Customer Reviews

Pippin (1972 Original Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Stephen Schwartz's PIPPIN received mixed reviews when it opened on Broadway in 1972; most critics felt that both script and score were weak and the worth of the play was in Bob Fosse's staging. Ticket sales were slow until the play's producers broke with tradition and aired local television spots for the show, thus giving PIPPIN the surprising distinction of being the first Broadway show advertised via commercial.

PIPPIN went on to run a very respectable 1944 performances, and in spite of what critics thought about it in 1972 it has proven an audience favorite over the years, frequently revived on both the professional and amateur stage. First filmed before a live audience on video in 1981 with a cast that included Ben Vereen, William Katt, Chita Rivera, and Martha Raye, the screen rights were purchased by Miramax in 2003--so it is entirely possible that there may one day be a big screen version as well.

Depicted as a sort of vaudeville as seen through the eyes of a troop of strolling players, the story concerns Prince Pippin, son of King Charlemagne--an idealistic young man who longs to find a deep meaning to his life only to be thrust from one meaningless pursuit to another. A host of witty, pop-inflected songs provide the linchpins as he moves from adventure to adventure.

The star of the show is very much Ben Vereen, and it is easy to tell why he picked up a Tony: his work is gleeful, amusing, mischievous in such selections as "Magic To Do," "Glory," "On The Right Track" and the disturbing "Finale." Leland Palmer, who was often associated with Fosse (she would appear as a take on Gwen Verdon in Fosse's autobiographical film ALL THAT JAZZ) also gives a wickedly funny turn as the evil Queen Fastrada with "Spread a Little Sunshine."

The remaining cast is unexpected, for they were not best known for their vocal talents--but each emerges as remarkably effective and completely charming. John Rubinstein is extremely good in the title role, his clean and unaffected voice perfect for "Corner of the Sky," the beautiful and grossly underrated "With You," and "Morning Glow." Jill Clayburg is equally affecting; "Kind of Woman" is easily one of the most witty songs to come out of 1970s theatre. And then there is Irene Ryan.

Ryan was, of course, best known for her role as Granny on the long running television series The Beverly Hillbillies--but she was also an award winning actress with a very long career on stage and radio. PIPPIN would be her last work; she died during the run. But fortunately this recording preserves her brilliantly performed "Time To Start Living," a number that brought down the house with every show.

All of these songs are beautifully and loving preserved on this remaster, available to enjoy for decades to come. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Having seen and heard the original cast when Pippin first opened on Broadway in late 1972, I was delighted to find this CD. Having always loved this musical, I had it on vinyl, but needed a more updated version. I got it, played it, and the memories came flowing back. I was fortunate to have seen Ben Vereen's star making, show stopping, Tony award winning performance, as well as stellar performances by John Rubenstein, Irene Ryan, Leland Palmer, Eric Berry, and Jill Clayburgh. I loved this musical when I saw it and, after listening to this digitally remastered CD of the original cast recording, love it still.

The music tells the story of Pippin, first born son of Charlemagne, and his quest to find his place in life. This is a timeless theme, told through a medieval tapestry of war, court intrigue, patricide, politics, art, religion, sex, and love. The story is melded through inventive use of the age old greek chorus, led by a character entitled the Leading Player (Ben Vereen), through whichPippin (John Rubenstein) segues from vignette to vignette in his age old quest of finding himself.

While Pippin does have a flower child feel to it, redolent of the Woodstock generation, the music and lyrics are gloriously charming with a superb orchestration, telling a timeless story which should continue to enchant young and old alike. Bravo!

STEPHEN SCHWARTZ brings us another joyous musical in the likes of his famed GODSPELL. The music is delightful with Ben Vareen (as the Leading Player) in this Bob Fosse signature piece. Featuring songs that are staples of musical theater including MAGIC TO DO, CORNER OF THE SKY & MORNING GLOW (the Act One finale).

PIPPIN is the story of a young princely lad looking for something to make his life worth living for. He tries it all: sexuality, living it up in tranquility, love, war & bloodshed, and even kills his father to try being the king at one point... but don't fret, in the true venue of musical comedy, no act is final and he wishes his father back to life.

