Here is an opinion from the other side of the aisle. It kills me because I have always loved Pippin. SPOILER AHEAD about a bit of stage business.
Pippin had a crazy friendly crowd tonight. The audience was whooping and wooin' at the first sounds of the orchestra starting up. When the infamous cords of Magic To Do began they screamed. Audience had a lot of young people in it, great to see. Walked in along side of Stephen Schwartz who was talking to a friend. The friend said "Were sold out tonight, all family. " Stephen said "Yea lets see if we're sold out tomorrow".
Personally I found the production a disappointment after being a raving fan of the original Fosse production. I was one of those kids discovering the show, score and staging back then so old habits in this case are very hard to break.
Overall the show looks and feels like an Encores production. One set mostly staged on an open floor plan in some rather unattractive color palettes of green and blue. Barnum or any circus show could be staged here. The entire set is simple enough to be a set change in a more elaborate show. The new orchestrations are a shadow of the original and while the Fosse feel is there in the dancing the crispness and eroticism of the original are nowhere to be found.
The play itself is still slight requiring a concept to enhance it and performances to electrify it. In the 70's we had Fosse and his amazing eye. Here we have a circus theme which works but is not as inventive as I had hoped for. Instead of a leading player of a commedia del'arte troupe we have a ring master equivalent with a mix of circus performers and chorus boys and girls. Having been over saturated with Cirque du Sole productions and their high end circus pyrotechnics over the years the circus acts on display at Pippin pale in comparison.
This Pippin does not come alive until the arrival of Andrea Martin and even then the kudos are reserved for her trapeze skills. I found her circus performance amazing, she is in great shape for her age and performs her act without a net and in character shoes. Whether this has anything to do with character is up for discussion. But for sheer guts and grace and dexterity she should get a Tony nomination.
The evening again came alive with the Catherine scenes towards the end . Interesting that the least conceptual part of the show should turn out the most effective. Rachael Bay Jones gives Catherine the most original turn of the evening. She should be nominated for best supporting actress come awards season.
The finale within the finale (fire act) is played more effectively than in the original. More menacing and real. The new Theo ending is used to lesser effect than the way it was handled at The Paper Mill. The actor playing Theo seems older and taller than he should be. I also felt Matthew James Thomas's Pippin was more mature and cool than he should have been and Patina Millers Leading Player was just ok. This score does not show the best aspects of Patina's voice. None of the singing in this production rises above acceptable serviceable.
As far as changes go, War Is A Science seems to have new lyrics and is now performed like a G&S patter song with escalating tempos.
After seeing Pippin tonight I would say Cinderella has the revival category sewn up.
Up In One
Updated On: 3/24/13 at 01:48 AM
