Everything has its season... and this season, PIPPIN returns to Broadway for the first time since it first thrilled audiences 40 years ago! With a beloved score by Tony Award nominee STEPHEN SCHWARTZ (GODSPELL, WICKED) that includes the favorites "Magic to Do," "Glory" and "Corner of the Sky," PIPPIN tells the story of a young prince on a death-defying journey to find meaning in his existence. Will he choose a happy but simple life? Or will he risk everything for a singular flash of glory?
Direct from an acclaimed run at Boston's American Repertory Theater, PIPPIN is directed by DIANE PAULUS, director of the 2010 and 2012 Tony Award winners for Best Musical Revival (HAIR and THE GERSHWINS' PORGY AND BESS). This captivating production features sizzling choreography in the style of BOB FOSSE and breathtaking acrobatics by LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN, the creative force behind the nationwide sensation Traces. Join us... for a magical, unforgettable new PIPPIN.
Does it come off? Up to a point. The circus performers are sensational, but their antics overwhelm Mr. Walker's dances, which are in any case devoid of Mr. Fosse's sly wit. Patina Miller, lately of 'Sister Act,' is the Leading Player, a role created four decades ago by Ben Vereen, and her in-your-face performance sets the tone for Ms. Paulus's relentlessly aggressive staging, which is big, noisy and mostly humorless, a 'Pippin' that looks as if it had been born not in Cambridge but Las Vegas.
The tone is set by Patina Miller (Sister Act), who brings a feline slinkiness to the Leading Player that can turn outright catty when the troupe seems to stray too far from the supposed script. Matthew James Thomas (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) displays a bashful, aw-shucks charm in the title role, and Charlotte D'Amboise vamps playfully as his scheming stepmom. But the unlikely showstopper is 66-year-old SCTV alum Andrea Martin...Dangling high above the stage, she embodies this utterly delightful revival's big-top message: No matter our age, we need never outgrow the capacity for wonder. Jazz hands, though, are strictly optional. A
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