#26
Posted: 10/13/09 at 3:21am
Not to denigrate anyone's talent.... But the comment that Ms. Rivera was not
"then" nor is "now" a bigger star than Mr. Vereen is patently untrue. When "Pippin" opened, Mr. V had just come off a Tony-nominated turn in "JC Superstar", and Fosse had to talk him into staying in the cast because Mr. V felt the part was too small. Around that same time, Ms. R had already conquered Broadway in both "West Side" and then "Bye Bye Birdie", among other shows. The VIDEO with Ms. R wasn't made until the late 1970's, produced by a TV "critic" (David Sheehan), who begged Ms. R do to the "Pippin" taping/revival (which was not actually directed by Mr. Fosse) to give it some musical-theatre-star "heft". (Mr. Katt was best known for his "Great American Hero" stint....) At the time of the taping, Mr. V was already stuck in the one-role-wonder situation, with the exception of some excellent TV work such as "Roots". Aside from "Grind" (which was a flop), Mr. V's work on Broadway stalled, while Ms. R went on to many other new shows... like "Chicago" and "Spider Woman"...and "The Rink" and "The Visit" and....
So, while not saying that Mr. V's talent or star-power isn't of note, it seems myopic to indicate he was then or is now a bigger star than Ms. R.
As for the Character.... some odd trivia:
In the original script, the "Leading Player" character was called "The Tempter", but was changed when it was determined that the name gave away too much of the end-of-the-show "reveal". And he is ONLY "Leading" the TROUPE of actors performing the "Play".... PIPPIN, if you remember, is supposedly being played by an actor who is performing it for the first time. The confusion has followed the show for a long time, because "Pippin" has far more stage time.
And even back in the 1970's, there was great consternation that John Rubenstein's original performance AS "Pippin" was not nomintated for the Tony, because in reality, the "Leading Player" is a supporting role (supporting Pippin -- GEE, whoda thunk it?!)
"then" nor is "now" a bigger star than Mr. Vereen is patently untrue. When "Pippin" opened, Mr. V had just come off a Tony-nominated turn in "JC Superstar", and Fosse had to talk him into staying in the cast because Mr. V felt the part was too small. Around that same time, Ms. R had already conquered Broadway in both "West Side" and then "Bye Bye Birdie", among other shows. The VIDEO with Ms. R wasn't made until the late 1970's, produced by a TV "critic" (David Sheehan), who begged Ms. R do to the "Pippin" taping/revival (which was not actually directed by Mr. Fosse) to give it some musical-theatre-star "heft". (Mr. Katt was best known for his "Great American Hero" stint....) At the time of the taping, Mr. V was already stuck in the one-role-wonder situation, with the exception of some excellent TV work such as "Roots". Aside from "Grind" (which was a flop), Mr. V's work on Broadway stalled, while Ms. R went on to many other new shows... like "Chicago" and "Spider Woman"...and "The Rink" and "The Visit" and....
So, while not saying that Mr. V's talent or star-power isn't of note, it seems myopic to indicate he was then or is now a bigger star than Ms. R.
As for the Character.... some odd trivia:
In the original script, the "Leading Player" character was called "The Tempter", but was changed when it was determined that the name gave away too much of the end-of-the-show "reveal". And he is ONLY "Leading" the TROUPE of actors performing the "Play".... PIPPIN, if you remember, is supposedly being played by an actor who is performing it for the first time. The confusion has followed the show for a long time, because "Pippin" has far more stage time.
And even back in the 1970's, there was great consternation that John Rubenstein's original performance AS "Pippin" was not nomintated for the Tony, because in reality, the "Leading Player" is a supporting role (supporting Pippin -- GEE, whoda thunk it?!)
