When I first started this website many years ago I didn’t expect one of my most reviews show to be Pippin but this is now the 6th review of Pippin on the website, from other amateur theatre companies through to the concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane as well as productions at Charing Cross Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and more, which demonstrates the enduring appeal of Pippin.

Pippin tells of a young man, son of Charlemange the king, who is keen to live an extraordinary life. In trying to do so he experiences many things, from scholarly pursuits to war and from sex to ruling the kingdom. He however ends up meeting a widow, Catherine, and her son and it is this relationship that leads him to think that there may be more to life than simply being extraordinary.

Pippin relies on having a charismatic individual in the title role and luckily Cygnet Players had that in the form of Laurence Parvu. He had a genuine warmth about him and it was easy to warm to him throughout the show. Often Pippin can come across as a bit spoilt and self centred by Parvu managed to avoid this trap. There were however times, especially in the higher register where he seemed to struggle vocally but this was entirely understandably with the vocal demands of this role.

The leading player was Jamie Miller-Hughes and she controlled the players around her with a look, a raised eyebrow and a gesture. She also had a lovely versatile vocal quality which showed off her range. Catherine was played by Katie Dart and she was also incredibly engaging – she played the part with a great balance of woman in love against the competing demands of someone in need of help. Her voice was also crystal clear and really well suited to the part. The other parts were also well cast, with Alex Dehn as Lewis posturing all over the stage, Lily Gillespie Moult was Berthe and quickly riled the audience up and got them on side for a sing a long.

Director Alex Johnson set this show as a 1970’s inspired troupe and it often felt very ‘Hair’ esq as a result. At times I would have liked him to lean into this even further as Pippin is at its best when the concept is clear. The cult feeling was great whenever the ensemble were involved in the action but when the story revolved around just one of the 2 principles this motivation felt a bit lost. I enjoyed the fact that all of the props needed for the show were housed in 2 boxes on stage – this added to the feeling of the ensemble being players and the fact that they are putting on a show for the audiences entertainment, a theme that runs throughout the show. The stage however felt a little bare a times and didn’t give the audience much guidance in terms of the setting and feel of Johnson’s vision.

Chorography by Kim Schenkelaars was varied throughout the show. I particularly enjoyed ‘War Is An Art,’ where she cleverly had them all sat with repetitive leg movement gradually speeding up. The music of the show is by Stephen Schwartz and his harmonies, especially for the ensemble numbers were well drilled by musical director Mimi Roberts although at times the band overpowered soloists.

Pippin by Cygnet Players was an enjoyable evening spent listening to Schwartz’s music in a fun and well acted interpretation of this musical.

To find out more about Cygnet Players and their future productions you can visit their website here.

If you like this review of Pippin by Cygnet Players you might also like my review of their production of Sweeney Todd, Shrek and All Shook Up.