up to Toronto soon (same time as Wicked). They changed the ending and made the music a bit more modern. The Goodspeed stage is a bit too small, but the cast was excellant. If anyone is near CT I highly recommend checking it out. I'd love to see this production make it to broadway, even if just for a limited run.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 10:40pm

Incorrect-o, SeanMartin -- the DVD of PIPPIN was not shot in Australia nor was it with the New York Cast. Here is the correct info for y'all.

The 'special' production was filmed for a Showtime cable special in 1982 at the Hamilton Place Theatre in Ontario, Canada. Bob Fosse's original choreography, staging and direction was recreated by his long-time assistant, Kathryn Doby, who was also in the original Broadway company. Though Bob Fosse was originally contracted to recreate his work for this taping, since he was working on another project, he trusted Kathryn to recreate his work. She sent him videotapes of the rehearsals for his inspection and suggestions, and during the last week of rehearsals, he went up to Canada and tightened the show. Unfortunately, the PIPPIN contract for the television production gave the special's producer, David Sheehan, full artistic control of the final cut, not Bob Fosse.

Though the full and complete show was indeed filmed, after many disagreements between Sheehan and Fosse regarding editing, etc. Sheehan's staff erased 23-minutes of the show, hence why the show is truncated on the video/DVD. Since Bob Fosse had no control over the final cut, there was nothing he could do.

Bob Fosse was so upset that he sent letters to the cast of the taped PIPPIN production, apologizing for the finished product, explaining that he didn't have final say in the final cut. He tried to stop the airing of the special, but to no avail.

And there is the correct info, which I hope helped clear-up alot of misconceptions with this taped production of PIPPIN.

Any other questions regarding anything related to Bob Fosse and his work, just ask away.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 10:55pm

I stand corrected; thank you. It was *produced* by an Australian bunch (that's in the opening credits), but you're right: it was taped in Canada.

I shall now go and sing "O Canada" fifty times as penance.....

[Someday]

Posted: 9/11/06 at 11:57pm

Hmmm. I wonder if there's any chance we'll ever get to see those missing minutes -- or even better, the full Fosse-style edit of the piece? Perhaps in some future release -- if the footage still exists? Does anyone know?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 12:24am

I am Pippin!

I pray for a revival!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 9/12/06 at 2:44am

With the show opening here next month, I pulled out teh cast album for a listen this past weekend. One great song after another. The script, however, doesn't really work.

The TV version was indeed taped at Hamilton Place in 1980. But the truncated production makes even less sense, and William Katt is no John Rubinstein.

I still think this is STephen Schwartz's most tuneful score.