Signature Theatre’s Pippin Brings Medieval Swagger
With Sassy Steampunk, Magical Illusions and Steamy Burlesque
Oh, Pippin, you adorable, self-entitled, properly Paduan University-educated idealist! What a wild, oft catastrophic, medieval adventure you take us on!
Prince Pippin has friends, but mostly he takes his cues from “Leading Player”, a character so entirely magical, and yet insistently believable, in a most demanding way. Where the odd couple goes, we go, in company with a fantastical and hyper-sexual coterie of “Players”, as they’re referred to in the cast list. The Players will steal your heart, but they are not to be trusted. They are unpredictable spirits, though they ultimately kowtow to Leading Player and will trot off with their tails between their legs when chastised.
Pippin has arrived home after his studies to greet his father, the autocratic King Charlemagne aka Charles, his voluptuous mother Queen Fastrada, and his super macho, entirely witless half-brother Lewis who prefers to slay the Visigoths with the encouragement of his beloved mother.
“I’m going to live a life that’s extraordinary… and completely fulfilling,” Pippin announces ingenuously with the song, “Corner of the Sky”, one of composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s most memorable and frequently covered songs. Determined to find his niche without his overbearing father, he murders him, (which thankfully for the character and the audience is only temporary as the king is later resurrected) and takes over the country, vowing to end all wars, tax the rich and gift land to the serfs. Very noble, you’d say. But the aristocracy revolts, countries invade, sack and pillage and our sweet, disillusioned Pippin realizes he’s not cut out for such things as ruling the country. And after a brief stint as a soldier, involving slaughter and mayhem and a disembodied talking head, off he scurries off to the countryside where amid pastoral joys he meets a fair maiden, Catherine, her little boy, Theo, and finds his free-wheeling grandmother, Berthe, whose sage advice comes via the song “No Time At All”.
There Pippin is introduced to an orgiastic lifestyle by Berthe and the Players. The musical Hair popped into my head, though that was far tamer than this hyper-erotic approach to free love as portrayed by the Players cavorting in every imaginable coupling. Pippin, ever the seeker, tries all the combinations and is left bereft. “It wasn’t fulfilling,” he declares.
I have to say, in the end, I was left disappointed by Pippin in his campaign to find himself. He caved far too quickly when he was king, conceded too readily to his scheming mother and took the easy way out by killing off his challengers.
What you will take away is a razzle-dazzle, helluva show with 14 wonderful musical numbers, terrific performances by all, powerhouse voices backed by a 12-piece orchestra, stage magic, comic highs, burlesque, and quirky characters who absolutely slay costumed in Victorian Steampunk lace and leather living la vida loca and dancing their tailfeathers off on a glassy circular stage… in France! Did I mention the duck? Holy wow!!!
Go! Have fun!!!
With Cedric Neal as Leading Player; Brayden Bambino as Pippin, Eric Hissom as Charles (King Charlemagne); Maria Rizzo as Fastrada; Ryan Sellers as Lewis; Naomi Jacobson as Berthe; Awa Sal Secka as Catherine; and Ellison Bihm as Theo.
The Players: Ben Bogen, Calvin L’mont Cooper, Candice Hatakeyama, Georgia Monroe (Dance Captain), Alanna Sibrián, Jacob Taylor Starks, Emily Steinhardt and Hank von Kulnitz.
Book by Roger O. Hirson; Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; Originally Directed and Choreographed on Broadway by Bob Fosse; Directed by Matthew Gardiner; Choreographed by Rachel Leigh Dolan; Music Direction by Jon Kalbfleisch; Scenic Design by Christopher & Justin Swader; Costume Design by Eric Teague; Lighting Design by Adam Honoré; Wig Design by Anne Nesmith; Sound Design by Eric Norris; Fight Choreography by Casey Kaleba; Intimacy Choreography by Chelsea Pace; Illusions Consultant and Fight Captain Ryan Sellers.
Through July 26th at Signature Theatre, Shirlington Village, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA. For tickets and information call the box office at 703.820.9771 or visit www.SigTheatre.org.
