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Past Reviews Regional Reviews: Seattle National Tour of Broadway's Pippin Wows in No Time at All
Despite all the huzzahs and Tony awards, the new production as seen on Broadway didn't elate me. It was fine, but something, what is it called? Oh yes! Magic was missing. What a different experience I had at the Paramount Sunday night!! This extraordinary tour directed by Tony winner Diane Paulus, with sizzling and erotically charged choreography by Tony Award nominee Chet Walker (a Fosse protégé), and circus themed breathtaking acrobatics by Gypsy Snider of the Montreal-based circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as 7 Fingers) is blessed, as if by the Gods, by having the Pippin of my generation (the 70's), Tony award winner John Rubinstein now playing his Papa King Charlemagne/Charles, and that singular sensation , Tony award winner and original Broadway production Fastrada Priscilla Lopez, who reinvents the role of his sprightly Grandmother Berthe. But to a man or woman, every single cast member impresses and I left the theatre feeling that rare exhilaration of having seen a really fine show. With Book by Roger O. Hirson and Music and Lyrics by Stephen (Wicked, Godspell) Schwartz, the original Pippin was mainly known for Bob Fosse's individual and sensual stylings as director/choreographer and an overwhelming turn by Ben Vereen as the Leading Player who serves as Pippin's devilish tour guide in his journey to find, as Pippin's "I want" song says, his "Corner of the Sky." Historically accurate it ain't, but the truly almost all that is known about the real Pippin and Charlegmane is legend anyway. Pippin (played here by the oh-so-likable, attractive and vocally astounding and fresh out of college Brian Flores) sees his search for his life's meaning lead him to War, Sex, and even usurping his Father's throne on his way to his destiny. Played as a show-within-a-show (the players enacting the Pippin tale as the line blurs between the real and unreal) we meet Rubinstein's wacky, gruff and yet somehow warm-hearted Charlegmane,; A Leading Player who is this time less the devil and more of a devil's advocate (Lola to Pippin's Joe Hardy?) enacted with radiance, allure and precision by multi-talented Gabrielle McClinton (she and Flores just stepped into the tour and already own the roles); scheming and sultry step-mother Fastrada (Sabrina Harper who embodies the Fosse aesthetic in her solo "Spread A Little Sunshine"); Ridiculous but ripped step-brother Lewis (the winning Eric Altemus who launched in the revival's opening Broadway cast in this role); and awkward love-interest Catherine (Winsome and funny Bradley Benjamin) and her young son Theo (The angelic voiced and feisty Jake Berman). And then (along with Rubinstein) the piece de resistance, Priscilla Lopez as Berthe, as glam and free-stepping a Granny as ever you have seen. What was for the role's creator Irene Ryan (Granny on TV's iconic Beverly Hillbillies) a burlesque styled charm number, "No Time at All" is transformed by the staging, Lopez's fit and youthful physique, and the aid of a flying trapeze into a showpiece showstopper to which the Broadway vet (she created Diana in A Chorus Line) brings great wit and warmth. The company is people with dancers who learned acrobatics and acrobats who were taught dance (oh and the have to sing well too) who cavort and even make the magic tricks seem astonishing. This show is sleight-of-hand done by a master troupe. Scenic designer Scott Pask and Lighting designer Kenneth Posner coordinate their tasks seamlessly weaving an eye-popping view of the circus world envisioned by this production, and Dominque Lemieux's costumes are as colorful, clowny, sexy and gaudy as all get out. Schwartz's young Wicked fans will find so much of this score to their liking, but why it has always astounded me is because the songs as heard are very different than you will expect when you actually see the show, especially the more dreamily, folksy and languid romantic ones .The Pippin score has aged like fine wines, not a number seems like a time-killer, and deserves renewed respect as it was a Tony also ran (Losing to Sondheim's A Little Night Music in 1973). With this review I initiate a 4 star rating system of my own to encapsulate my reaction to these shows. Going from the ridiculous to Sublime: I saw Nothing (ISN), Something Was Missing (SWM), Good Thing Going (GTG) and finally/appropriately (and what I designate for this show) Magic To Do (MTD). Pippin runs at Seattle's Paramount Theatre from August 16 - August 23, 2015. Tickets are available on-line at stgpresents.org and tickets.com, by calling 877-STG-4TIX (784-4849) or in person at select Ticketmaster locations and at The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm).
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