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Show R6V1GJU Enthusiasm and Exuberance Not Enough in 'Pippin' his verse doesn't vary with the individual mood of each song. "Eagles Belong Where They Can Fly" takes on the same emotional significance as "Morning Glow", which doesn't make any sense because they're about two different ideas. At times Meadow's characterization characteri-zation leaves me feeling as emptv as Pippin himself and I dont think Pippin is really as shallow as he and Burnett would have us believe. Instead this is a character with integrity, sensitivity and strength who has temporarily tem-porarily lost the belief in himself and his place in the world. We are to experience , his muddled struggle foi identity and purpose, but not question his ultimate ability to find it. In other words Meadows left me with the impression that he was permanently lost instead of revealing any sense of progress. Pippin seems the same before, during and after life's awareness sessions. ses-sions. I feel that much of the power of "Pippin" was lost clue to the director's decision to cast Meadows and Olpin in the two lead parts. They simply didn't have the musical strength to carry on the momentum of the play with the sought after effectiveness effec-tiveness it deserves. Luckily there were several bright moments, an inspirational inspira-tional light of talent and song penetrating the bleak aura of the production. Lorna Sho-field Sho-field as Lastrada, Pippin's mother, lends a clever interpretation to this woman's wo-man's personality. She epitomizes with exaggerated, exaggerat-ed, theatrical gestures, the mood of a woman dramatizing dramatiz-ing her role as wife and mother before the world. I really enjoyed her rendiation of "Spread a Little Sunshine", Sun-shine", which possessed the elements of good, quality entertainment. Schofield's strong voice is a credit to musical theater. Another intermittent highlight high-light in the show is Ruth Agyle's, Berthe. As Pippin's grandmother, she portrays the old woman with timeless good humor and an unfading spirit. Her song, "It's Time to Start Living" is a foot stomping, upbeat tune, in which the audience is encouraged en-couraged to sing along. Conveniently the words of the chorus are projected on a screen above the stage, which proved to be a fun special effect. Finally, Dana Bishop's performance per-formance of Catherine, Pip-pin's Pip-pin's first love, was excellent. excel-lent. Her voice resonates with the depth and range of true musical talent. In my opinion she could have easily played the Lead Player and satisfied the demands of that part required. She is in total control of her character (and Pippin). Her infatuation with the arch of his foot prompts her dedication to restore Pippin's faith in life. Eventually they do fall in love and we are treated to a duet by Bishop and Meadows. Mea-dows. "Singing A Love Song" was pleasant, but she is better singing on her own as Bishop's strong voice tends to override the falsetto quality in Meadow's. Catherine's Cather-ine's daughter Theo, played by Katheryn Nelson, is darling and fit the role perfectly. Ron Burnett as King Charlamagne and Anthony Leger as Lewis (Pippin's father and brother) are examples of the productions unbalanced casting. Though their characters are played confidently (Burnett's bellow Please turn to page 7B I admire the Intermountain Actors Ensemble's efforts to present a quality show in their first production of "Pippin" for a Park City audience. Unfortunately, w hen reviewing theater performances, per-formances, effort alone does not, can not, dictate the effectiveness of the performance. perfor-mance. Such was the case upon opening night last Friday at the Prospector Square Theater. As much as I had heard and read about the attempted level of professionalism to be achieved in this particular play, I feel director Anne Burnett and her cast missed the mark. Although the cast's enthusiasm enthu-siasm was apparent, the overall talent was not enough to carry the show successfully. success-fully. In short, the show was miscast. The challenge of a musical of this caliber written by playwright and lyricist Stephen Schwartz whose imagination and power pow-er was brought to life in last summers' production of "Godspell". was not met by the performers of "Pippin". Instead it was painfully clear that the play's problems w ere rooted in its packaging and delivery. The most important characters in the play were evidently type-cast for their appearances rather than for their stamina anc ability, while secondarv characters proved to be so strong they diverted the attention away from the leads. Knowing I.A.E.'s past reputation for excellence excel-lence and Anne and Ron Burnett's collective experience exper-ience in theater, this critic kept wondering how these serious flaws could be overlooked. The end result looked like week three of rehearsal rather than meeting meet-ing expectations I held for an opening night performance. The second disappointment of the evening was the noticable absence of most of Park City's avid theatergoers. theatergo-ers. Considering the ticket price (of $10.00) was to benefit the needy Park City Community Clinic, one would have expected to see more of the community. After counting the number of cast members on stage and those in the audience, I would guess that most of those present were friends or family of the actors and actresses. What it comes down to is the probability that the ten dollar price tag was too steep for those who really neea and use the clinic, and irrelevant to those who can afford medical services