Without a doubt, our generation needed a “Pippin” revival, the Broadway musical created by Stephen Schwartz that debuted more than 40 years ago.
“Pippin” is a complex, death-defying musical production that combines great dancing steps, amazing vocals by lead actors and cast, extraordinary acrobatics, a good plot, an unexpected ending, and of course, the magic, the beautiful costumes and the quality that comes with every Broadway play.
This current production won four Tony Awards in 2013. As a Broadway fan, I often get to see plays featured in Dallas Summer Musicals, and to be honest, I didn’t know much about “Pippin”. Yes, I knew about the circus theme. Yes, I knew that Stephen Schwartz, who also envisioned other amazing musicals like “Wicked”, was behind this project. But often when I go see a musical, I already know most of the songs and plot, and the ending is never a surprise.
Suddenly I felt like a kid again, watching [for the first time] a musical that would surprise him every 2 seconds. When I believed that they could not go any further than having professional actors with the ability to sing and dance in such a fabulous way, they dared to perform complex acrobatics.
This show is a journey from the light to the darkest and honest side of a Broadway play.
The amazing Sasha Allen plays the lead role of a narrator/show director that will catch your attention even before she is seen on stage for the first time. With a powerful voice that will make you feel chills in every song and not to mention amazing jazz dance steps with slow but complex choreographies. Kinda seemed like the late Bob Fosse himself showed up and taught Allen how to move around the stage and seduce the audience.
Sam Lips plays Pippin. The legendary John Rubinstein plays the king (Charles) and Sabrina Harper plays the stepmother. Just like the rest of the cast, it seemed like they’ve been doing this play for decades!
