Pippin previews start tomorrow- Page 3

[binau]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:34am

"Sounds great!! I hope the ushers were able to wake After Eight up when the show ended."

I thought that is what his nurse and oxygen tank was for?

[April Saul]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:37am

So wonderful...and for me, such an unexpected gift. I drove into NYC tonight for an off-Broadway show that I had little enthusiasm for, and dropped by the Pippin box office only to ask about their rush policy for future reference...I remember, thinking to myself, wow, I bet Whizzer and Trace and After Eight and who knows who else from this board is here and how exciting it would be to be at the first performance of a show like this...lol!

So the guy behind the counter misunderstood me and said: I've got two rush tickets left; you want one? Wow! Suddenly I'm in the 5th row seeing Pippin for the very first time. Loving every minute of it, wanting to be like Andrea Martin when I'm 66, and thinking that Diane Paulus is everything that we'd expected Julie Taymor to be. Couldn't stop smiling and floated out of the theater feeling just like I'd seen Mormon or Spring Awakening or Hairspray for the first time.

Just don't miss it

[macnyc]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:51am

April, what a great story! You couldn't have planned that if you had tried!

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 1:02am

Brief thoughts via my iPad...but I just needed to chime in and let everyone know that this production of PIPPIN is truly outstanding. Patina, Andrea, Charlotte, Rachel, Matthew, Terrence, and the ensemble are all perfection. I have to admit though (and I have not been a fan of hers in the past), that Diane Paulus is the true star of this production. Her direction and her vision for this show is too amazing to describe. It has to be seen to be believed. Buy your tickets now. I know that I will be buying a few more sets of ticket myself. A truly wonderful night out at the theater. Congrats to all involved.

[Idiot]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 1:07am

...and now I think I'm coming to New York.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 1:46am

How were the orchestrations? I know Seth Rudetsky complained about the orchestra size in Boston, is it bigger now?

[Up In One]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 1:48am

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.

Updated On: 3/24/13 at 01:48 AM

[Playbilly]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 1:49am

This thread has gotten over 7000 views already. People have interest. ( at least the creative team...)

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 2:12am

Best seats...where? Would front row be too close?

[LayerBoy4]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 2:19am

Front row is a little too close for some of the acrobatics. Best seats in the house are about the third row in the mezzanine.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 3:29am

So glad to read these reviews! Does the show fit well in the Music Box? They had a wider stage in Boston, right?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 6:58am

Hey, Up in One, maybe you could either remove some of the info about Martin or at the very least mark it as SPOILER info. People have been very careful to try to NOT spoil the suprises of her performance for others.


I can't wait to get back in the city to see this. I (and my kids) loved this in Cambridge, as did the dozer or so other folks we know that caught it. We've been eargerly waiting to hear about the changes and how it is rec'd in NY.

(Happy for the positivity from most!)

[Tink2]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 8:45am

I've been so looking forward to a revival of Pippin. Even more excited to get back to NYC this summer and see this show after reading all the comments/recaps here and on the previous threads. Thanks and please keep them coming!

Updated On: 3/24/13 at 08:45 AM

[Markecib]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 9:32am

So glad I bought tickets to this weeks ago. I'l be seeing it in 3 weeks and I cannot wait!

[LFazin]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 9:41am

For those of you who attended the preview, how do you think the sight lines are in terms of the acrobatics from row M of the orchestra? I absolutely cannot wait to see the show, and I'm hoping the overhang doesn't obscure any of the stunts!

[Up In One]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 9:58am

The Music Box is wider than it is deep so avoid the extreme sides if you want to see the one or two times its important to see the pole work. I found the seats themselves lower to the ground than usual so hope you don't get a tall person ahead of you. But the theatre is charmingly small and intimate.

[jpiedrafite]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 10:12am

Saw Pippin twice in Cambridge (once in early December and then again towards the end of the run). Are the changes that major? It's between this and Motown. Suggestions one was or the other?

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 10:19am

The changes to Extraordinary and the finale are indeed major, but for the most part the rest of the show is the same. Since you've already seen Pippin twice I would normally recommend seeing something else, but Motown is just OK and, as you know, Pippin is extremely special.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 10:22am

Whizzer discussed some changes. Read his review.

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 10:33am

So glad to hear most people are loving this production! The new changes sound like they'd be amazing.

Whizzer, I enjoyed reading your write-up! If you or anyone else who's seen both productions would like to send me a pm about the changes in the finale, I'd appreciate it. I've seen it twice in Cambridge, and while I hope to travel down there to see it on B'way, don't know if it will happen.

"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.".

Well, Paulus did say that she was incorporating circus acts, so it only makes sense that the leading player takes on the role of ring master. And I think if the circus acts were too outrageous, it would take away from the story of Pippin and could turn the production into a mess. Also, I'm not familiar enough to know, but maybe using pyrotechnics is not the style of Gypsy Snider's troupe? In context for what Paulus is trying to do here, I think the circus acts fit in perfectly and work with the story telling.


Updated On: 3/24/13 at 10:33 AM

[lenstersf]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 11:57am

It's great reading such positive reviews. What a rush the company must have felt after the first preview, especially those with their B'way debuts.

I'm most excited to see the changes they've made to the Finale.

Although I've only watched the show from the run at the A.R.T., there are a few points from Up In One's review that I have to disagree on:
"...the dancing the crispness and eroticism of the original are nowhere to be found." I thought Patina's entire performance was brimming with eroticism. And the scene where Pippin explores sex...whips and flesh and cages galore!

- If you're expecting a Cirque du Soleil show, you will be disappointed, and you are missing the point. I don't think this is what Paulus had in mind when she decided to incorporate the circus acts and acrobatics. It is the combination of these things, along with the dancing, singing, and acting that make this production special and remarkable.

"This Pippin does not come alive until the arrival of Andrea Martin." Really?? I thought the opening was one of the best I've ever seen. You feel the excitement the second Patina walks on stage. And the audience seemed to love the moment the entire company is revealed.

"Whether this has anything to do with character is up for discussion." Her act absolutely is linked to her character...the song is about living in the moment, that age is completely relative. Martin most definitely defies her age and she steals the show.

"None of the singing in this production rises above acceptable serviceable." ??? That's kind of a bold statement. Thomas's voice soars in "Corner of the Sky." Bay Jones's singing is fantastic. The ensemble sounds rich and full. Someone mentioned that the sound was a little off...maybe this had something to do with it? I dunno...but I was impressed by the singing.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:16pm

Seeing the show tonight, and I'm happy to hear the buzz is already so strong.

(On another note, I really hope the strong word will translate to sales, and it'll put all those BWW naysayers who said it'll never sell on Broadway some crow to eat.)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:21pm

I hope it succeeds simply because it is wonderful.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 12:36pm

u/s list anyone??

[HoldThatThought]

Posted: 3/24/13 at 2:20pm

ACL2006,

These are the understudies from the Cambridge show:

Pippin - Erk Altemus; Lewis - Colin Cunliffe; Charles - Andrew Fitch; Fastrada - Bethany Moore; Male Swing - Brad Musgrove; Leading Player - Stephanie Pope; Catherine - Molly Tynes

Since the cast is the same one from A.R.T., I'm assuming that it is the same u/s group. And since I didn't see it on B'way, I don't have a playbill to confirm.