elsewhere. None the less, it was a commendable tribute by the Intermountain Actors Ensemble. The story concerns a young man of royal blood whose internal sense of emptiness motivates; his search for fulfillment in life. Pippin's father. King Charlamagne. allows his son ( and heir t( the throne) to follow in hi; own illustrious footsteps of war and trepedation. So begins Pippins' odyssey. In his quest tor joy and purpose many paths are followed, and many answers sought. Still, he struggles for meaning mean-ing in life and his place in it. His search contains the varied elements of illusion and reality which provides the tale with it's limitless opportunities for interpretation. interpreta-tion. Here lies the production's produc-tion's potential for creativity and entertainment, as well. The choreography and staging stag-ing was sketchy, to say the least. If this was in fact patterned after Bob Fosse's original Broadway direction, as mentioned by Pippin's current director and choreographer, choreo-grapher, Anne Burnett, it needed a lot of practice. More than once, one frolicking frolick-ing dancer leapt his or her way into the path of another. Many of the chorus Players simply looked uncomfortable with creative movement. It was evident that the existing cast could not meet the demands of the choreographed choreo-graphed scheme designed for them. Better to have left the dance routines to someone some-one with the expertise to recognize the limitations and abilities of the young and inexperiences Players. The foundation of a show like "Pippin" consists of the cast's ability to adapt the vision of the playwright with harmonious and convincing expression through song and dance. Unfortunately this foundation was weak. Even when the actorsactresses actorsact-resses possessed the talent to move well, as was the situation with the two leads played by Patsy Olpin and Jeff Meadows, their ability to deliver a message through song was lacking. Patsj Olpin, who plays the produc tion's Lead Player (or MC) certainly looked the part. Her beauty is captivating, she is peppy and she knows how to flaunt her stuff, her costume is stylish which also adds to her appearance. Regrettably her exuberance aoes not make up tor her singing, which is inadequate for a part that requires so much singing. Her voice projection is scant and after the second song every rendition sounds the same; forced and noticably breathless. breath-less. Clearly she was cast for her physical attributes, rather rath-er tnan voice quality. Jeff Meadows as Pippin is also a pleasure to watch. He's young, handsome and sparkling. Still tor me much of his performance lacked the credibility necessary to believe in him and to identify with his plight. His voice is nice enough, but the. style of ' ,-'!' r - "i f t 4 ( tl n """"""Ti ""n HMM OM.JII III 1 1 urn I III lll.lllgS(SS5:s;,:;Ss: 1 Ox r4 4 !! 1 N r9 d if w if I. i rii n.. , . t t fjymZl i tl.BW') I I . ' u Jt-h $ZmJ ill i 1 I v '' I s ' 'iif 1 Pippin players 1 to r Patsy Olpin leading player, Robyn Adamson, Lisa Green, w' 'UfOs Collyn Adamson, and unidentified player in a scene from the play. More 'Pippin' Continued from Page 4B is most convincing) they are too much for their respective parts. Especially in comparison compari-son with the others, since I felt that Burnett's role attracted more attention than anyone else on stage at the time. Of course he is King and maybe that is as it should be, but it looked like Dad playing theater with his kids. The expanse of delivery and credibility amidst ami-dst actors was just too great. Leger appeared uncomfortable uncomfor-table in this musical and I would like to attribute it to the same reason already mentioned. He has so much stage presence he didn't fit in with the rest of the performers. Though he wasn't required to sing his movement to song was awkward and I questioned why he was placed in this particular role. Jon Nelson as the Headless Man and Collyn Adamson as the Field Marshall has small walk-on parts and very few lines that were a little muffled. The orchestra was conducted conduct-ed by the Park City High School's Gregory Hexim. j The main instrument used I was an electric piano played ! by Elisa Carlile, which provided a new sound to the Park City theater. However, there was an annoying static I condition in one of the : speakers that couldn't be i ignored. It was a distracting disturbance and a shame as it took away from the accompanyment. The music in "Pippin" is delightful, but I don't feel it reached it's potential in this performance. perfor-mance. For whatever reason, it sounded like something was missing; an instrument, enthusiasm, or perhaps experience?. In conclusion I believe that it is a good idea to coordinate the varied level of talents and age groups in our local theater productions. But I don't believe that it can be used as a shield to protect the young and sometimes sensitive egos of those that involve themselves with community theater. Unfortunately Unfor-tunately this was not the best production I've seen, but it doesn't mean that this sort of theater can't be done successfully, suc-cessfully, nor that it was because of the gap in age and talent that I.A.E. s "Pippin" failed. It's just another element or obstacle that is part of the many in-staee productions that must be dealt with intelligently, intelli-gently, creatively, and hope-Fully hope-Fully with success. "Pippin" is a demanding musical and a challenge for the most experienced actors and directors. dir-ectors. And indeed, it is a disappointment to witness the ungratifying efforts of a challenge not met. by Leslie Miller |