Pippin
April 16 - May 2, 2010

Dramaturgy by Ross Harmon
Cast | Pippin Original Broadway Production | Stephen Schwartz | Bob Fosse | Roger O. Hirson | Pippin: An Analysis (Excerpt) | Commedia Dell'arte | Magic | Charlemagne and Pepin |

Pippin Original Broadway Production

Preview: October 18, 1972
Opening: October 23, 1972
Closing: June 12, 1977
Total Performances: 1944

Opening Night Production Credits-
Produced by Stuart Ostrow;
Book by Roger O. Hirson;
(Uncredited) Book by Bob Fosse;
Music by Stephen Schwartz;
Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz;
Directed by Bob Fosse;
Choreographed by Bob Fosse

Opening Night Cast

• Eric Berry - Charles
• Jill Clayburgh - Catherine
• Leland Palmer - Fastrada
• John Rubinstein - Pippin
• Irene Ryan - Berthe
• Ben Vereen - Leading Player
• Roger A. Bigelow - Dance Alternate
• Candy Brown - Player
• Christopher Chadman - Lewis
• Cheryl Clark - Dance Alternate
• Kathryn Doby - Player
• Gene Foote - Noble
• Roger Hamilton - The Head/Field Marshall
• Richard Korthaze - Beggar
• John Mineo - Musician
• Jennifer Nairn-Smith - Player
• Shane Nickerson - Theo
• Ann Reinking - Player
• Paul Solen - Peasant
• Pamela Sousa - Player

Stephen Schwartz

STEPHEN SCHWARTZ was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. His first major credit was the title song for the play BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE; the song was eventually used in the movie version, as well. In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for GODSPELL, for which he won several awards, including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein for Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for PIPPIN, and two years later, THE MAGIC SHOW.

He next wrote the music and lyrics for THE BAKER’S WIFE, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel’s WORKING, to which he contributed four songs and which he also adapted and directed, winning the Drama Desk Award as best director.

Next came songs for a one-act musical for children, CAPTAIN LOUIE, and a children’s book, THE PERFECT PEACH. He then wrote music for three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, PERSONALS, lyrics to Charles Strouse’s music for RAGS, and music and lyrics for CHILDREN OF EDEN.

He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

Mr. Schwartz’s most recent musical, WICKED, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway and in several other productions around the United States and the world. In 2008, WICKED reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances.

His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009. Mr. Schwartz has recently inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has recently been released by Applause Books.

Bob Fosse

Legendary director/choreographer BOB FOSSE (1927-1987) began his unusual career as a dancer in the late 1940s, touring with companies of CALL ME MISTER and MAKE MINE MANHATTAN. After playing the lead in a summer-stock production of Pal Joey, then choreographing a showcase called TALENT 52, Fosse was given a screen test by M-G-M and went on to appear in the film KISS ME KATE (1953). This appearance, in a highly original dance number, led to Fosse's first job as a choreographer, the Jerome Robbins-directed Broadway hit THE PAJAMA GAME (1954).

Soon after, he met talented dancer Gwen Verdon, and the two proceeded to collaborate on several hit shows, including DAMN YANKEES (1955), NEW GIRL IN TOWN (1957), and REDHEAD (1959). Fosse and Verdon married soon after. He was also frequently sought out as the "doctor" on shows in trouble, especially HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING and LITTLE ME (both 1962).

Fosse's best collaboration with Verdon, SWEET CHARITY (1966), demonstrated their perfect compatibility as a creative team and also flaunted his trademark style as a choreographer. Strongly influenced by choreographer Jack Cole, Fosse staged dance numbers that were highly stylized, using staccato movements and erotic suggestion. The "Steam Heat" number from THE PAJAMA GAME and "Hey Big Spender" from SWEET CHARITY were trademark Fosse numbers, jazzy, machinelike motion and cocky, angular, even grotesque poses. A perfectionist, Fosse liked detail in his choreography and would position his dancers down to the angles of their feet or their little fingers. As his career progressed, Fosse became increasingly fascinated with expressing sexuality and decadence through dance.

Fosse's peak year was 1973. In addition to his CABARET Oscar, he nabbed Tony awards for his direction and choreography of the Broadway musical PIPPIN, the eerily magical and sexually decadent story of the son of King Charlemagne on a journey of self-discovery.

Like Cabaret, Pippin featured exaggerated, grotesque makeup and costuming and erotic dance numbers. That same year he won an Emmy for directing and choreographing Minnelli's television special LIZA WITH A Z, which garnered high ratings and featured groundbreaking production numbers. In 1973 Fosse seemed to be everywhere.

