Pippin at the Menier Chocolate Factory
An overlooked musical is revamped for its first West End appearance in decades.
Review
Before we fill a page without making it obvious what we thought of
Pippin, let us say that we enjoyed it. It's probably the most bizarre
things we've ever seen on stage, but we had a good time, and isn't that
the point of musicals? We'd better expand...
Stephen Schwartz wrote Wicked, the spectacular and spectacularly successful musical that's been wowing the West End and Broadway for years now. Before that he was best known for Disney songs and Godspell, a cheesy musical from the early seventies based on the gospel of St. Matthew. But he was also responsible for the music and lyrics in Pippin, a fairly obscure show loosely based around the son of King Charlemagne.
This is the sort of musical that gives musicals a bad name. The storyline is sketchy, the characters are mostly characatures, the songs are silly rather than clever and shoehorned in. We also weren't fans of the choreography, which appeared to involve thrusting at any possible opportunity. Apparently Pippin has been watered down over the years in children's productions so they were trying to bring sexy back (as JT would put it), but it made us cringe a bit.
All that said, this production is incredible. The concept of the show has been 'modernised' (risky) to make Pippin a mind lost in cyberspace, learning about life through various digital experiences. This works far better than we thought it could. The staging, lights and sound are really very impressive, and all performances convincing, despite their parts being ridiculous.
There's a reason Pippin is such an obscure musical, and sadly there's not a lot that can be done with weak material, but good on the Menier and team for at least creating something that's definitely worth watching. Just don't take a musical-hater or you'll be in for a world of 'I told you so'.
Photos copyright Tristram Kenton
Stephen Schwartz wrote Wicked, the spectacular and spectacularly successful musical that's been wowing the West End and Broadway for years now. Before that he was best known for Disney songs and Godspell, a cheesy musical from the early seventies based on the gospel of St. Matthew. But he was also responsible for the music and lyrics in Pippin, a fairly obscure show loosely based around the son of King Charlemagne.
This is the sort of musical that gives musicals a bad name. The storyline is sketchy, the characters are mostly characatures, the songs are silly rather than clever and shoehorned in. We also weren't fans of the choreography, which appeared to involve thrusting at any possible opportunity. Apparently Pippin has been watered down over the years in children's productions so they were trying to bring sexy back (as JT would put it), but it made us cringe a bit.
All that said, this production is incredible. The concept of the show has been 'modernised' (risky) to make Pippin a mind lost in cyberspace, learning about life through various digital experiences. This works far better than we thought it could. The staging, lights and sound are really very impressive, and all performances convincing, despite their parts being ridiculous.
There's a reason Pippin is such an obscure musical, and sadly there's not a lot that can be done with weak material, but good on the Menier and team for at least creating something that's definitely worth watching. Just don't take a musical-hater or you'll be in for a world of 'I told you so'.
Photos copyright Tristram Kenton
