"Pippin," performed Nov. 21-23 at Bowker Auditorium in the University's Stockbrige Hall, showed extraordinary talent from extraordinary students, a feat which, I suppose, was not in the least surprising, considering that the show is about the pursuit of a life that is-you got it!-extraordinary.
The story of "Pippin" follows the title character (sophomore Mike Devlin) as he pursues his dream of this extraordinary life-as he puts it, his "Corner of the Sky." Helping him in his endeavor were the Leading Player (Andre Hall) and his posse, all dressed in intricate costumes designed by fellow ensemble member Pamela DeGregorio. Clad in black swirls and chiffon, though still looking quite naked, they beckoned not only to Pippin, but also to the audience. "Join us. Leave your fields to flower. Leave your cheese to sour. Come and waste an hour or two," they insisted, casting their enchantments with vivid gestures a la Bob Fosse. Accompanying them was a student-conducted orchestra, and each orchestra member wore bowler hats with silver trim.
Fosse himself seemed to be embodied in Andre Hall, who, as the Leading Player, was essentially the storyteller for both "Pippin" and Pippin. Snapping his fingers in white gloves, casting silhouettes of jazz hands across the backdrop and casually playing tricks with his bowler hat, Hall made up for in dance movements what he at times lacked in song. Though slightly off-key at times, our Leading Player directed his company to show Pippin the many different means by which he could attain the extraordinary life he so desires.
Standout performances included Devlin's in "War is Science," Hall's and his two female accomplices' in "Simple Joys," Berthe's (Jackie Hebert) gesture to the audience in "No Time at All" and Fastrada's (Kerry Arsenault) devious rendition of "Spread a Little Sunshine."
None of the options presented by the Leading Players and his company please the ambitious Pippin, though, who still continues to search for that "Corner of the Sky." The Leading Player consoled him, "Now I can see you're in a rut, in disarray. And I'm not one to butt in, but in fact I must say, if you'd take it easy, trust awhile, don't look blue, don't look back, you'll pull through in just awhile 'cause you're on the right track." He sure was.
The right track takes Pippin to a world he has never even considered before: the ordinary world. Which isn't, of course, to be confused with the extraordinary world. The latter is a world cloaked in semi-darkness and adorned with swaths of colored light in reds and yellows.
Not so in the ordinary world of Catherine (Carolyn Ritter) and her son, who take Pippin under their collective wing. Theirs is a world flooded in the harsh light of reality. The Leading Player was in control in the world of the extraordinary; his seminude players control the set changes. In contrast, Catherine's bed, upon which she and Pippin engaged in quite ordinary sex––as opposed to the debaucherous "Simple Joys" from the other realm––was moved on and off the stage by regular crew hands.
But Pippin is not happy living an ordinary life. He reenters the world of his past. The Leading Player and his posse insists that Pippin end the show with a finale grander than anything imaginable: they want him to throw himself into a pit of flames. They almost succeed in throwing him in themselves, until Catharine, too, with son in tow, entered the world of the extraordinary.
Pippin goes back to Catharine. What sane person wouldn't? With her natural presence on stage and distinctive voice, Ritter stole the show as soon as she stepped out of the wings. Catharine may be "your average ordinary kind of woman," but it was quite clear that Ritter was not. (Look out for her when she performs at the College as Smitty in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.")
Pippin's eventual finale was grand because of its marked lack of grandeur. "Turn off the lights!" Hall orders the lighting crew. "Stop the music!" Silence fell on the stage and the auditorium. Except, that is, for the distinctive dribble of the piano. "Stop the music!" Hall repeats. Complete silence ensued. Pippin and Catharine are stripped of their costumes and forced to complete the show with only their voices to carry them. Let's just say that they soared to extraordinary heights.