Pippin

[thoroughlymodern]

Anyone seen it yet? The talk over at AussieTheatre.com is that it's not very good. Total shame.

[Talissa]

Well, I was going to. That apparently wasn't meant to be.

[Hannah]

A friend of mine saw it and said the choreography was great but that it lacked direction - like he was trying to make up for direction with movement.

I'm yet to see it.

[accentuate]

Your friend was being very very very kind. Its being regarded as one of the worst things ever staged in Australia.

[mara]

I'm going to see it on Saturday and I'm really disappointed with all the reviews - I was really looking forward to it!

[mara]

Well, I saw it. And I thought the choreography was often strange and quite over the top. I really hated the set. But I thought the Leading Player was fantastic and the cast overall was great. Has anyone else seen it?

[accentuate]

I think you're being kind. But I think the company is going to present some stellar things and some catastrophes through its time. I also wish someone would write something for Trisha Noble because she is brilliant.

[ingles]

hi, I've been lurking for ages and thought I'd finally post.
I saw Pippin on Sunday and I have to say that I really loved it. I was expecting something pretty crap considering some of the comments I had read about it here and on another site but it wasn't at all. There were lots of whistles and whooping at the end and even my boyfriend liked it which believe me is very unusual!!! I loved the Leading Player (very cool and what a voice), Catherine (hilarious - great actress), and thought Matthew Robinson was awesome (and very cute). I guess you have to make up your own mind. Yes accentuate, I'm very kind blah blah blah

[Talissa]

Nice to hear that some people at least managed to catch a performance enjoy the show! Being critical is one thing, but not many performances are so painful that you can't possibly enjoy them, and if you're going to pay, you might as well make an effort!

[Hannah]

Just got home from seeing Pippin. i was expecting it to be terrible, but I was actually quite entertained. I wouldn't say "wow, that was so awesome!!" but it was entertaining at the very least. I was in the front row and so caught many of the little facial expressions the back rows would have missed. These probably made the show for me - the little things that helped each player have a unique identity.

Matthew Robinson was cute as Pippin. Great voice, but has no unique stand-out qualities - he looks like "every other" young male actor. I couldn't take my eyes off Sharon Millerchip - she has such presence, and (as always) has a gorgeous voice with great acting skills. Bert Labonte is a terribly charismatic Leading Player (much of which would have been missed had I been sitting further back - very subtle but brilliant). The cast was generally talented and fulfilling.

I really liked the costumes, but they did not work with the set at all. The set was way too sparse on such a huge stage, and with such bland costume colours, the stage looked quite bland, sparse and boring.

I quite liked the "strange" elements of the staging/choreography - especially the song about women (sorry, not familiar with the musical so I don't know it's title!). Really liked the use of fabric. I'm quite a fan of unrealistic stagings (and let's face it, we're in a genre where people burst into song and dance - what could be more strange than that?!) especially where movement is concerned.

The first act dragged quite a bit, but that was the fault of the script and not the performance. The second act picked up quite a bit (again, script).

Overall, an entertaining night of song and dance, but nothing to write home about.

And definitely more entertaining than seeing Titanic!

[Hannah]

Oh, and having us all stand up and sing the national anthem before the show? What the hell was that?!

I come to the arts to get away from the government's patriotic "love Australia despite the fact no one in government has any morals" crap. I don't want to have to deal with that there. They better not do it at Company and Floyd Collins, or I'll consider coming in late.

[mara]

i agree! it was ridiculous! i didnt feel the need to sing the national anthem before i watched the show!

[Buff]

That's bizarre!

Do they do that on Broadway or in the West End? I doubt it. you could maybe believe it from Broadway....

Buff

[Hannah]

I dunno...

But apparently they used to do it before everything in Australia - shows, movies, etc. Mum said it was just like when she was little and didn't find it strange at all. Perhaps they're trying to push the "NATIONAL" part of their elected title so they get more government funding. *cynical*

[RoseFyre]

Never seen it done on Broadway, or on the West End. Never. In America, we only do it before sports games.