‘Pippin’ @ Theatre Frisco
—Hannah Kneen
Theatre Frisco’s production of the 1972 musical Pippin is running at the Frisco Discovery Center through August 13. Directed and choreographed by Linda Kay Leonard with music director Kelly Poché Rodriguez, it showcases music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson.
Pippin is set, at least nominally, in the long ago of the early Middle Ages—and centers around Pippin (played by Chase Shaw), eldest son of King Charlemagne (Josh Hepola), who has just returned home from university and decided he must seek something fulfilling to do with his life.
He tries out a number of lifestyles he thinks may help him realize this goal. First, he takes to the battlefield for a shot at glory. Of the three lifestyles Pippin tries out in the first act this was my favorite to watch. It was choreographed chaos, which was exactly appropriate. The circus theme of the show came through, with a bit of juggling in the midst of sword fights galore. Partway through, body parts started flying onto the stage and an actor lost their head: literally, a severed head flew into the audience and had to be retrieved. The excess of it all was rather comedic—though Pippin quickly decides this life is not for him.
The second lifestyle Pippin pursues centers around the pleasures of the flesh. Before this point the chorus was wearing predominantly white costumes, interchanging a piece or two as needed to suit the scene. White is a bold choice by costume designer Bruce R. Coleman—it serves to make the ensemble characters identifiable, and makes the other characters stand out, the most obvious being the Leading Player (Vee India), who is dressed all in black. During this second “fleshly’ sequence the unnamed characters get a lot more colorful, and make use of things like hula hoops and yoga balls. This all fits into the circus theme well.
This lifestyle, like the previous, does not suit Pippin. He next delves into politics–-and positions himself against his father. Even here, he ends up regretting his choices instead of finding fulfillment. The method by which Pippin escapes the repercussions of his poorly thought-out political adventure is unique and entertaining, but I won’t say more than that for fear of spoilers. Suffice it to say that none of these escapades bring Pippin fulfillment. He continues the search during the second act and finds his answer not in the extraordinary as he expects, but much closer to home.
The stage for this show is in a thrust configuration (audience on three sides) and sits in an intimate black box theater. The set, designed by D. Aidan Wright, is colorful and has multiple levels, carrying hints of a circus tent that looks temporary and therefore easy to throw up and take down. This worked very well for the pared-down ending of the show. There were a few set mishaps (one of the actors took a nasty spill but was well enough to continue performing).
The music is performed live by an eight-piece orchestra and there are some very good voices in the cast, Chase Shaw’s Pippin being worthy of note. While some of the dancing could have been cleaner, there was a definite nod to Bob Fosse, the original director and choreographer of this one-of-a-kind musical on Broadway.
My favorite parts of Pippin were the interactions between the Leading Player and Catherine (Teresa Natera). They had a wonderful dynamic and broke the fourth wall in spectacular fashion. A close runner up would be the finale of the show, as set and lights are pared down to the bare essentials, and the story comes full circle—to land on the next generation represented by the young Theo (played by the very talented Vivian Martin).
WHEN: July 28 - August 13, 2023
WHERE: Black Box Theater @ Frisco Discovery Center
WEB: theatrefrisco.com
