Theater Too!
I just had the odd experience of seeing a play that I had not seen on stage in 40 years. (Yeah, I am that old.)
When you see a play produced a second (or third, or fourth etc.) time, you see it with two sets of eyes (or minds, brains…choose your metaphor). You see the first production and of course you see the production you are actually experiencing at the time. (Or, rather, you remember, creatively or otherwise, what you have seen before and experience the play as you watch it the second (or third..) time.)
I first saw “Pippin” at age 14. It was the first play that I had ever seen, and holds a special place in my curmudgeonly heart.
While I certainly enjoyed last night’s production of “Pippin” (so glad I finally dragged my aging carcass to the show–it has been out for a little over a year) and would recommend it, I am not so sure my 14-year-old self would be pleased. But then, there was no pleasing that kid.
The story of “Pippin” is very simple and very much a product of the 70′s. A young man is trying to find himself> He tries, then rejects being a scholar, a soldier, a politician, an artist and an ordinary man. What makes this play different is that the story is framed and told to us by a motley theater troupe: they comment on the action, participate in the story and at times direct the course of the play which they freely call a play and the characters actors. If I were wearing my tweed jacket and smoking my pipe while drinking crappy white wine and eating cheese, I might say: “Brechtian.” But am not, so I won’t.
In the end, we see that the troupe, and its insidious leader, wants our callow lead to immolate himself on stage: to do something spectacular and go out with a bang (or a good deal of scream and sizzle). A spectacular finale will give our lead’s life meaning, he is told, and of course, give a jolly good show to the audience. It will be great!
Fortunately, the young man realizes that the while magic and spectacle are all very nice, and a good deal of fun, perhaps an ordinary life of work, raising a family and in general, taking life a day at a time, is preferable to a flameout.
The 14-year-old in me remembers, however (perhaps incorrectly) that the 1974 production featured a troupe of odd characters: they wore thrown-together costumes and garish face paint. They gyrated sensually, but their eyes were still and dead. They leered at us as they danced. They may have been seductive, but they were also seemingly dangerous and not to be trusted.
This production is an odd, Roman Circus/Cirque du Soleil show of well-toned gym rats who smile and mug and do amazing acrobatic stunts. What fun! Again! Again! The magic is very real and we want to see more of it.
Maybe the new production is too subtle for me. Perhaps the point is to co-opt the audience and make them want the magic, only to have the point made that we are all like Pippin, and we want our corner of the sky and don’t want to work every day, and take care of children and be mindful of the needs of our loved ones. And perhaps not. Maybe the people who produced this show were having too much damn fun. Maybe they wanted to give us our money’s worth too. While the tickers in 1974 were a gift, they probably cost under $20, compared to the hundred or so per ticket I paid last night—-half price.
It just seemed to me that the endless stunts and gymnastics and acrobatics (some of which, honestly, were amazing to watch) are not only a distraction but they seem to go against the very idea of the play.
But, that is only what a 14-year-old kid think
