Your DREAM PIPPIN revival Cast- Page 3

[Tirso de Molina]

Posted: 5/4/05 at 9:54am

I've always thought it would be fascinating to have the actors doing Pippin and the Leading Player trade off roles from one performance to the next, the way Shakespearean actors used to (alternating Romeo/Mercutio, Brutus/Cassius, even Othello/Iago). The tessitura is similar enough that if you can sing one, you can most likely sing the other, and it could be very interesting to catch a glimpse of the Leading Player inside Pippin (the Leading Player Pippin could become if he made the wrong moral choices) and to catch a glimpse of the Pippin inside the Leading Player (who DID make those choices, but must have been innocent once). Having been very moved by Arden's Pippin, I'd love to see what he'd do with the Leading Player on alternate nights!

of course, I'd still have a hard time choosing only TWO actors for this imaginary production of mine -- Arden is obvious, and he and Barrett Foa might be a great pair. on the other hand, I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned Danny Gurwin, and I think he'd be well worth considering (he's certainly got the secure upper register for it). Also, though he's not as well-known yet, I'd want to see Telly Leung (Pacific Overtures) take a shot at it; his voice impresses me no end. And what about Max von Essen?!