Fosse suffered a heart attack while rehearsing the successful Broadway musical CHICAGO (1975), which starred Verdon as a notorious murderess.

CHICAGO was a cynical, stylized homage to 1920s-era burlesque and vaudeville. In the fascinating but disturbing film ALL THAT JAZZ (1979), he used the heart attack (including a filmed bypass operation) to kill off the main character, an obsessive, womanizing, workaholic director clearly based upon himself. His other 1970s stage musical was the innovative DANCIN' (1978), which featured three acts constructed purely of dance numbers, eliminating story, song, and characters.

Fosse's work in the 1980s received mixed responses. Audiences and critics did not respond to the tough, gruesome subject matter. Nor did they appear to enjoy the jazz ballet BIG DEAL (1986), Fosse's last Broadway show. During a revival of SWEET CHARITY in 1987, Fosse died of a heart attack.

In 1999, FOSSE, a three-act musical revue showcasing his choreography opened. The original Broadway production, conceived and directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. , choreographed by Ann Reinking and Chet Walker, opened on January 14, 1999 at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it ran for 1093 performances.

Roger O. Hirson

ROGER O. HIRSON (Original Book Author) has written extensively for theatre, movies and television. Among his movie credits are DEMON SEED and TO CATCH A KING starring Robert Wagner. For television, he wrote A WOMAN NAMED JACKIE, which won an Emmy, and adaptations of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, featuring George C. Scott, and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA with Anthony Quinn. His play WORLD WAR 2 ½ was staged in both New York and London. He is the father of two sons, Christopher, the jazz musician who lives in Berlin, and David, the playwright who lives in New York.

Pippin: An Analysis (Excerpt), by Scott Miller

PIPPIN is a largely under-appreciated musical with a great deal more substance to it than many people realize. Because it rejects a “happily-ever-after” in favor of a real world ending of compromise and doubt, and because it is happening in real time and on a stage, it may also be one of the most realistic musicals ever produced (Fosse also toyed with realism in a musical with the film version of CABARET).

After GODSPELL had opened, its composer, Stephen Schwartz, returned to looking for a producer for a show he had written called PIPPIN, PIPPIN. Stuart Ostrow agreed to produce it, but wanted a new script. By the time the new book was written by Roger Hirson, now called THE ADVENTURES OF PIPPIN, an entirely new score was written.

The show told the story of a young man named Pippin going on a quest for fulfillment and self-awareness, and the troupe of strolling players who play out his life for him. To direct the show, Ostrow hired the respected director/choreographer Bob Fosse. But Fosse didn't like the show. It was cute and sentimental and Fosse had developed a reputation for dark, disturbing musical theatre. He wanted to make PIPPIN more into his kind of show. He created the character of Leading Player, a narrator who accompanies Pippin on his quest, and who also controls the events as they are played out. In Fosse's version, the show became dark and cynical.

The original happy ending became a compromise instead of a victory; instead of finding true happiness, Pippin finds he must settle for less than he really wants. Fosse turned the love song “With You” into an orgy. He remade the entire show as a parade of frightening, disturbing incidents in which Pippin finds less and less satisfaction.

Historians and people involved with the show say Fosse greatly rewrote Hirson's script, but he asked for no official credit. Hirson strongly denies that Fosse wrote any part of the show.

Copyright 1995. Excerpt from Scott Miller's book, FROM ASSASSINS TO WEST SIDE STORY. All rights reserved.

Commedia Dell'arte

COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE is a professional form of theatre that began in Italy in the mid-15th century, and was characterized by masked "types", the advent of the actress, and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. It continued its popularity in France during the 17th century, and evolved into various configurations across Europe. For example, pantomime which flourished in the 18th century, owes its genesis to the character types of the commedia, particularly Harlequin. The Punch and Judy puppet shows, popular to this day in England, owe their basis to the Pulcinella mask that emerged in Neapolitan versions of the form. In Italy, commedia masks and plots found their way into the opera buffa, and the plots of Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini. Italian theatre historians have claimed that commedia developed as a response to political and economic crisis and became the first entirely professional form of theatre.

