A Review - Pippin

I saw the musical Pippin for the first time tonight. However, it felt like deja vu during the entire show because not only did I know every song (music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz), but, as the story unfolded before my eyes, I realized that I knew the entire plot (book by Roger O. Hirson). I'm still scratching my head over this because I've never seen the show and I've never downloaded the cast recording. Hmmm?

Palmdale Repertory Theatre's production of Pippin was a fun night of community theatre. The cast was filled with many familiar faces, whose talents always shine, as well as many faces I was seeing for the first time, whose enthusiasm was infectious. The story of Pippin centers around the central character named, you guessed it, Pippin who goes on an existential journey to find meaning in his life. Along the way, the audience is treated to such things as a Shakespearean-type plot to overthrow a king, a bloody war, murder, a very lustful dance number, a grandma whose advice will make you blush, and a kid's obsession with a duck all told through song and dance. Weird, right? But, somehow entertaining.

Pippin was played by Nick Aguilar. I have known Nick since he was 4 or 5 years old. Nick comes from a theatre family, not just mom, dad and siblings but also aunt, uncle and cousins. The first time I remember seeing him on stage was in a musical revue called 100 Years of Broadway where, among other things, the then 5 year old danced in a number from The Lion King. Since then, I have seen him perform in many stage productions and I have even had the opportunity to share the stage with him. I can't help but feel a sense of pride in seeing Nick in the lead role in Pippin. He most certainly deserves a role such as this. Tonight, he brought the right amount of energy to the stage where his triple threat talent was on display. His voice sounded great, especially in Corner of the Sky.

I have to make special mention of two standout performances by veteran actors of our community theatre stage. The first is John Evans who played King Charles. John has a rich and powerful singing voice which was very well-suited to his role. His character and comedic timing were spot on, and he even showed off his ability to ride a scooter. The second is Margaret Wassner. I have seen Margaret in many roles over the years and she never disappoints; tonight was no exception. She played the role of Berthe, Pippin's grandmother who sings the show-stopping number No Time At All. In this role, Margaret was not only able to display her usual comedic abilities and her wonderful singing, but we also got to see her physical capabilities as she leaped into the arms of her dancing partners and even stood on her head! Wow!

Shandar Robinson brought the right amount of sassiness and comedy to the role of Leading Player. Cheyenne Starks as Fastrada, the step-mother of Pippin, played up the sexiness of her conniving character with confidence. Erik Garcia Sanchez in the role of Lewis showed off his singing and his ability to get his groove on. Kait Adams displayed a sweet and powerful singing voice in the character of Catherine. In fact, a highlight of the show for me was Love Song, her duet with Nick; their voices blended beautifully. Finally, in the role of Theo, a bratty little kid who is obsessed with his pet duck, is Samson Edgell. At the very end of the show, Samson, a fifth grader, stands on the stage all by himself and sings a verse of Corner of the Sky without any musical accompaniment. It was a standout moment as he sang each note perfectly, and you could feel that he really captured the attention of the audience. For this, I award Samson with my very first BRAVO!

Each member of the ensemble of Pippin was tasked with learning no fewer than 10 songs in which they sang and danced. They played various roles including abused subjects of the king, warriors and even farm animals. They displayed their dancing and acrobatic abilities with flips and lifts. They danced with enthusiasm to Carrie McBryant's choreography, speaking of which was especially good in Magic To Do and Extraordinary. A highlight was the trio of Carrie McBryant, Shandar Robinson and Marjorie Green dancing to the Manson Trio (please note that I initially incorrectly named the song as Simple Joys, that'll teach the writer in me to not be prepared with a pen). Leo Meza's vocal direction had all voices sounding their best with very nice ensemble harmonies.

Director Clare Durand had her work cut out for her as every director of a community theatre musical does. She told me of the difficulties she had in maintaining a full cast and crew, some of whom had to leave the show with only weeks or days until opening. These kinds of things unfortunately happen often in community theatre. Despite this, she was left with a cast and crew that was more than capable of telling the story of Pippin. The direction was straight-forward and made the story easy to understand.

The lighting set the right moods for the scenes with bright reds and blues. There were some issues with the spot lights which were somewhat distracting at times. Regarding the sound, everyone could be heard very clearly and that is a compliment! To the actors wearing microphones, I have to tell you that several times throughout the show, the audience could hear you while you were off stage clearing your voice and whispering. Please be aware!!

The costumers for Pippin are Erin Davis, Cheryl Nelson and Tiger Ellison. The costumes were fantastic, colorful, flowing, form-fitting, shiny, shimmery, leathery. These ladies know how to make each actor look their very best as their character. Costumes are an important part in the development of a character and you can see the excellent costuming work on the stage in this show.

The set was very simple but effective. It consisted of many six-sided, multi-colored boxes that were stacked or laid out on the stage to represent various set pieces such as a bed, a throne, a table, etc. There seemed to also be some confusion with the boxes on the part of the ensemble, who were also the running crew for the show. There were times when placing the boxes seemed difficult and this was a little distracting. Another bit of criticism was the entrances and exits of the characters which seemed slightly random and confusing at times. One more thing, and this is more of a pet peeve, I realize that budget constraints prohibit the use of live music to accompany musicals, but if there is any way to bring back the live orchestras, it would enhance the shows by leaps and bounds. I have no criticism of the pre-recorded music; it works fine. It's just that with a live performance, live music is so much preferred.

The audience for tonight's show was sparse. The Palmdale Playhouse seats about 300, and an estimate of the audience was only about 50 or 60 people. This is an all too common problem for some of the community theatre shows. I know that the show is marketed on social media, but this method of advertising does not reach people who do not follow local theatre. I would encourage everyone to share the advertising on their own social media pages to reach as many people as possible. It is a shame for a cast and crew to work as hard as they do only to be disappointed that hardly anyone came to see it.

Please support community theatre; the arts in any form are so important to our humanity and to our enjoyment of life. Pippin plays four more shows, Sunday 10/20, as well as next weekend 10/25, 10/26, 10/27. You should see it. I'm now going to spend the rest of the night trying to figure out how I knew the entire plot and all the songs to a show I've never seen before!

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Gary S. is your average community theatre geek, residing in the Antelope Valley in Southern California where he participates in community theatre productions once or twice per year. He works a 9-5 job in the medical field. He has the two most brilliant and talented kids. This blog is written simply for his need to write and for his love of theatre.