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One likes to think composer Stephen Schwartz wrote the music for Pippin in 1972 as a way to correct the cultier aspects of his musical passion play Godspell from the previous year. (Seriously, am I the only person creeped out by Godspell?)
The cult in Pippin — and yes, director Simon Miron does play up the master-and-acolyte dynamic in this revival by Winnipeg Studio Theatre and the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre — is a ragtag assembly of travelling actors who take it upon themselves to act out the tale of spiritual searcher Pippin (Wes Rambo). The son of a king who aspires to a meaningful life, Pippin seeks fulfilment as a soldier, a lover and a wanderer, all the while seeking enlightenment. (The play is not an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and indeed more closely resembles Herman Hesse’s Buddha novel Siddhartha, crossed perhaps with the 1960s hippy-dippy Story Theater.)
For a man aspiring to a heavenly existence, he takes a hell of a journey. Taking cues from the sinister “Lead Player” (Joseph Sevillo), Pippin first goes to war at the behest of his father Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer), inspiring a bit of cunning manipulation by his stepmother Fastrada (Paula Potosky) to ensure the throne goes to her own son Lewis (Duncan Cox).
When Pippin gains no satisfaction as a warrior, he visits his exiled grandmother Berthe (Bajer, again), who counsels him to be a lover, not a fighter, her advice encapsulated in the randy singalong song No Time At All. His own attempt to seize the throne gives him a wake-up call as to the demands of power. Ultimately, a wish for an “extraordinary” life leads to the satisfactions of an ordinary life with the widow Catherine (Katie German), who offers Pippin a substantial purpose in life in helping to raise her own son Theo (Theo Nattrass). Soon Catherine and the Lead Player are pitched in a battle for Pippin’s soul.
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King Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer, centre) plots with her soldiers, including Pippin (Wes Rambo, at left). Photo by Kayla Gordon.
One likes to think composer Stephen Schwartz wrote the music for Pippin in 1972 as a way to correct the cultier aspects of his musical passion play Godspell from the previous year. (Seriously, am I the only person creeped out by Godspell?)
The cult in Pippin — and yes, director Simon Miron does play up the master-and-acolyte dynamic in this revival by Winnipeg Studio Theatre and the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre — is a ragtag assembly of travelling actors who take it upon themselves to act out the tale of spiritual searcher Pippin (Wes Rambo). The son of a king who aspires to a meaningful life, Pippin seeks fulfilment as a soldier, a lover and a wanderer, all the while seeking enlightenment. (The play is not an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and indeed more closely resembles Herman Hesse’s Buddha novel Siddhartha, crossed perhaps with the 1960s hippy-dippy Story Theater.)
For a man aspiring to a heavenly existence, he takes a hell of a journey. Taking cues from the sinister “Lead Player” (Joseph Sevillo), Pippin first goes to war at the behest of his father Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer), inspiring a bit of cunning manipulation by his stepmother Fastrada (Paula Potosky) to ensure the throne goes to her own son Lewis (Duncan Cox).
When Pippin gains no satisfaction as a warrior, he visits his exiled grandmother Berthe (Bajer, again), who counsels him to be a lover, not a fighter, her advice encapsulated in the randy singalong song No Time At All. His own attempt to seize the throne gives him a wake-up call as to the demands of power. Ultimately, a wish for an “extraordinary” life leads to the satisfactions of an ordinary life with the widow Catherine (Katie German), who offers Pippin a substantial purpose in life in helping to raise her own son Theo (Theo Nattrass). Soon Catherine and the Lead Player are pitched in a battle for Pippin’s soul.
Keith James
Joseph Sevillo (centre) as Lead Player in the Winnipeg Studio Theatre’s production of Pippin.
It may seem a curious thing to say about a play with 15 actors onstage, but this really seemed to be a stripped-down interpretation. A two-person orchestra (Paul DeGurse and drummer Brendan Thomson create a big sound for such a small ensemble) provides the music on a mostly bare stage. The circus trappings and acrobatic choreography of the 2013 Broadway revival are jettisoned, and the set by Ksenia Broda-Milian (who also did the costumes and lighting design) is limited to a few mime boxes, and dangling sheer curtains that are well used to hide or reveal elements as required.
Though the story of Pippin is European, Broda-Milian goes for a South Asian design motif to amp the show’s exotic factor.
Choreographer Jillian Willems’ dance numbers were most impressive when the entire ensemble is onstage. With some exceptions, such as when Potosky dances, the smaller dance numbers feel clunkier.
Still, the show is very much held up by its most skilled thespians: Bajer, Potosky and German, each a magnetic performer in completely different ways. As the sinister Lead Player, Sevillo is a tad too harsh and caustic where he should be smooth and seductive. And Rambo, as the innocent Pippin (this is the kind of role for which the term “mangenue” was coined), is at his best when he is singing in his clear high tenor. Otherwise, he has a kind of reticence onstage at odds with the open-book nature of the character.
An enthusiastic ensemble adds a lot of fun to the show, which has been produced in Winnipeg on only the rarest of occasions. That makes this version worth checking out.
randall.king@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @FreepKing
Randall King
Reporter
In a way, Randall King was born into the entertainment beat.
