Randuwa II: Signature Theatre: Pippin

I'm not sure what I expected. My only sense of Pippin was from watching a version of the original with Ben Vareen that was filmed while being performed on stage. To put it mildly, I was not impressed. Not with the story, not with the sets, not with the choreography and most of all not with Ben Vareen who came across as a sweaty mess. It was dated, the message was "meh," and it simply wasn't entertaining.

Enter the recent Broadway revival where the ensemble, known as "Players" presented with a crazy, wild cirque du Soliel vibe. Now, that's entertaining. Signature provided an amazingly entertaining crew of Players sans the high wire tricks. In spite of the lack of flaming hoops--I was not disappointed. The players were also exceptionally well attired with multiple costume changes--kudos to Eric Teague for a cast full of costume magic!

The story is set in the 8th century Frankish Kingdom of Charlemagne with a focus on his son Pippin. After that very nearly EVERYTHING is a fiction, even ignoring the very little assumed factual information about the two. Roger O. Hirson basically used these historic figures to write a show about the futile foci of a rich boy's pursuit of the meaning of life. To support him, his father, Charles, is ambivalent; his half-brother and step-mother are adversarial; with only his nympho-maniacal grandmother, and she's always up for fun. Swirling around all of this are the players with their mysterious, all-knowing leader. The roll was originally Vareen's, and in this production it falls to Cedric Neal. Neal comes to the roll with a wide range of experience some on Broadway, more in London's West End, and he spins it like a charming vortex, conducting not only his players, but the mortals all around. It was a captivating performance that was supported by an unknown actor to the DMV who also had most of his youthful experience in NYC. Brayden Bambino's effortless innocents and idealism coupled with a wonderful voice made him the perfect juxtaposition to the feline menace of Neal.

But wait, there's more. The 5 members of the supporting cast brought together 5 of the most experienced and talented members of the DMV acting pool, and each gave a performance that both befitted the absurdity and the sincerity of show. Eric Hissom on the ambivalent King Charles was delightfully distract able, but never foolish. Maria Rizzo as his gold-digging wife, Fastrada, was every voluptuous inch the conniving bombshell that she was meant to be. Her son, Lewis, was played by Ryan Sellers with great physicality, sexy yet silly. Awa Sal Secka was Catherine, the real woman who finally brings the meaning that Pippin is so desperately seeking into his life. (The real Pippin died after a failed coup exiled to a monastery...) Without the archetypal under-pinning of their other supporting characters, Sal Secka's introduction in the second was like a glass of clear, cool water in a world overflowing with cheap wine.

I've saved the best for last. Berthe, Pippins amorous Grandmother, played with wonderful lusty exuberance by Naomi Jacobson. She was funny, physical, commanding with a hint of menace, and once her outwear came off at the end of her song, "No Time At All", she was transformed into a sexy dominatrix! At the male players lifted her over their heads and carried her off stage, the character Pippin exclaims, "That's my grandma!" to the rousing applause of the entire audience.

The show was done in the round, with members of the 8-player team entering into the audience space at times. During the aforementioned song, "No Time At All" chorus song sheets were distributed to the audience and we were all invited to sing along--and we did! At another point, a change in scene was punctuated by a flurry of falling crepe paper leaves from overhead. The production had a very intimate sensibility from the first to the last.

Is Pippin one of the great American Musicals? I don't really think so. BUT, it sure as hell can be very entertaining! Thanks to the cast a crew of this production for a wonderful experience.

FUN FACT (though not that fun): Pippin debuted on Broadway in 1972. Besides Ben Vareen in the role of the Lead Player, there was another rather famous actor in her swan song performance. Irene Ryan fresh off of 9 years of playing Granny Clampitt on the wildly successful "Beverly Hillbillies" debuted the role of Berthe! She played the role for five and half months until suffering a stroke in March of 1973. She never recovered, and died six weeks later at her home in Santa Monica, California.

The ensemble of Players with Cedric Neal in the Center as the Leading Player

Pippin (Brayden Bambino) singing three of the male Players [L-R: Hank Con Kolnitz, Calvin L'mont Cooper, and Ben Bogen)

King Charles (Eric Hissom)

Queen Mother, Berthe (Naomi Jacobson) lamenting her old age while denying it with every twist and turn of her agile body in the company of the players with Pippin seated looking on.