While generally personally unscripted, the performances often were based on scenarios that gave some semblance of plot to the largely improvised format. The Flaminio Scala scenarios, published in the early 17th century, are the most widely known collection and representative of its most esteemed compagnia, I Gelosi. Sometimes the performers were referred to as "mountebanks" because they played on outside, temporary stages, and relied on various props (robbe) in place of extensive scenery. The better troupes were patronized by nobility, and during carnival time might be funded by the various towns or città, in which they played. Extra funds were received by donations (essentially passing the hat) so anyone could view the performance free of charge. Key to the success of the commedia was their reliance on travel to achieve fame and financial success. The most successful troupes performed before kings and nobility allowing individual actors to become stars. To this extent, becoming an actor in the great commedia tradition might ensure a significant rise in status, similar to what current celebrities have today, in hobnobbing with notables, for example.

Magistrates and clergy were not always receptive to the traveling companies, particularly during periods of plague, and because of their itinerant nature. A troupe often consisted of ten performers of familiar masked and unmasked types. Various characters evolved outside Italy, such as Hanswurst (Germany), Pierrot (France), Petrushka (Russia), and Clown (England). This phenomenon has assured the persistence of commedia to this day.

Magic

MAGIC is a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats, using purely natural means. One who performs such illusions is called a magician or an illusionist. Some performers may also be referred to by names reflecting the type of magical effects they present, such as prestidigitators, conjurors, mentalists, or escape artists.The term "magic" is derived from the Latin word magi, a term that was used to refer to Zoroastrians. Performances we would now recognize as conjuring have probably been practiced throughout history. The same level of ingenuity that was used to produce famous ancient deceptions such as the Trojan Horse would also have been used for entertainment, or at least for cheating in money games, since time immemorial. They were also used by various religions from times ancient, and were even known as far back as the early 17th century to be used to frighten uneducated populace. However, the profession of the illusionist gained strength only in the eighteenth century, and has enjoyed several popular vogues.

In 1584, Reginald Scot published The Discoverie of Witchcraft. It was written in an attempt to show that witches did not exist, by exposing how (apparently miraculous) feats of magic were done. The book is often deemed the first textbook about conjuring. All obtainable copies were burned on the accession of James I in 1603 and those remaining are now rare. It began to reappear in print in 1651.

From 1756 to 1781, Jacob Philadelphia performed feats of magic, sometimes under the guise of scientific exhibitions, throughout Europe and in Russia. Modern entertainment magic owes much to Jean Eugène Robert Houdin (1805–1871), originally a clockmaker, who opened a magic theatre in Paris in the 1840s. His speciality was the construction of mechanical automata which appeared to move and act as if they were alive.

As a form of entertainment, magic has easily moved from theatrical venues to television specials, which opened up new opportunities for deceptions, and brought stage magic to huge audiences. Most TV magicians perform before a live audience, who provide the remote viewer with a reassurance that the illusions are not obtained with post-production visual effects. Many of the principles of stage magic are old. The expression, "it's all done with smoke and mirrors" pretty much says it all.

Charlemagne and Pepin

CHARLEMAGNE (2 April 742 – 28 January 814) was King of the Franks and the first Holy Roman Emperor from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800 which temporarily made him a rival of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. His rule is also associated with the Carolingian Renaissance, a revival of art, religion, and culture through the medium of the Catholic Church. Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne helped define both Western Europe and the Middle Ages.

The son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, Charlemagne continued the policy of his father towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in Italy, and leading an incursion into Muslim Spain. He also campaigned against the peoples to his east, especially the Saxons, and after a protracted war subjected them to his rule. By forcibly converting them to Christianity, he integrated them into his realm and thus paved the way for the later Ottoman dynasty.

PEPIN - also known as Pippin, (April 773 – 8 July 810) was the second son of Charlemagne by his then-wife Hildegard. He was born Carloman, but when his halfbrother Pepin the Hunchback betrayed their father, the royal name Pepin passed to him. He was made king of Italy after his father's conquest of the Lombards, in 781, and crowned by Pope Hadrian I with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

He was active as ruler of Italy and worked to expand the Frankish empire. In 791, he marched a Lombard army into Avar territory. Charlemagne left the campaigning to deal with a Saxon revolt in 792. Pepin continued to assault the Avars' ring-shaped strongholds. The great Ring of the Avars, their capital fortress, was taken twice. The booty was sent to Charlemagne and redistributed to all his followers. His activities included a long, but unsuccessful siege of Venice in 810. A few months later Pepin died. Pepin was expected to inherit a third of his father's empire, but he predeceased him. The Italian crown passed on to his son Bernard, but the empire went to Pepin's younger brother Louis the Pious. Long ignored by historians, interest in him was revived by the fictionalized version of his life depicted in the 1970s musical PIPPIN.

Barn Players Pippin Dramaturgy © 2010
Edited by Ross Harmon