Teatro Musical 2014/2015 Teresa Faria

Pippin
Pippin is a Tony Award-winning musical with music and lyrics by Stephen
Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original
Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto. The musical uses the
premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the
story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance.
The protagonist, Pippin, and his father, Charlemagne, are characters
derived from two real-life individuals of the early Middle Ages, though the plot
presents very little historical accuracy regarding either.
The show was partially financed by Motown Records. As of April, 2014, the
original run of Pippin is the 32nd longest-running Broadway show. Pippin was
originally conceived by Stephen Schwartz as "Pippin, Pippin", a student musical
performed by Carnegie Mellon's Scotch'n'Soda theatre troupe.
According to musical theatre scholar Scott Miller in his 1996 book, From
Assassins to West Side Story, "Pippin is a largely under-appreciated musical with a
great deal more substance to it than many people realize...Because of its 1970s pop
style score and a somewhat emasculated licensed version for amateur productions,
which is very different from the original Broadway production, the show now has a
reputation for being merely cute and harmlessly naughty; but if done the way
director Bob Fosse envisioned it, the show is surreal and disturbing." Ben
Vereen and Patina Miller won Tony Awards for their portrayals of the
Leading Player in the original Broadway production and the revival,
respectively, making them the first two actors of different genders to win a
Tony for the same role.

The play begins with a Leading Player of a troupe and the
accompanying actors in various costume pieces of several different time periods,
establishing the play's intentionally anachronistic, defamiliarized, unconventional
feel. Channeling the style of Bertolt Brecht, Hirson breaks the fourth wall, and the
Leading Player and his troupe speak directly to the audience. They invite members
of the crowd to join them in a story about a boy prince searching for fulfillment
("Magic to Do"). They reveal that the boy who is to play the title character is a
new actor. Pippin tells the scholars of his dreams to find where he belongs
("Corner of the Sky"), and they happily applaud Pippin on his ambitious quest for
an extraordinary life. Pippin then returns home to the castle and estate
of Charlemagne (King Charles), his father. Charles and Pippin don't get a chance
to communicate often, as they are interrupted by nobles, soldiers,
and courtiers vying for Charles' attention ("Welcome Home"), and Charles is
clearly uncomfortable speaking with his educated son or expressing any
loving emotions. Pippin also meets up with his stepmother Fastrada, and her
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dimwitted son Lewis. Charles and Lewis are planning on going into battle
against the Visigoths soon, and Pippin begs Charles to take him along so as to
prove himself. Charles reluctantly agrees and proceeds to explain a battle plan
to his men ("War is a Science").
Once in battle, the Leading Player re-enters to lead the troupe in a mock
battle using top hats, canes, and fancy jazz as to
glorify warfare and violence ("Glory"). Fosse's famous "Manson Trio" is
performed by the Leading Player and his two lead dancers in the middle of this
number. This charade of war does not appeal to Pippin, and the boy flees into
the countryside. The Leading Player tells the audience of Pippin's travel through
the country, until he stops at his exiled grandmother's estate ("Simple Joys").
There, Berthe (his grandmother, and Charles's mother, exiled by Fastrada)
tells Pippin not to be so serious and to live a little ("No Time At All"). Pippin
takes this advice and decides to search for something a bit more lighthearted
("With You"). While he initially enjoys many meaningless sexual encounters,
he soon discovers that relationships without love leave you "empty and
unfulfilled."
The Leading Player then tells Pippin that perhaps he should fight tyranny,
and uses Charles as a perfect example of an unenlightened tyrant to fight.
Pippin plans a revolution, and Fastrada is delighted to hear that perhaps
Charles and Pippin will both perish so that her beloved Lewis can become king.
Fastrada arranges the murder of Charles, and Pippin falls victim to her plot
("Spread a Little Sunshine"). While Charles is praying at Arles, Pippin murders
him, and becomes the new king ("Morning Glow"). However, after petitions from
the masses, Pippin realizes that neither he nor his father could change society
and had to act as tyrants. He begs the Leading Player to bring his slain father
back to life, and the Leading Player does so. [At this point in the currently
licensed production, the Leading Player then introduces Pippin to The Finale.]
Pippin is left without direction until the Leading Player inspires him ("On the
Right Track"). After experimenting with art and religion, he falls into
monumental despair and collapses on the floor. Catherine finds him on the
street, and is attracted by the arch of his foot ("And There He Was") and when
Pippin comes to, she introduces herself to Pippin ("Kind of Woman"), a widow,
with a small boy, Theo. From the start, it is clear that the Leading Player is
concerned with Catherine's actual attraction to Pippinafter all, she is but a
player playing a part in his yet-to-be-unfolded plan. At first, Pippin thinks himself
above such boring manorial duties as sweeping, repairs, and milking cows
("Extraordinary"), but eventually he comforts Theo on the sickness and
eventual death of his pet ("Prayer for a Duck") and warms up to the lovely
Catherine ("Love Song"). However, as time goes by, Pippin feels that he must
leave the estate to continue searching for his purpose. Catherine is
heartbroken, and reflects on him, much to the Leading Player's anger and
surprise ("I Guess I'll Miss the Man").
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All alone on a stage, Pippin is surrounded by the Leading Player and the
various troupe members. They all suggest that Pippin complete the most
perfect act ever: the Finale. They tell Pippin to jump into a box of fire, light
himself up, and "become one with the flame". Pippin is reluctant at first, but
slowly loses resistance ("Finale"). He is stopped by his natural misgivings and
also by one actress from the troupethe woman playing Catherine. Catherine
and her son Theo stand by Pippin and defy the script, the Leading Player, and
Fastrada. Pippin comes to the realization that the widow's home was the only
place where he was truly happy ("Magic Shows and Miracles") "...I never came
close my love". Having experimented with every possible path to fulfillment,
he feels humbled, and realizes that maybe the most fulfilling road of all is a
modest, ordinary life. He comes to the conclusion that, while "settling down" may
at times be mundane and boring, "if [he's] never tied to anything, [he'll] never be
free." The Leading Player becomes furious and calls off the show, telling the
rest of the troupe and the orchestra to pack up and leave Pippin, Catherine, and her
son alone on an empty, dark and silent stage: "You try singing without music,
sweetheart!" Pippin realizes that he has given up his extraordinary purpose for
the simplest and most ordinary life of all, and he is finally a happy man. When
Catherine asks him how he feels, he says he feels "trapped, but happy."

