Acrobatics are among skills needed for ‘Pippin’
Most musicals of the past few decades required its lead characters to be triple threats, performers who are equally adept at acting, singing and dancing. When the revival of “Pippin” opened on Broadway in 2013, those demands increased to four: acrobatics.
Diane Paulus’ production of Stephen Schwartz’s 1972 musical about a young man searching for meaning in his life, featured a cast that juggled, balanced on oversized balls, swung on high trapezes, jumped rope and executed a hula hoop routine.
A new national touring production based on that Tony Award-winning revival comes to the Civic Center Music Hall this week for eight performances. “Pippin” is part of OKC Broadway’s 2016-17 season.
Writing for the website Theatermania, Brian Scott Lipton said of that production: “There are so many magical doings onstage in Diane Paulus’ superlative staging of the 1972 musical ‘Pippin,’ you often don’t know where to look.”
Playing the title character in the national tour of this popular musical is Naysh Fox, an actor who first auditioned for the lead role last April and then had six callbacks before he landed the part in July. The rehearsal process proved to be just as demanding.
“When we started rehearsals in Pennsylvania on Dec. 9, we really hit the ground running,” Fox said recently. “We had circus training every day at 9:30 a.m. and then rehearsed from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There was never a dull moment.”
The musical’s plot is a familiar one. After completing his university studies, Pippin, the son of Charlemagne, strikes out on a quest to find some meaning to his life. He vows not to waste his time in commonplace, ordinary pursuits.
“Pippin is the story of a young guy trying to find fulfillment in his life,” Fox said. “He tries all sorts of different things to see what clicks and what doesn’t. Everyone involved in the circus is there to help him along the journey.
“What he discovers is that he can’t be told what to do. He has to figure that out for himself. He also realizes that life has to be more than everything he has experienced. In the end, finding love and being selfless turn out to be fulfilling for him.”
‘Great response’
The 1970s proved to be enormously rewarding for composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. His off-Broadway production of “Godspell” ran for five years before moving to Broadway. It would run an additional year there before closing in September 1977.
The Broadway production of “Pippin” proved equally successful, running from October 1972 to June 1977. Schwartz’s “The Magic Show,” a musical that showcased the talents of magician Doug Henning, ran from May 1974 to December 1978.
Those three musicals earned a combined 14 Tony nominations. “Pippin” took home five awards in 1973. The 2013 revival of “Pippin” was nominated for 10 Tonys and earned four awards, including one as best musical revival.
Fox says he feels very lucky and blessed to be a part of the 2017 national touring production of “Pippin.” The title character is featured in seven of the production’s musical numbers, including “Corner of the Sky,” “Morning Glow” and “Extraordinary.”
“We’ve had great response so far,” Fox said of his touring production. “The audience is with us right after ‘Magic to Do,’ an opening unlike any other. And the music is wonderfully crafted. It’s easy for an audience to become involved.”