Pippin - Review

Southwark Playhouse, London


*****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Roger O. Hirson

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Jonathan Carlton and Genevieve Nicole

ON MARCH 7 I WILL BE HOSTING A POST-SHOW Q&A WITH JONATHAN O'BOYLE AND THE PIPPIN CAST 

JOIN US!

Transferring down from Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre, Jonathan O’Boyle’s production of Pippin, now playing at the Southwark Playhouse, has lost none of the pizzazz and poignancy that marked it out as one of the nation's finest fringe productions of last year.

One of Stephen Schwartz’s early compositions, the show is loosely based around a group of travelling players who tell a fictionalised story of Pippin, the (real life) younger son of the emperor Charlemagne who conquered much of continental Europe many centuries ago. To describe any more of the plot would only confuse readers - suffice to say that Schwartz spices his tale with themes of politics, war, love and above all, self-discovery.

In Pippin however it is not so much what Schwartz is saying, but rather the way he says it that makes the musical such a stand out sensation. His songs are, for the most part, perfectly structured harmonies while the Bob Fosse inspired choreography was to showcase Fosse's stylish and distinctive class well in advance of his more famous Cabaret and Chicago outings.

O’Boyle has transferred virtually his entire Manchester cast to London*, with Genevieve Nicole heading the lineup as the Leading Player and bringing a powerful Mephistophelean nuance to the part. Statuesque, Nicole bestrides the sage with stunning song and dance.

The title role presents an interesting challenge. Pippin’s journey through the show is from privileged prince to commoner - travelling an arc that includes love, murder and power, along with a fair measure of bungling haplessness. Jonathan Carlton is perfectly cast, rising to his part’s musical challenges with a particularly gorgeous take on the act one closer of Morning Glow. 

In a glorious moment of (scripted) self-indulgence Mairi Barclay is Pippin’s incorrigible grandmother Berthe. As this most glorious of grannies celebrates her wisdom and old age in No Time At All, the number evolves into an audience singalong, with Barclay hilariously bringing the fourth wall crashing down around her. Barclay also offers a neat double-up as Pippin’s cunningly seductive stepmother Fastrada.

Fine work too from Tessa Kadler as Catherine, a widowed commoner who after the interval guides Pippin in the ways of love. Kadler’s interpretations of Schwartz's Kind of Woman and Love Song are particularly delicate turns, serving to contrast the realities of everyday humanity with the bombast of Pippin’s earlier life.

But above all it is the music and dance that drive a successful Pippin, lifting its (sometimes tortuous) narrative to a higher plane. Maeve Black’s set is an ingenious use of Southwark’s space, the concepts behind her designs proving simple yet striking and with footlights around the thrust's perimeter, the vaudeville suggestion is convincing. 

William Whelton’s choreography is audacious, breathtaking and sexy and yet incorporating beautifully executed nods to Fosse - the Manson Trio routine in act one proving especially fine. Above the stage Zach Flis’ band captures Schwartz’s complex melodies perfectly.

This Pippin is one of those productions rarely seen on the fringe. It captures the sparkle of Broadway, transporting it to south London in a whirl of unmissable musical theatre.

Magic to do? Not half!

* Amongst last year's cast was Olivia Faulkner who was an outstanding dance captain. Olivia died tragically in November and donations to the foundation established in her name to further mental health support in the dance world can be made here.

My review of the Manchester production can be read here.

Runs until 24th March

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Pippin - Review

Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

*****

Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

Book by Roger O. Hirson

Directed by Jonathan O'Boyle

Genevieve Nicole leads the Pippin company

Pippin closed last night at Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre with, yet again, this Northern powerhouse of fringe theatre delivering a stunning take on a Broadway Tony-winner.

Written by a young Stephen Schwartz in the 1960s, Pippin is an improbably glorious fusion of style and philosophy. The young lad of the title was the real life son of the Middle Ages’ King Charlemagne who, in pursuit of a possibly futile attempt at social improvement, murdered his father. The show is as much about politics and tyranny as it is about a young man’s quest for himself although, in all honesty, the plot actually defies any further description.

Good musical theatre hangs on a study of the human condition, expressed through song and dance and with the story of Pippin being such a mind-boggling take on humanity, it can only really work when performed to absolute perfection. To his credit Jonathan O’Boyle assembled a wonderful company to do just that.

Genevieve Nicole put in a towering performance as the show’s Leading Player, a troubadour who drives the narrative, dancing in and out of the show’s fourth wall. Vocally flawless, impeccable in her dance and movement, and with a stage presence that redefined compelling, Nicole whipped both cast and audience into shape. Bringing a smouldering sexuality to her turn, with an aura that suggested Joel Grey’s Emcee in Cabaret, her Leading Player provided the energy that propels the show and deserves recognition in the UK Theatre Awards.

As Pippin, Jonathan Carlton captured just the right combination of bungling nervous naïveté, alongside an emerging sense of purpose and self-belief. Carlton was also handed two of Schwartz’s finest songs ever, with the first half’s Corner Of The Sky and Morning Glow - tender perceptive lyrics and swooping melodies that soar through some of the most intoxication key changes in the canon.

Jonathan Carlton

This Hope Mill company dripped with standout performances. In a coup de theatre, Mairi Barclay played both Fastrada (Pippin’s stepmother) and Berthe (his grandmother). As Fastrada, Barclay exuded a beautifully (and hilariously Glaswegian) voiced provocation to her husband’s barely controlled libido – while in playing Berthe she stole the show with her bow-legged interpretation of No Time At All. This particular song’s lyrics are the are one of the most perceptive testaments to old age and if there is but one criticism of O’Boyle it is that he axed one of its verses. If Pippin transfers to London (and to misquote Berthe, I hope that it surely does) this omission should be re-instated.

Appearing in the second half, Tessa Kadler’s Catherine took one of Schwartz’s most challenging characters (a young widowed mum who introduces Pippin to love) and offered up a perfect interpretation. The Love Song duet between the pair is a delightful interjection of carefully crafted romance amidst some of the plot’s latter quirks and quacks.

Alongside O’Boyle, his creative team have proved equally wondrous. William Whelton’s Fosse-inspired choreography is spectacular (the routine in Glory proving particularly impressive) – with fine onstage leadership from his dance captain Olivia Faulkner. Lighting the show, Aaron Dootson made imaginative use of marquee style footlights as well as neatly arrayed lighting banks that with well deployed smoke transformed the old mill into a Vaudevillian playhouse. Upstage, Zach Flis’ 9 piece band were spot on in their handling of the score.

If transfers are being considered, this production would sit beautifully in London’s Southwark Playhouse, but Pippin is over now and its players have moved on. They should however be a troupe that is very proud of what they have achieved: creating another masterpiece of musical theatre on the nation’s fringe.

Photo credit: Anthony Robling