Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics written by Stephen Schwartz at the start of the ’70s, which first opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York, where it ran for 1944 performances. The musical is a fanciful story about the oldest son of King Charlemagne, and his path to maturity. The musical opens with the song “Magic to Do,” and “magic” is just what has been done for the latest rendition of the musical that is currently playing at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, California.
In this new production music, dance and American Sign Language are all incorporated to produce one of the most fabulous shows around. The musical features deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing actors and actresses performing one of the most exciting theatrical events of the year. The unusual integration of Sign Language into the musical has made it a must-see production. The musical has already begun wowing audiences since it first opened on January 15, and it continues to be a magical production that theatre enthusiasts are flocking to from all over.
Pippin introduces the main character with a song about how he is searching for where he belongs, and he seems to find it hard to know where to go. The character is introduced with the song “Corner of the Sky,” which begins with the lines –
”Everything has its season
Everything has its time
Show me a reason and I’ll soon show you a rhyme
Cats fit on the windowsill
Children fit in the snow
Why do I feel I don’t fit in anywhere I go?”
These lines set the stage for the rest of the musical, which centers on the theme of personal discovery. The main character, Pippin, starts by setting out to understand where he belongs, and finds the road very difficult.
At first he begins by trying his hand at war, aspiring to be a soldier he joins in with the song “War is a Science,” only to come in awkwardly with the punch-line before his father, Charlemagne, has finished telling his soldiers about his battle plan. The soldiers salute the king singing the song “Glory,” but Pippin has already realized that he does not want to become a war hero when the Leading Player sings “Simple Joys.” This song clearly tells the story of Pippin’s life, beginning –
”Well I’ll sing you the story of a sorrowful lad
Had everything he wanted, didn’t want what he had
He had wealth and health and fame and name and all of
That noise
But he didn’t have none of those simple joys
His life seemed purposeless and flat
Aren’t you glad you don’t feel like that?”
Pippin goes on to try to find his place in the world, he tries living the good life on the advice of his grandmother. Seeking out women, he symbolically experiments with sex and tries to discover if the meaning of life can be found through them.
Throughout the musical Pippin continues to try and find what his place is in life, and eventually discovers that it is right under his nose all along. This version of the musical: told in song, dance, and Sign Language, is an incredible rendition that will leave your heart pounding. You are certain to enjoy Pippin Los Angeles tickets. Tickets are selling out fast, so to get tickets to the show you want go to http://www.stubhub.com/pippin-los-angeles-tickets.
This article was written by Phoebe Wickliffe and sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells Pippin Los Angeles tickets as well as many other kinds of theatrical performances, concert tickets, sports tickets, and special events.