from the Chapel Hill News
November 1999

'Pippin' begs the question of free choice

A Preview of Pippin, performed by the Pauper Players at UNC's Student Union Cabaret on Friday and Saturday and Dec. 3-5.

By ALAN R. HALL, Correspondent

CHAPEL HILL -- When is opened in 1972, Stephen Schwartz's "Pippin" was an entirely new animal, as different from conventional theater as was his "Godspell" before it. With no set cast except for Pippin himself and the Leading Player, the characters that come and go in Pippin's checkered past are played by the members of an on-stage company, rather than presenting set roles. Combined with the jocular spirit in the music, a carnival effect is achieved, in which everything seems to be right or, if not right, correctable.

"Pippin" presents the position that every single thought we have is a decision as to A or B, either/or, yes or no; and every one of those decisions changes our direction in minute degrees. So while the future may not be seen, we as human beings have the right to change our destinies by changing our minds.

Pauper Players, the all-student musical-theater troupe at UNC, does something different with this show. After the full-company opening dance, "Magic To Do," dazzles us with disembodied hands floating about, we see a young man (David Lorenc) speaking with the company's Leading Player (Amber Rustin), who invites him to join her company. He assumes the role she gives him -- the title role -- and begins to work with the rest of the cast.

Amazingly, he plays it like a champ, and before long we believe that he really is Pippin, son of Charlemagne, brief ruler of his father's empire, who, we know from the history books (which often reduce Pippin to a footnote) that, beyond this, very little is known about the man. So this young man is an actor, playing the role of Pippin, as many others have, and therefore the actor's decisions will affect what happens on stage.

The only problem with that wrinkle is, this young man plays Pippin as a man very irresolute. He cannot make decisions well and he looks constantly to the Leading Player for advice and encouragement while he is buffeted down the path earlier Pippins have taken. An intriguing twist, to be sure. But does he have the strength to forge his own destiny -- that is the question. It is either that or follow the path that the Leading Player (and the rest of the company) are leading him down.

The interesting twist that director Wade Dansby III adds at the beginning of the show tells us that there have been other Pippins, but so far, none have considered that they may depart from this script and make his own way. So that rather nasty ending (signifying, no doubt, the fires of Hades for a wasted life) has taken them all away. Can this new actor, this new Pippin, realize his own strength and break free? That is what we are here to find out.

The company is high-energy, presenting some pretty high-stepping dance as well as playing an aerobic workout that would have a football player huffing. Music and dance are the stuff of this work; it is the lure that leads Pippin by the nose.

In order for Pippin to become ruler of Charlemagne's realm, there is one thing that needs to be done: Pippin must slay his father in order to gain the throne. But here comes another of those free-thought decisions; after Pippin realizes what a lousy ruler he is, he tells the Lead Player that he wishes he could give dear old Dad his job back. So the Lead Player immediately arranges it. Only say, and it shall be so. No predestiny here.

What Pippin (and, supposedly, all of the Pippins before him) is seeking is ultimate fulfillment, that level of being that allows him to cast off doubt, emptiness and loneliness and be "someone extraordinary." But what this Pippin is beginning to understand is that there are no absolutes here. While there may be times that are extraordinary, all the other time left between them is ordinary.

So when the Lead Player calls for "The Finale," and all the members of the troupe do everything they can to make Pippin take that last long step into the chasm, this Pippin, this Pippin says no. BAM! Game, set, and match. Pippin has begun to make decisions on his own now, and the Lead Player's strident voice is becoming less heard by the second.

Along with this treatise on the choices of the individual versus the predestination of the universe, there is a terrific amount of song and dance. Bob Fosse was choreographer and musical metallurgist who left his stamp on the play. The work done here, with some razzle-dazzle and some almost eye-popping dance, leads us back to the Fosse style of the original production. These dances are big, and the dancers, for the most part, are right there in front of you.

"Pippin" will be presented Friday through Sunday at 8 p.m. in the Student Union Cabaret, and then again next week, with added matinees on Saturday and Sunday (3 p.m.). This Friday is opening night, and the cast will celebrate with a reception afterward. Tickets for Friday night are $12 ($7 students). For the rest of the performances, tickets are $10/$5. Tickets are being sold in the Pit during the run of the show, as well as at the door.