Read full biography
Thank you
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/pippin-takes-audience-on-musical-journey-to-enlightenment-506897412.html
The cult in Pippin — and yes, director Simon Miron does play up the master-and-acolyte dynamic in this revival by Winnipeg Studio Theatre and the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre — is a ragtag assembly of travelling actors who take it upon themselves to act out the tale of spiritual searcher Pippin (Wes Rambo). The son of a king who aspires to a meaningful life, Pippin seeks fulfilment as a soldier, a lover and a wanderer, all the while seeking enlightenment. (The play is not an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and indeed more closely resembles Herman Hesse’s Buddha novel Siddhartha, crossed perhaps with the 1960s hippy-dippy Story Theater.)
For a man aspiring to a heavenly existence, he takes a hell of a journey. Taking cues from the sinister “Lead Player” (Joseph Sevillo), Pippin first goes to war at the behest of his father Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer), inspiring a bit of cunning manipulation by his stepmother Fastrada (Paula Potosky) to ensure the throne goes to her own son Lewis (Duncan Cox).
When Pippin gains no satisfaction as a warrior, he visits his exiled grandmother Berthe (Bajer, again), who counsels him to be a lover, not a fighter, her advice encapsulated in the randy singalong song No Time At All. His own attempt to seize the throne gives him a wake-up call as to the demands of power. Ultimately, a wish for an “extraordinary” life leads to the satisfactions of an ordinary life with the widow Catherine (Katie German), who offers Pippin a substantial purpose in life in helping to raise her own son Theo (Theo Nattrass). Soon Catherine and the Lead Player are pitched in a battle for Pippin’s soul.
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- Exclusive perks & discounts
Continue
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 – 6, $10.99/month for months 7 – 9, $13.99/month for months 10 – 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
King Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer, centre) plots with her soldiers, including Pippin (Wes Rambo, at left). Photo by Kayla Gordon.
One likes to think composer Stephen Schwartz wrote the music for Pippin in 1972 as a way to correct the cultier aspects of his musical passion play Godspell from the previous year. (Seriously, am I the only person creeped out by Godspell?)
The cult in Pippin — and yes, director Simon Miron does play up the master-and-acolyte dynamic in this revival by Winnipeg Studio Theatre and the Village Conservatory for Music Theatre — is a ragtag assembly of travelling actors who take it upon themselves to act out the tale of spiritual searcher Pippin (Wes Rambo). The son of a king who aspires to a meaningful life, Pippin seeks fulfilment as a soldier, a lover and a wanderer, all the while seeking enlightenment. (The play is not an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s The Short Reign of Pippin IV, and indeed more closely resembles Herman Hesse’s Buddha novel Siddhartha, crossed perhaps with the 1960s hippy-dippy Story Theater.)
For a man aspiring to a heavenly existence, he takes a hell of a journey. Taking cues from the sinister “Lead Player” (Joseph Sevillo), Pippin first goes to war at the behest of his father Charlemagne (Sharon Bajer), inspiring a bit of cunning manipulation by his stepmother Fastrada (Paula Potosky) to ensure the throne goes to her own son Lewis (Duncan Cox).
When Pippin gains no satisfaction as a warrior, he visits his exiled grandmother Berthe (Bajer, again), who counsels him to be a lover, not a fighter, her advice encapsulated in the randy singalong song No Time At All. His own attempt to seize the throne gives him a wake-up call as to the demands of power. Ultimately, a wish for an “extraordinary” life leads to the satisfactions of an ordinary life with the widow Catherine (Katie German), who offers Pippin a substantial purpose in life in helping to raise her own son Theo (Theo Nattrass). Soon Catherine and the Lead Player are pitched in a battle for Pippin’s soul.
Keith James
Joseph Sevillo (centre) as Lead Player in the Winnipeg Studio Theatre’s production of Pippin.
It may seem a curious thing to say about a play with 15 actors onstage, but this really seemed to be a stripped-down interpretation. A two-person orchestra (Paul DeGurse and drummer Brendan Thomson create a big sound for such a small ensemble) provides the music on a mostly bare stage. The circus trappings and acrobatic choreography of the 2013 Broadway revival are jettisoned, and the set by Ksenia Broda-Milian (who also did the costumes and lighting design) is limited to a few mime boxes, and dangling sheer curtains that are well used to hide or reveal elements as required.
Though the story of Pippin is European, Broda-Milian goes for a South Asian design motif to amp the show’s exotic factor.
Choreographer Jillian Willems’ dance numbers were most impressive when the entire ensemble is onstage. With some exceptions, such as when Potosky dances, the smaller dance numbers feel clunkier.
Still, the show is very much held up by its most skilled thespians: Bajer, Potosky and German, each a magnetic performer in completely different ways. As the sinister Lead Player, Sevillo is a tad too harsh and caustic where he should be smooth and seductive. And Rambo, as the innocent Pippin (this is the kind of role for which the term “mangenue” was coined), is at his best when he is singing in his clear high tenor. Otherwise, he has a kind of reticence onstage at odds with the open-book nature of the character.
An enthusiastic ensemble adds a lot of fun to the show, which has been produced in Winnipeg on only the rarest of occasions. That makes this version worth checking out.
randall.king@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @FreepKing
Randall King
Reporter
In a way, Randall King was born into the entertainment beat.
Read full biography
Thank you
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/pippin-takes-audience-on-musical-journey-to-enlightenment-506897412.html