Pippin: old libretto vs new libretto

I hear that the published version of the script of 'Pippin' was substantially changed from the one used in the original Fosse production. Is the Fosse version available at all - eg as a later-published book, or used for the filmed version?

When you say "published", do you mean the text available for rental when performing the show? I have no idea if this differs from the original production.

The script was commercially published in mass-market paperback and also in a hardbound book club edition shortly after opening in the early 70s. Copies of this script, the original production, are available at used book sites like www.abebooks.com.

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^ Greg is right. The published edition from the Seventies, now more commonly found in most libraries, bears almost no resemblance, except for a few laugh lines and scenic descriptions, to the Fosse version. But for people to understand why the Fosse version works and the show's creators have a sore spot, one needs to go back to the beginning.

Pippin started off as a college project by Stephen Schwartz called Pippin, Pippin. Similar plot, but ended with the assassination of Charlemagne - an attempt at a Lion in Winter-type musical with court intrigue and crackling dialogue. Being a college kid, it naturally showed a lot of promise but no real merit as a show. When Stuart Ostrow, the Broadway producer, finally bought the option, he wanted a new book, and Roger O. Hirson came in at that point. The book became entirely different, now telling the story of a young man named Pippin going on a quest for fulfillment and self-awareness, and the traveling troupe of Commedia dell'Arte players who play out his life for him, so that he can experiment in relative safety, opening with the troupe of players arriving in a field with their wagon of props. The score had to be re-written to match the tone of the show, resulting largely in the score we now know, with some exceptions. It also gained a new title - The Adventures of Pippin.

When Ostrow brought in Bob Fosse to direct and choreograph, Fosse accepted the job mainly because he didn't like the show - it was cutesy and very sentimental. Having developed a reputation for dark, unsettling, decadent, outrageous, and often disturbing theater, he wanted to re-make the show (now titled Pippin) into something more like his kind of work. The show became dark and cynical with a very pessimistic edge. The whole world surrounding Pippin exists solely to kill him. Fosse's concept for Pippin's ending was that it was literally a snuff show, not just a "dramatic way to end a life." The players were going to get sexual pleasure from watching Pippin's death, and that was the whole point of their manipulations.

Among other things, Fosse created (specifically for Ben Vereen, I might add) the character of the Leading Player, and (with the help of many friends and show doctors, one of whom was the great Paddy Chayefsky) greatly re-wrote Hirson's script, asking for no official credit. Neither Schwartz nor Hirson liked the rewrites or the style of the show as it was finally set, but it won five Tonys, two of them for Fosse, so you can guess who won that creative battle. Ultimately, Schwartz and Hirson finally got their noses so out of joint that they took it to arbitration at the Dramatists Guild and managed to jettison many of Fosse's changes in the licensed script when the show became available for stock and amateur producers.

In the 21st century, Schwartz realized that Fosse's vision was the winning ticket, and a new version of Pippin with an alternate ending was created. It's a weird hybrid of Fosse's material and the original vision, working quite well at some points and not as well at others. The score was also completely reorchestrated, in an attempt to resolve the notorious "subject matter dissonance" that resulted from Schwartz's original music being attached to the increasingly dark and seedy script.

Personally, most people in the theater community (myself included) prefer Fosse's version in large part. Its critical success speaks for itself. I find the other versions somewhat lacking, and the 2000 revision in particular to be confusing.

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gvendo, thanks for such an interesting and informative post. While I hope it's put in the right hands, this show is definitely ripe for a revival.

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Wait - Theo singing a reprise of "Corner of the Sky" at the end of the show is in the licensed version now? I saw that in a recent production and thought it was just a stupid thing that the director added. I much prefer the original ending.

It's also the ending of the 2013 revival version, with a striking visual attached to it.