#301
Posted: 4/15/13 at 1:57am
Just rushed it today - was up in the box seats, which are by the way terrible seats for this show. Extreme partial view. I practically had to stand to see some of the action.
I should start out by prefacing that Pippin is one of my favorites, if not my favorite show. Paulus does wonders with staging. She is a true visionary. Just when you think there won't be another cool trick, she comes up with one. The cirque de sole aspect adds a lot to the production and really gets the play-within-a-play aspect perfectly. All of the acrobatics are jaw dropping and surprisingly "Simple Joys" became one of the biggest crowd pleasers in Act I (followed of course by "No Time At All" where Andrea Martin steals the show). It truly has to be seen to be believed. I would even go so far as to say it's the only production I've seen so far that does the finale any justice by using a live flame. I got a little misty eyed for Pippin towards the end. The only choice I'm not sure I was crazy about were all the animals during "Extraordinary". I think they couldve done without a few of them, but it was an inventive way to keep the ensemble in the scene.
All of the leads deliver extremely exceptional performances - and even though I am fundamentally against a female LP, Patina Miller is simply electrifying. I was expecting her to go a little crazier during the Finale, but otherwise, brilliant.
I will echo that I did not care for Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine. I don't know if its because I hated her Lady-of-the-Lake inspired costume but her performance was pretty lackluster when she used her "Catherine" voice ("Kind of Woman" was surprisingly underwhelming). They have cut anything related to "there was something about his foot", which I'm not sure is for the better and I think really added a fun and quirky element to her character. I also detest that they use the ending with Theo, after you can CLEARLY SEE Pippin and Catherine watch him trail off. I will never understand that ending choice.
I also noticed quite a few book and lyric changes. "War is A Science" is almost re-written entirely and there are a few book changes in Berthe's scene as well. I am curious who did these revisions because it does not sound like Roger O'Hirson's writing at all - not that that's a bad thing. I also now understand where people are saying it is desexualized, as the Fastrada/Lewis incest is pretty much entirely removed, as is Lewis' blatant homosexuality, but "With You" gets pretty nitty-gritty and Fosse inspired. One thing I liked was it seemed like there were more lines where the LP was mocking Catherine and making it very clear that Catherine has played this role before. However this production did make me wonder a lot if the show is in Pippin's head all along or if it truly is Pippin's first time playing the role and he doesn't know what's coming to him in the finale.
In spite of the few flaws I addressed, I was completely enamoured with this production and agree with PlayItAgain - in a pretty lousy season, this one really stands out. A truly magical night at the theatre.
I should start out by prefacing that Pippin is one of my favorites, if not my favorite show. Paulus does wonders with staging. She is a true visionary. Just when you think there won't be another cool trick, she comes up with one. The cirque de sole aspect adds a lot to the production and really gets the play-within-a-play aspect perfectly. All of the acrobatics are jaw dropping and surprisingly "Simple Joys" became one of the biggest crowd pleasers in Act I (followed of course by "No Time At All" where Andrea Martin steals the show). It truly has to be seen to be believed. I would even go so far as to say it's the only production I've seen so far that does the finale any justice by using a live flame. I got a little misty eyed for Pippin towards the end. The only choice I'm not sure I was crazy about were all the animals during "Extraordinary". I think they couldve done without a few of them, but it was an inventive way to keep the ensemble in the scene.
All of the leads deliver extremely exceptional performances - and even though I am fundamentally against a female LP, Patina Miller is simply electrifying. I was expecting her to go a little crazier during the Finale, but otherwise, brilliant.
I will echo that I did not care for Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine. I don't know if its because I hated her Lady-of-the-Lake inspired costume but her performance was pretty lackluster when she used her "Catherine" voice ("Kind of Woman" was surprisingly underwhelming). They have cut anything related to "there was something about his foot", which I'm not sure is for the better and I think really added a fun and quirky element to her character. I also detest that they use the ending with Theo, after you can CLEARLY SEE Pippin and Catherine watch him trail off. I will never understand that ending choice.
I also noticed quite a few book and lyric changes. "War is A Science" is almost re-written entirely and there are a few book changes in Berthe's scene as well. I am curious who did these revisions because it does not sound like Roger O'Hirson's writing at all - not that that's a bad thing. I also now understand where people are saying it is desexualized, as the Fastrada/Lewis incest is pretty much entirely removed, as is Lewis' blatant homosexuality, but "With You" gets pretty nitty-gritty and Fosse inspired. One thing I liked was it seemed like there were more lines where the LP was mocking Catherine and making it very clear that Catherine has played this role before. However this production did make me wonder a lot if the show is in Pippin's head all along or if it truly is Pippin's first time playing the role and he doesn't know what's coming to him in the finale.
In spite of the few flaws I addressed, I was completely enamoured with this production and agree with PlayItAgain - in a pretty lousy season, this one really stands out. A truly magical night at the theatre.
Updated On: 4/15/13 at 01:57 AM