In the end, he discovers... wait, I'm not going to tell you! It's a good show with about a 50% plus good song to mediocre song ratio, which is pretty good in my book. Only one song in the whole musical I actually skip when listening to it "WAR IS A SCIENCE", the rest are all enjoyable. But it's worth it with beautiful love ballads like "LOVE SONG" (a duet) & "WITH YOU" (which true meaning cannot be fully understood until you hear this beautiful love song being sung back and forth to five or six diferent women building into a big orgy... but you can only get that aspect of the song from actaually seeing it performed).

Other musicals he has written include (on a scale of 1-10): GODSPELL (8-9), THE BAKER'S WIFE (6), RAGS (3) and the new musical CHILDREN OF EDEN (9.5), by far, one of his best ever!!! I gave a seperate review of that one if you care to look it up. In my opinion, anything over an 8 is worth getting. To give you an idea of my other favorites: LES MISERABLES & SWEENEY TODD (though both of those are considerably darker than any of Scwartz's work).

The music in this show is absolutly wonderful. It has you typical love ballads, comic songs, bravo production numbers, and fantasic lyrics all around. Unfortunatly, this is one of the worst packaged CDs I have ever had. The liner notes are useless, devoid of a plot summery or anything that would provid a context for the songs. Nonetheless, you can't ignore the music, particularly "Magic to Do," and "Corner of the Sky." Stephen Schwartz is a true genius worthy of more reconition than he has recieved. The cast is equally underated. Though Ben Vereen was, deservidly, honored with a Tony for his performance, the entire cast is faultless is bringing the music to life. This is one of my favorite CDs of all time, and I guarentee it will be one of yours too.

It took 34 years for me to discover the magic of Pippin. After recently watching the vidio, I immediately bought the original cast soundtrack. As an aging boomer, Pippin still hits home, square in the soul of my generation. His search for meaning, the amazing music, complete with riffs and harmonies so familier in the 70's, lifted my world-weary soul, and I too almost fell under Ben Vareen's spell. The songs, "Magic to Do", "Corner of the Sky", and the "Finale" gave me goose bumps. "Simple Joys" hit a little too close to home, and Irene Ryan's "No Time at All", made a lot of sense to this 47 year-old. Not since the "Man of LaMancha" has a musical moved me so. The eternal quest for meaning and purpose - brought a little closer. Not bad for a musical. As The Leading Player says, "Join us..." You will be glad you did.

PIPPIN has such a unique mix of 70's soul and Broadway show biz. It works every step of the way, though, with unbelievably catchy songs, great melodies, and toe-tapping grooves. The play may occasionally run thin on story framework, but it's got the best soundtrack of any musical.

It is impossible to underestimate the importance of this show, on the other hand, it is very easy to give it credit for something that it does not have. Pippin is magical, eternally youthful and wonderfully joyful but it is still a very faulty show, and this cast recording certainly reflects its faults as well as its unique qualities. Surprisingly, it is not the storyline itself with which i have a problem. In that respect the show is witty and clever and almost revolutionary. One can easily see why its poignant message has appealed to so many, particularly in the seventies and why it is still a perenial favorite today. No, it is Schwartz' score with which i have at times had problems. I feel, (and i realize that many people will immediately hate me for saying this) that as a composer, Schwarz is anything but original. His music is certainly catchy and entertaining but it is dreadfully predictable and while many of his lyrical efforts are wonderful, they cannot rival those of the great broadway lyricists. In many ways, i think that Schwartz ushered in an era of simple, repetitious broadway scores, each of which have redeeming features but which simply aren't comparable with earlier efforts. There have been some wonderful musical compositions over the years particular in the grand and great musicals of the eighties, but generally the quality of the scores, particularly lyrically, has fallen.
But enough deep analysis, let us consider the positive aspects of this show and particularly of this recording. Ben Vereen's performance as the Leading player immediately comes to mind. The intensity and the energy which he brings to many of the songs is extraordinary; Magic to Do and Simple Joys are great song in themselves and don't need him to save them, but weaker musical moments such as Glory and On The Right Track benefit greatly from his unique quality. John Rubinstein gives an acceptable performance as Pippin; he is perhaps not extraordinary but does at least he does not ruin Corner of the Sky which is afterall the true jewel of the score. My personal favorite is Extraodinary, i love that song so much that almost anyone could sing it and i would still enjoy it. Jill Clayburgh's voice is admitedly weak but it is certainly not unpleasing; I Guess I'll Miss The Man is the most touching song on the recording and Kind of Woman is also enjoyable. Her duet with Rubinstein, Love Song, is just that, lovely. Leyland Palmer's Spread a Little Sunshine is wickedly amusing and oddly beautiful and Irene Ryan's No Time at All is a true showstopper. I always loved the idea of holding up signs with the words so the audience could sing along. War is A Science is also fun, particularly if you're in a light, jovial mood. In general i would say that the positive things about this show far outweigh its defects and would heartily reccomend it to any prospective buyer.

