“This existential crisis is worthy material for a musical however, it wasn’t convincing in either the writing or the play’s concept. And it should be….The best piece of writing is in Act 2 and here Lucy Maunder stole the show as The Widow/Mother Catherine. Pure comedy brilliance, matched with deeply felt acting and a voice rich with clarity….[other] performance highlights had to be Keri-Anne Kennerley as Grandma Berthe”
“if it was “circus meets burlesque” then it pulled its punches. If it was Brechtian or an homage to Fosse then it lacked consistency.”
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
3.5 rings.
When Pippin (Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz) first opened on Broadway in its original format in 1972, there were no Tony awards for Best Musical, although Ben Vereen did win a Tony for Best Performance. It was saved from box office disaster by a vigorous youth targeted TV advertising campaign – something unheard of for a Broadway show until then.
This revival originating in 2013 (Tony Best Revival) is at odds with the original and poses a question – is it a bedazzling romp or a much deeper piece of work? There is colour (lots of it) and movement (even more of that) and some meaning (somewhat lost in translation).
The original was played straight through (what an endurance test for performer and audience alike!) but ended as The Lead Player declares the show is off once Pippin, Theo and Catherine leave the stage. The revival created the Theo solo at the end, bringing the players back on. Theo becomes the new/next Pippin as a boy of 12 – that beginning stage for the rites of passage in many cultures: Catholic confirmation, Bar Mitzvah, tribal “burgeoning manhood” rites of initiation). Some may say these are natural rituals that lead to post teen adventures which no-one should be denied. How many in the audience may have missed that boat in life, avoided that fork in the road or went right when they might have gone left, or simply had the chance taken away from them to travel the road less travelled, an avenue that may cost you a lot but bring joys of many a different kind.
So, like a circus the show completes a full circle – that same quest for a life of the ordinary versus the extraordinary. Pippin, noble born, desires an excellent exciting life. He tries war and is dismayed by the senselessness and the violence of it. Taking granny’s advice, he explores a life of “What if …” He lives life to excess: wine, women and song, only to feel as empty and aimless as when he was king presumptive. Into his life comes someone to potentially rescue him and to show him a simpler life. But hard work and struggle eats at him and he lusts for his previous life, not seeing the happiness that lies in front of him.
This existential crisis is worthy material for a musical however, it wasn’t convincing in either the writing or the play’s concept. And it should be. Act 2 ramps up the meta-theatre which is such a great launch pad for this tale, but there isn’t enough return or set up in the story to remind the audience that the players are Pippin’s demons, angels or fantasies playing with his psyche. It’s all a bit too inconsistent in this rendering with wandering plot points. Pippin’s younger brother is set-up to take over in an evil machination but that plot line disappears.
The best piece of writing is in Act 2 and here Lucy Maunder stole the show as The Widow/Mother Catherine. Pure comedy brilliance, matched with deeply felt acting and a voice rich with clarity. She seems to be the only one who understood what was the performative style needed for such a story, ie this is my scripted part in this play within a play versus this section is my real feeling. For Catherine too, is on a quest for a better life, a meaningful existence, one full of security for herself and son, hope for a new beginning and some love to take away the pain. In the end she gets it. Her showing up at the finale informing Pippin that the joy and purpose he seeks is right here with her is conclusive.
The Lead Player (an incredible triple threat Gabrielle McClinton whose performance should have been more arched or chameleon-like) – cannot bear these final moments of the show; as for her, reality should be masked, and in disguise, swimming in a sea of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. Isn’t that why we all want to run away and join the circus from time to time? She turns off the coloured lights, sends the guests home and calls off the party. End of play in its original form. But it’s a cunning move to have Theo return to be tempted and tantalised by the mystery and magic of “the fabulous life”. And that it is a creation of the early 70s / post flower-power movement should not be ignored, landing right there amidst – Nixon, terrorism, hostage crises, and the height of Vietnam (War is a Science ). The old-world systems are crumbling away along with the values of the parents of those dope smoking jeans-wearing baby boomer youths – where the zeitgeist was all about you and not that of your elders. It’s what Good King Pippin wanted to provide – Civil rights and equality, Women’s Lib, gay rights, employment and education for all, tied up with a big bow saying “all you need is love”…. ah but those who manipulate the marionette strings of existence won’t allow that.
But I got little of this from this show. The fault of the director? or faulty dramaturgy? So many missed opportunities to juxtapose the circusy two dimensionality with the real drama within. Have the choices made to bring it into the 21st century been askew or emotionally distant? Too many of the actors camped it up and parodied the material all the way through. If the song in a musical is the flight of fancy or the chance to exorcise the inner machinations of the soul, then there was no delineation made here. And it IS possible with this material. However, if the main thrust was to make a Christmassy chocolate box confection – one for the whole family – then the show succeeds.
There were some lovely moments but terrible hours (as a critic once reviewed a Wagnerian opera). There were superb acrobatics on display, marvellous lighting (Kenneth Posner and Mitchell Fenton) and a lively orchestra led by Daniel Edmonds. However, if it was “circus meets burlesque” then it pulled its punches. If it was Brechtian or an homage to Fosse then it lacked consistency. Much of the choreography and acrobatic stunts seemed quite repetitive, with more attention paid to Fosse’s original style than his sensuality. And overall, Circus and Fosse made odd bedfellows.
Most tragically I had little empathy with or sympathy for the lead character Pippin – and wasn’t that the whole focus for the life lesson we were being taught?
Some performance highlights had to be Keri-Anne Kennerley as Grandma Berthe – a role originated by Irene Ryan (granny from The Beverly Hillbillies) who died during the original 1972-73 run of the show) and Simon Burke as a comic but slightly threatening King Charles. Euan Doidge as Lewis and Leslie Bell as Fastrada delivered their best in caricature roles which offered little scope for depth. In the lead role of Pippin, Ainsley Melham seemed to struggle vocally on opening night as though the acrobatic demands made on him whilst singing took their toll.
Life, it seems, is not a cabaret but a circus. Roll up for a holiday show.
