Thursday, February 5, 2009
Magic to Do...at the Taper
I saw Pippin last night at the Mark Taper Forum. The joint production by Center Theatre Group and Deaf West Theatre follows previous successful productions of Big River at the Taper and Sleeping Beauty Wakes at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Much of the show will be familiar to fans of the original musical, yet all good remounts find a way to give you something fresh and unexpected. This production does just that.
You might think that replacing the original Bob Fosse choreography would be unthinkable, however, director Jeff Calhoun has done something even better. He’s used American Sign Language, performed sensually by white-gloved hands that appear from unexpected places…like through holes in the stage floor under spotlights, to add to the sensuality of the show. Both deaf and hearing actors sign and sing the musical comedy written by Roger O. Hirson (book) and Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics). Schwartz has also added some new music for this production and you’ll see twists in the direction of some of the original numbers.
Sharing the title role are deaf actor Ty Giordano and Michael Arden, who played the role when Reprise! did Pippin in 2005 at UCLA. Both are well worth the price of admission. Other standouts include Ty Taylor as the Leading Player, Sara Gettelfinger as Fastrada and Troy Kotsur as King Charlemagne. Pippin runs through March 15.
