The American Repertory Theater’s Artistic Director, Diane
Paulus, has a mission; to expand the boundaries of the theatre. Her work on
Pippin did just that. As the audience takes their seats, they are faced with a gray
curtain, almost as if they are looking at the outside of a circus tent. And
then as the show is about to begin the orchestra plays, cueing a blackout and
one spot light center stage for the Leading Player’s (Patina Miller) entrance.
As she makes her grand entrance, she taunts the audience with the words of “Magic
to Do”, telling them if they want to come in to see the joys and wonders that
are about to unfold, they must leave everything else behind them. At last
the curtain drops and the miraculous story of Pippin (Matthew James Thomas) begins…
Pippin is on a quest to find his "corner of the sky”.
He must choose between a life that's ordinary or a flash of singular glory. He is
a young prince that, thanks to the help of the Leading Player and his mother
Fastrada, ends up killing his father for the throne; hoping the throne will satisfy
all his needs in life. Pippin is faced with problems that many people of his town
have. His solution to all these problems is just to make everyone happy by granting
them anything they need.
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| Leading Player (Patina Miller) and Pippin (Matthew James Thomas) in a scene from Pippin |
King Henry IV of France might as well be Pippin’s twin; as
he did many things to please his people as well. First, he issued the Edict of
Nantes on April 13th of 1598. The Edict of Nantes granted
the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation that was considered
essentially Catholic. After the Edict was issued, Protestants were able to
anything that involved their religion and they were able to live in any city
without prosecution. He thought that it was necessary to give all his subjects
on general law, clear, pure and absolute no matter what their differences may
be. Secondly, King Henry IV showed his compassion for others, as he wanted “A
chicken in every pot”. Meaning he wanted a Sunday dinner for all his people,
from the highest class to the lowest class. The king of France did a numerous
of other things to help his people as well.
The American Repertory Theatre is my favorite regional theaters
in Massachusetts. And Ms. Diane Paulus is one of my favorite directors in the
theater world. To see the connections between a character in a musical and a
king of France is very cool and interesting. I’m glad that my passion for the
arts can relate so much to history class. I never thought it would.
Pippin plays at the Music Box Theatre 239 W 45th St, New
York, NY 10036
Check out a montage of the show
…as well as Diane Paulus discussing her as well as the
creative team’s work on the show
Photo-
"Leading Player (Patina Miller) and Pippin (Matthew James Thomas) in a scene from Pippin",
Joan Marcus
http://www.pippinthemusical.com/photos.php
Great blog post, Chris! I really liked the connection. Although the connection did seem a bit of a stretch it first, it really made sense by the end. I never would have thought of connecting a character from a musical such as “Pippin” to a real historical figure. Pippin, like many kings, wanted to please his people, and this is something that is hard to do while still making the choices that are best for them. Great blog post with an interesting and obscure source!
ReplyDeleteWell written post. It is interesting to see how theater compares so closely two seemingly obscure entities can be. It makes you wonder whether Henry was direct influence to the director while writing the play. In terms of structure, the post was well written and the image was placed in between the descriptions of Pippin and Henry, distinguishing them as two different people, but still comparing them.
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