{"id":14468,"date":"2014-09-26T16:03:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T23:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=14468"},"modified":"2014-09-26T16:03:06","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T23:03:06","slug":"fantasy-musical-pippin-mixes-elements-stirs-up-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/fantasy-musical-pippin-mixes-elements-stirs-up-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy musical \u2018Pippin\u2019 mixes elements, stirs up fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Woody’s [rating: 4]<\/span><\/p>\n

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Interlocutor\/narrator (Sasha Allen, left) oversees a circus stunt in \u201cPippin.\u201d Photo by Terry Shapiro.<\/p>\n

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Matthew James Thomas (right) assumes the title role in \u201cPippin\u201d while John Rubinstein, who played that part in the original, is now his father. Photo by Terry Shapiro.<\/p>\n
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Sabrina Harper provides eye candy and a strong voice as Fastrada in \u201cPippin,\u201d Photo by Terry Shapiro.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPippin,\u201d fittingly touted as \u201cBroadway\u2019s high-flying musical,\u201d is a seamless balance of acrobatic circus acts and theatrical extravaganza.<\/p>\n

It blends impeccable singing and high-kick dancing with plentiful comedic interludes.<\/p>\n

It spotlights droll magical illusions \u2014 and a cute dog trick guaranteed to keep your memory bank warm.<\/p>\n

If only the show had a linear, cohesive storyline.<\/p>\n

Still, the 2 hour, 20 minute fantasy-fairy tale at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco roughly based on historical realities won\u2019t disappoint.<\/p>\n

\u201cPippin 2.0,\u201d my artificial designation because it\u2019s so different from the 1972 original, is precisely what I expected from a touring company of the 2013 Tony winner for best musical revival:<\/p>\n

Inventive. Glamorous. Spectacular.<\/p>\n

What I couldn\u2019t foresee, however, were the perfectly timed sound effects by percussionist Ken Bergman, who used a tiny 3×5 screen to monitor the stage action so he could sync everything without missing a proverbial beat.<\/p>\n

He counted out for me during intermission the 31 instruments he utilized (including a small washboard).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is difficult,\u201d he said. \u201cUsually there\u2019s a point where you can relax, but in this show, there\u2019s always something coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n

True.<\/p>\n

Bergman\u2019s equipment is so expansive he requires a space of his own in the orchestra pit.<\/p>\n

The other dozen-plus musicians (mostly locals) need something else: a net \u2014 in case plummeting detritus, runaway hoops, oversized balls or errant gymnasts fall onto them.<\/p>\n

The curtain for \u201cPippin\u201d gives the impression of a circus tent. When it first parts, an interlocutor\/narrator (Sasha Allen, filling a role similar to Joel Gray\u2019s emcee in \u201cCabaret\u201d) quickly creates the illusion of a show within a show.<\/p>\n

Her words, and a portion of others (including those of the mega-vibrant chorus), sometimes can\u2019t be easily discerned. But that doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

The overall effect is so dazzling it etches a perma-smile on my face.<\/p>\n

The plot\u2019s basics?<\/p>\n

A king \u2014 Charlemagne (played vigorously by John Rubinstein, who\u2019d starred as the title character in the original) \u2014 wants his soldiers to unite Europe, at any cost.<\/p>\n

His son, Prince Pippin (a charismatic Matthew James Thomas, who showed off his plentiful vocal, dance and gymnastic talents in the same role for the revival), is more concerned with uniting the wobbly parts of his personality.<\/p>\n

Although he claims to seek the meaning of life, he\u2019s really searching for the meaning of his<\/em> life. He repeatedly gripes about being \u201cempty and vacant\u201d \u2014 even after a wild intro to sexuality.<\/p>\n

Sabrina Harper (likewise from the revival cast) also turns in a top-notch performance, as Fastrada, Pippin\u2019s manipulative stepmom.<\/p>\n

But the showstopper is the sole property of Lucie Arnaz,.<\/p>\n

The svelte 63-year-old daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz plays a gyrating granny, Berthe, with enough raw energy to light half the spotlights by her oomph quotient alone.<\/p>\n

The audience applauded and cheered. Loudly.<\/p>\n

I heartily approved of the outburst.<\/p>\n

I also appreciated the fact that director Diane Paulus and circus creator Gypsy Snider, who began her career in San Francisco as a child of the Pickle Family Circus, insisted the acrobats\/tumblers\/trapeze artists learn dancing and the dancers learn gymnastics.<\/p>\n

Paulus, who also was brilliant at the helm of \u201cThe Gershwin\u2019s Porgy & Bess\u201d and \u201cHair,\u201d won a Tony for the revival.<\/p>\n

Snider, who\u2019d led her Montreal-based 7 Fingers circus company (officially known as Les 7 doigts de la main) to global success, plucked several of her top performers from it for the \u201cPippin\u201d revival.<\/p>\n

So I wasn\u2019t surprised to find I liked this production more than 1972\u2019s \u2014 despite Bob Fosse\u2019s direction and choreography.<\/p>\n

This version features dances cobbled by Chet Walker, a Fosse prot\u00e9g\u00e9 who follows his mentor\u2019s style but adds novel turns of his own. His sexually oriented dance, highlighting a simulated m\u00e9nage a trois, may not ignite the audience\u2019s fire, but almost everything else he conceived does.<\/p>\n

What didn\u2019t work for me?<\/p>\n

Scenes like one in which dancers do infantile comedic turns as pigs and chickens. Or an \u00fcber-melodramatic sequence in which the narrator demands the set be shut down.<\/p>\n

Moreover, tunes by Stephen Schwartz, famed for \u201cWicked\u201d and other Big Apple triumphs, failed to make me leave the theater singing or humming..<\/p>\n

Or even thinking about them.<\/p>\n

Another minor fault is that the second act, which slows considerably, becomes disjointed as it moves toward a finale that tries to determine if Pippin will settle for something other than his dream of \u201cmagic shows and miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even with these minor fault-lines, the musical is unique.<\/p>\n

And fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cPippin\u201d runs at the SHN Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St. (at Market), San Francisco, through Oct. 19. Night p<\/em>erformances Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; matinees Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Tickets: $45 to $210 (subject to change). Information: (888) 746-1799 or shnsf.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Woody’s [rating: 4] \u201cPippin,\u201d fittingly touted as \u201cBroadway\u2019s high-flying musical,\u201d is a seamless balance of acrobatic circus acts and theatrical extravaganza. It blends impeccable singing and high-kick dancing with plentiful…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"