PIPPIN: THE MUSICAL

BY: CASSANDRA (CASEY) KOPASEK

HOW IS THIS RELEVANT?

Very personal to me
First production I saw on Broadway
My last high school musical
It carries very strong messages in which the audience can learn from
There is much to learn from this musical
WHAT WILL WE BE COVERING?

The History
Characters
Plot
Music
Deeper Meaning
HISTORY
Book written by Rodger O. Hirson
Music and lyrics written by Stephen Schwartz
Creator of Wicked, Pocahontas, and Godspell
Choreographed by Fosse
Strange movements
Originally on Broadway in the year of 1972
Starred Ben Vereen
This complete performance is on YouTube
Revived on Broadway in 2013
With a circus-feel twist
Winner of Tony in 2013 for Best Musical Revival
Went on tour in 2014
Came to Baltimore
Lives on stages across the nation
Source: Wikipedia
CHARACTERS
MEET THE CAST
CHARACTERS

Leading Player
Pippin
King Charles
Fastrada
Lewis
Berth
Players
Catherine
Theo
LEADING PLAYER

Lead
Seen as the Antagonist
Can be portrayed by a man or
woman
Nameless
Dark, mysterious, and seductive
Makes the plot
Controls the stage, actors, and
musicians
PIPPIN

The victim of LPs mischievous plan

Trying to find his place in life
Goes on a quest to find fulfillment
Wants to be extraordinary
Innocent and gullible
CHARLES, FASTRADA AND
LEWIS

Charles is the King, and Pippins father

Fastrada is the stepmother of Pippin, and mother of
Lewis
Lewis is the stepbrother of Pippin, and soldier
CATHERINE & THEO

Catherine is a widow
Theo is her son
They live on a farm
Catherine finds Pippin on the side of
the road
Helped him because she liked his foot
 BERTHE

Pippins grandmother
Adds comedy
Gets the audience engaged
PLAYERS

Simply put the ensemble

Troop that carries out the desires of Leading Player
Urges Pippin to perform the Grand Finale
Voices in his head
Pretend to encourage Pippin
 PLOT
WHAT IS THE MUSICAL ABOUT?
 Leading player explains each of the characters throughout the
musical
After Magic to Do, Leading Player explains the life of Pippin and
what happened before the action begins
Pippin has gone to school and gained an education
The next section of the plot starts when Pippin sings, Corner of the
Sky
EXPOSITION
 Many parts to the progression
Leading Players goal is for Pippin to enter the fire (the Grand Finale promised to the audience)
Pippin spends the duration of the musical trying to find where he belongs
Pippin wants to be a soldier
He turns out to hate war
Pippin tries to find happiness in his desires
This turns out to be unfulfilling
Pippin believes he would like to be King, so he kills his father in the chapel
He realizes being King is much harder than he thought
His father comes back to life and takes the throne back

PROGRESSION Tries the simple life

Falls in love with Catherine
Believes it is not extravagant for him
Finally thinks the Grand Finale is his last and final option to become fulfilled
 The moment of climax is based on the downfall of Leading Player
The moment where the usual plot of the musical falls apart
At the moment Pippin was about to enter the fire, Catherine and her son Theo
appear
They break character
The moment Pippin finds out that fulfillment is in the simple life
Leading Player tries to get a member of the audience to do the Grand Finale
Leading Player has a meltdown and orders the

CLIMAX & FALLING
Set to be broken down
Costumes to come off

ACTION

And lights to be turned off
Music to stop playing
 At the end, it is insinuated that Pippin lives happily with Catherine
and Theo
He lives the simplistic life
Fulfilled by finding his love
The twist
At the end, Magic to Do is played while Theo picks up a glove

DENOUEMENT Leading Player comes out from the curtain

This insinuates that the troop has found their next Pippin
 THE MUSIC
JUST A TASTE OF THE COMPOSITION
THE MUSIC OF PIPPIN
The composition of Pippins music scores is
very complex
My high school production got Peabody
students to create a pit orchestra
Complex rhythms and melodies
Each song is diverse
Examples
https://youtu.be/kpNKfFAnUO4?t=43s
https://youtu.be/X28j-m_11lc?t=36s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k
I7SZnwRCJI
THE MEANING OF THE PLAY
WAS IT A POLITICAL MESSAGE?
THE DEEPER MEANING
Depression and Suicidal thoughts
Leading Player and the Players are the negative thoughts in ones mind
They push a person (Pippin) towards self destruction
There is a saving grace (Catherine and Theo) something to live for
Well be right here, waiting for you. Why, we are right inside your heads. Leading Player
The Vietnam war (the idea my director used)
It is a theory that Pippin is a political message
The Players are people somehow related to the Vietnam war (ex. Relatives to soldiers)
They are broken toys finding somewhere to belong
Leading Player was somehow hurt by those in the Vietnam war, and takes it out on Pippin
The Troop goes around the country, playing the musical, over and over again, finding a new victim to be Pippin
WORKS CITED

"Pippin (musical)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippin_(musical)>.