Pippin has been my favorite musical since 1997, and it still is (even after seeing the amazing Assassins). It was first written as a happy show with little plot and little psychology. After rewrites and the great Bob Fosse putting his mark on it, Pippin turned into a dark show exploring something every one of us experience. What is our purpose in life? What is its meaning?

The main character in this piece, Pippin, tries all sorts of walks of life to find his meaning and purpose. From war and sex to a simple life and politics, Pippin goes through anything he can to be all that he can be, to have his purpose. On the way he kills his father, prays to God, and gets advice from our other lead, the Leading Player. The Leading player is Pippin's guiding hand, the only person Pippin listens to throughout the show. Though, the Leading Player just allows Pippin to try and fail at everything so Pippin will achieve the "climax" of the show (ie: killing himself). With the quick pot run-through you can see that the show is dark, but also brings up many questions including suicide, religion and war.

Stephen Schwartz, one of the most well known composers in Broadway history, created a wonderful score that anyone can enjoy. With it's jazzy feel and wonderful vocals, it's a soundtrack you'll definitely fall in love with. One of my favorite songs of all-time, Corner Of The Sky is on this album. It is a song that anyone who has lived in the world can resonate with and have often asked themselves. Schwartz is probably one of the best composers to ever grace Broadway (second only to Sondheim). Though he never quite won the Tony, every show he writes is a hit (Pippin, Godspell, Children of Eden, Wicked). And those that aren't hits, still provide wonderful music (Working). If you like show tunes, then Pippin is for you, as well as all of Schwartz's shows. He is a lyrical and melodic genius.

My college just did this musical, and I've owned the soundtrack for a while. (It's a favorite of my aunt's.) I tried to listen to it before I saw the musical, and I found the music decent if uninspiring. I mean, "Spread a Little Sunshine"? It didn't click for me. Seeing it on stage, however . . . One has to understand, just as an example, that the woman singing "Spread a Little Sunshine" is Pippin's stepmother, who (with her son Louis) is plotting against Pippin and Charlemagne. It's very, very ironic. And the times when you hear the clicking in the background? They're big dance numbers, which are almost boring without the visual side.

The problems I had with this soundtrack in specific mostly come due to comparisons to the cast I saw (which was amazing!). Pippin, in here, simply didn't cut it for me. He doesn't sound young enough, or innocent enough, or something like that. He doesn't sound like he just graduated from college and has no knowledge of the real world. (The Pippin I saw was younger and sounded it, which was wonderful.) The Leading Player, on the other hand . . . he's simply amazing. That is one of the prime roles, and he simply does a wonderful job. I didn't like Catherine, however. She sounded too world-weary, not like a slightly inept widow with a bizarre son. My opinions, though. It's a good recording.

The plot in very brief: Pippin, the scholastic type, Charlemagne's son, comes home from college, and tries to find some sort of fulfillment in life. ("I'll never, ever find it!" Pippin cries. [In our production, the expletive starting with an 's' was ended at the end of that line. It was perfect: it epitomized the whole play.]) He tries war, revolution, sex, love, the simple life, ducks, you name it. And there's a big Finale.

I still maintain that one needs the visual images to fully realize the play. I mean, the song "With You" is nice, but without what's really going on (Pippin is surrounded by scantily clad women, dancing) then it isn't quite as ironic. Recommendation: Memorize the chorus to "No Time At All" before you go see it.

But do go see it.

This CD was a welcome surprise. It contains all of the original 1972 cast of the hit Broadway Musical "Pippin" ! The words to each song are included and 3 bonus tracks including 2 of early Michael Jackson and another of the Supremes. The whole CD had been remastered. It was a nostalgia "trip" and current enough for today!