[Alternate ending]
Some newer productions of Pippin, including the 2013 Broadway revival,
have featured a slightly different ending. After the troupe shuns Pippin for not
performing the grand finale, and he avers his contentment with a simple life with
Catherine, Theo remains on stage, and sings a verse of "Corner of the Sky",
after which the Leading Player and the troupe return onto the stage. The
light on Theo becomes brighter, and presumably, the cycle continues.
Blackout. Current productions vary between the two possible endings, though
Schwartz himself has expressed his preference for the newer ending.

Original Cast
John Rubinstein Pippin
Ben Vereen Leading Player
Christopher Chadman - Lewis
Eric Berry Charles
Jill Clayburgh Catherine
Leland Palmer Fastrada
Irene Ryan Berthe


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Original Broadway production
Year Award Category Nominee
1973
Tony Award
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Ben Vereen
Best Direction of a Musical
Bob Fosse
Best Choreography
Best Scenic Design Tony Walton
Best Lighting Design Jules Fisher
Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Director
Bob Fosse
Outstanding Choreography
Outstanding Set Design Tony Walton
Outstanding Costume Design Patricia Zipprodt

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Year Award Category Nominee
2013
Tony Award
Best Revival of a Musical
Best Actress in a Musical Patina Miller
Best Featured Actress in a Musical Andrea Martin
Best Direction of a Musical Diane Paulus
Drama League
Awards
Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical:
Drama Desk Award
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Outstanding Director of a Musical Diane Paulus
Outstanding Featured Actress in a
Musical
Andrea Martin
Outstanding Choreography
Chet Walker and Gypsy
Snider
Outer Critics Circle
Awards
Outstanding Revival of a Musical
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Patina Miller
Outstanding Featured Actor in a
Musical
Terrence Mann
Outstanding Featured Actress in a
Andrea Martin
2013 Broadway revival

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Musical
Outstanding Director of a Musical Diane Paulus
Outstanding Choreographer Chet Walker
Outstanding Lighting Design Kenneth Posner
Fred & Adele Astaire
Awards
Outstanding Female Dancer in a
Broadway Show
Charlotte d'Amboise
Outstanding Choreographer of a
Broadway Show
Chet Walker
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Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics
by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. Based on
the 1991 film of the same name, which was in turn adapted from the French fairy
tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Beauty and the Beast tells the story of
a prince who is transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his cruel
and selfish ways, and an adventurous young woman named Belle whom he
imprisons in his castle. In order to become human again, the Beast must earn
Belle's love before it's too late. Seven new songs were written for the stage
musical. Beauty ran on Broadway for 5,461 performances between 1994 and 2007,
becoming Broadway's eighth longest-running production in history.
The musical has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in
thirteen countries and 115 cities. It has also become a popular choice for high
school productions.

Original Broadway Cast
Beast - Terrence Mann
Belle - Susan Egan
Gaston - Burke Moses
Lumiere - Gary Beach
Cogsworth - Heath Lamberts
Maurice - Tom Bosley
Mrs. Potts - Beth Fowler
Chip - Brian Press
Madame de la Grande Bouche - Eleanor Glockner
Lefou - Kenny Raskin
Babette - Stacey Logan
Monsieur D'Arque - Gordon Stanley