Pippin (musical)
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pippin |
| Original title: | Pippin |
| Original language: | English |
| Music: | Stephen Schwartz |
| Book: | Roger O. Hirson , Bob Fosse |
| Lyrics: | Stephen Schwartz |
| Original direction: | Bob Fosse |
| Premiere: | October 23, 1972 |
| Place of premiere: | New York City |
| Playing time: | approx. 110–135 minutes (depending on the staging) |
| Place and time of the action: | around 780 in the Franconian Empire |
| Roles / people | |
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Pippin is an American Broadway - musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz . The libretto is by Roger O. Hirson with contributions from Bob Fosse .
The premiere took place on October 23, 1972 in the Imperial Theater, New York City , and the German-language premiere on February 10, 1974 in the Theater an der Wien . In 2013 a revival production began on Broadway, in which the role of the principal was female for the first time.
The musical Pippin is about Pippin the Hunchback , the naive eldest son of Charlemagne . Even if these and other roles in the play are based on historical people, the musical does not follow any historical reference. There is also a leading player (in German translations principal or first actor / narrator), who initially gives the impression of an independent narrator, but repeatedly intervenes in the plot, be it through suggestions to Pippin, stage directions or the retrieval of deceased people , all the way to the end where he or she tries to convince Pippin of suicide.
action
The piece begins with an introduction by the leading player who, together with his theater or circus troupe, provides the framework and promises an exciting finale right from the start. Pippin is looking for fulfillment, to make his life something extraordinary. After graduating and returning to the royal court, he tries to do this in different ways. First he tries to please his father, King Karl, by urging himself to go to war against the Visigoths. Since Pippin finds no fulfillment here, he moves on to his exiled grandmother Berthe, who tells him not to take life so seriously, but to live it . He tries to do this, among other things, through numerous sexual adventures, which, however, also cannot fill it in the long term, since it remains empty without love. The leading player encourages Pippin to fight tyranny instead, in the form of his father. His stepmother Fastrada, who wants to see her son Lewis (German: Ludwig) on the throne, also encourages Pippin to murder, so that he stabs his father towards the end of the first act and thus becomes king himself. The leading player then announces the break and again indicates an exciting finale.
The second act begins with Pippin as the new king, who, however, is overwhelmed in his role and again does not believe he has reached his goal. He asks the leading player to reverse his father's death, which he then grants. After Pippin still does not manage to get closer to his life goal, this collapses and is picked up by Catherine (dt. Katharina), a young widow and taken home to her farm, where she lives with her son Theo. Pippin and Catherine get closer, fall in love, which the leading player dislikes and he tries several times to interfere. Since the simple life on the farm offers no fulfillment to Pippin either, he leaves Catherine heartbroken. The leading player and his troops try to convince Pippin of suicide as a last resort to have an extraordinary life. They suggest that he can only accomplish the perfect act by jumping into the fire. After Pippin was first convinced, he had doubts, ready to jump. He realizes that maybe the simple and humble life would be the best he could choose. Catherine, who has also come on stage with her son, encourage him in his intention not to jump into the flames.
The leading player is angry and beside himself. If Pippin cannot fulfill the grand finale promised to the audience, if he prefers a simple life to the extraordinary, then let him see what he gets out of it. Pippin, Catherine and Theo ripped off their costumes, wigs and make-up were removed, the spotlights switched off and part of the stage dismantled. With the orchestra silent and on an almost dark stage, without any previous colors or shine, Pippin is asked how he is feeling. He replies “caught but happy” - and the piece ends.
In an alternate ending, which was also used in the Broadway re-production, Theo stays behind on stage and begins to sing a few lines from Pippin's first song, in which he talks about finding his way, his fulfillment. The circle is closed and the music slowly begins to play and the leading player and his troupe come back on stage.
Songs
1st act
- Magic to Do (We are full of magic) - Leading player and ensemble
- Corner of the Sky (Where a piece of heaven lies for me) - Pippin
- Welcome Home (Greetings son) - King Karl, Pippin
- War Is a Science - King Karl, Pippin, soldiers
- Glory (Gloria) - Leading Player and Ensemble
- Simple Joys (A Summer Evening) - Leading Player
- No Time at All (One must live the time) - Berthe and Ensemble
- With You - Pippin
- Spread a Little Sunshine (I'd really like to give away some sunshine) - Fastrada and Ensemble
- Morning Glow - Pippin and Ensemble
2nd act
- On the Right Track (This is my way) - Leading Player and Pippin
- And There He Was - Catherine
- Kind of Woman (A Simple Woman) - Catherine and Ensemble
- Extraordinary (I'm very special) - Pippin
- Prayer for a Duck - Pippin, Theo and Catherine
- Love Song - Pippin and Catherine
- I Guess I'll Miss the Man - Catherine
- Finale / Magic Shows and Miracles "(Finale) - Leading Player, Fastrada, Pippin and Ensemble
- Corner of the Sky, Reprise (Where a piece of heaven lies for me, Reprise) - Theo
German song titles (in brackets) correspond to the 1974 performance of the Theater an der Wien in translation by Robert Gilbert.
Emergence
Stephen Schwartz composed the musical as early as the late 1960s while he was a student in Pittsburgh . After the success of Godspell , it was performed on Broadway. The director and choreographer Bob Fosse campaigned for the play, which was shaped by Commedia dell'arte and medieval bänkelsang .
Reception history
The play was a great Broadway success, ran uninterrupted in the first production from 1972 to 1977 and was awarded five Tonys . The British premiere took place on October 30, 1973 in London . In 1981, the original production of the musical was filmed by Canadian television. In 2003 Miramax acquired the film rights to the play; Details about a planned film adaptation have not yet been announced.
The revival production of Pippin on Broadway (2013) won another 4 Tony Awards , including for "Best Revival of a Musical", "Best Director of a Musical" and "Best Actress in a Musical" ( Patina Miller ).
swell
- ↑ Pippin - German song list ( memento of the original from April 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Overview of Tony's prizes and nominations
Web links
- Pippin in the Internet Broadway Database
- Pippin in the Internet Movie Database (English)