Pippin (1982)

The Magic is Gone

Background: I've seen Pippin 3 times on B'way, worked as make-up artist for over a dozen regional productions, and taught the play for years as the culmination of a course on poetry. In its original incarnation, Pippin is a production rich in allegory and metaphor, both visual and verbal, which becomes more meaningful with each viewing.

That said, executive producer David Sheehan's truncated televersion of the play cuts--no, slashes--so much of the production that it becomes devoid of both continuity and logic. First, the music: almost every number has a verse deleted, and one complete song (Catherine's "I Guess I'll Miss the Man") has been excised. As this song immediately foreshadows the events of the finale, its elimination is unforgivable.

As for the book, various exchanges among characters are missing. Some of the gaps are relatively minor, others glaring. After the battle sequence, Pippin's poignant discussion with the head of one of the enemy is missing. After his ascension to the throne, Pippin's sequential proclamations that lead to the realization of the flaw in his idealism have also been struck, which makes his final declaration of a "limited police action" too sudden and illogical. Catherine's lament for her late husband is missing. The most startling omission, though, is the death scene of her son's pet and its aftermath, during which Pippin gains an inkling of his epiphany in the finale and honestly earns Catherine's love. With this sequence removed, Catherine has no reason for loving him. Nor does the audience have reason to identify.

The play's cut-and-paste editing was no doubt done to conform to television time limits. Was it not possible, then, to restore the complete version for DVD? Or was it simply not worth the time and effort? Other reviewers have commented on the grainy quality of the image and poor sound reproduction, another pair of minuses. All in all, the magic is simply gone.

Postscript: Some 25 years after the show closed, Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson re-staged Pippin at NJ's Paper Mill Playhouse. The characters were dressed in 1970s attire, the choreography was disco, and Pippin himself was pulled from the audience and handed a script. It was a dark and joyless production, made more so by the fact that it was the very authors themselves who transformed a Broadway icon into a travesty of a high school musical. July 22, 2008

Pippin Live Performance Review

PippinThis was not a very good performance compared to the original live on stage performance. While Ben Vereen was excellent, William Katt did not seem right for the role. He was unsure and a bit stiff. There were several ommissions from the original production. It was not at all exciting. April 20, 2008

Don't care for the play

Bought the DVD to see the play before an audition. Didn't really care for it. March 26, 2008

PURE MAGIC

One minor grumble- the recording was obviously done on video tape,so the picture quality is not so good.Having said that, this is a magical recording of a magical show.Brilliant sets and costumes,wonderful music,funny,sometimes touching,sometimes a little dark,but always fascinating.Superb direction,no matter how many times I watch it I always see something new.Ben Vereen in paricular works his talented butt off but it is unfair to pick one name out of a brilliant ensemble.Such a shame that it had to be shortened to fit TV schedules,nevertheless I love it! As a theatre buff I just wish we could have more permanent records of great shows like this. October 18, 2007

Admittedly, there are issues... BUT

Could the editing have been better? Definitely. Is the soundtrack a little muddy? For sure. Was there a lot of film left on the cutting room floor that should have been restored for the DVD release? Undoubtedly.

HOWEVER, and this is a really big however, do NOT let any of these petty concerns and considerations prevent you from adding this DVD to your library. This show is wonderful and it is worth the price if only for the performance of Ben Vereen. There may never be another performer like him and this show captures him at his finest. I saw the original production 11 times on Broadway - yes, I said eleven times. Hey, I made a lot of money babysitting. This version does not have the original cast I saw and loved: no John Rubinstein, Jill Clayburgh or Irene Ryan, which is a damn shame. However, the re-casting is still good and you have Ben which makes up for pretty much any other shortcomings.

See this and reminisce with me. May 14, 2007

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