Pippin - Real Magic To Do
Posted on August 29, 2022
Since the beginning of the year Macleans College productions have been incredibly impressive, Pippin provided no break to this trend.
The school has a well established culture of high quality theatre, with Hay Fever being a major success earlier in the season. Once again, Macleans College Performing Arts has punched above its weight with a mind-blowing performance of Stephen Schwartz’s eponymous musical: Pippin.
Even musical theatre experts, have been impressed by the skills and standards shown by the cast of students. The directors, Ms Harrison and Dr Miles, gave a delightful show that exceeded the quality of some professional productions with multiple times experience and budget. It can easily be proclaimed that Pippin has been an absolute triumph; when the cast members said they had “Magic to do,” they really were not lying.
The musical Pippin was presented meta-theatrically by a troupe of circus performers who were led by a charismatic Leading Player (Lexie Buchanan of Upham House). They invited us to share in the story of Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire. The audience followed the titular Pippin (Will Crozier of Upham), who attempts to find purpose, meaning and his own ‘Corner of the Sky’. As the narrative takes some unexpected turns, Pippin finds himself more and more dissatisfied in his search for meaning. This ultimately leads to him settling for a regular life; reinforcing a message to us about being content and happy with the lot we are given.
Ms Harrison and Dr Miles succeed in bringing out the absolute best from the entire ensemble, allowing them to provide a truly joyous spectacle in weaving the abilities of the multi-talented cast with the expectations laid out by the classic musical script and score.
The music of Stephen Schwartz allowed the audience to receive a valuable education about one of the 20th century’s great composers. The musical style blends aspects of Broadway standards with elements of pop and rock, making it easy for audiences to bob their heads in enjoyment (and even sing along when asked to during the first act). However, this musical complexity did present another significant challenge for the performers as it required a skilled demonstration of the aforementioned genres. Luckily, the cast was more than able to satisfy. Buchanan held the audience’s attention with charismatic control of the lengthy score; no small feat, especially considering her presence on stage during the vast majority of scenes. Along with this, Crozier’s masterful vocal control and earnest sensibility allowed the audience to follow his journey through war, romance and political intrigue.
Unfortunately, due to the protracted impact of the Covid-19 pandemic there was no live orchestra. As a result, the audience could not help but miss the impact, skill and gravitas of the Macleans College musicians. Luckily, the excellent vocal performances were still able to shine.
The performances of the wider ensemble as a whole must be acknowledged. With a sizable number of speaking and singing roles, each member of the chorus was tasked with belting a selection of complicated songs, delivering intensely choreographed dance-numbers, and each completing a dozen quick costume changes; basically overcoming an ultra-marathon event during each performance.
The college as a whole deserves to be proud of the achievements made by the team that put together this show. Through the accumulation of musical talent, drive and discipline, the Macleans College community should be excited for whatever future production their creative team has up their sleeve.
