[NEohioPAL] Review of "Pippin" on tour at PlayhouseSquare

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Superb national tour of 'Pippin' has old faith looking new

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

 

The term "revival" does not begin to describe the magnificent national tour of "Pippin" that is currently on display at Connor Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.  

 

"Reinvented" is more like it.  "Renewed" works as well.

 

The original musical comedy -- a coming-of-age-during-the-Middle Ages story about the eldest son of Charlemagne - opened on Broadway in 1972 and ran for 1,944 performances.  It was told, tongue in cheek, by a seductive, scantily-clad and extremely sardonic troupe of medieval traveling players, who followed Pippin through his experiments with war, sex, power and the ordinary in an effort to find something in life that was completely fulfilling.

 

All this unfolded in the confines of a largely empty stage, which called attention to all the Tony Award-winning activities taking place on it:  director-choreographer Bob Fosse's signature dance moves, complete with sultry hip rolls and expressive jazz hands; Stephen Schwartz's catchy, clever and frequently gorgeous compositions; and the immensely talented Ben Vereen as the troupe's leading player.

 

But to borrow from the lyrics of the song "Morning Glow," when Pippin usurps his father's power and tries kinging on for size, this revival excels at making "old faith looking new."

 

For more of this review, go to:  http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/article_b087ac9a-ad4c-11e4-aed3-6bc127330825.html




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