Theatre Review—

Musicals At Richter Has Opened With An Enjoyable, Even If Episodic, Tale

By Julie Stern

DANBURY — Pippin is a less-than-perfect Stephen Schwartz musical about the “coming of age” of the son and heir of Charlemagne, the great Holy Roman Emperor, back in 780 AD. Sent by his illiterate father to be educated, the youthful Pippin emerges from university, dazed, confused and desperate to find his rightful calling in life.

Like many a current day graduate, Pippin dabbles in a variety of pursuits; among his are war, art, religion and politics. But he finds that none of them live up to his vision of fulfillment.

They are either too difficult or too boring, and so he drifts from one path to another, in his quest to find a truly meaningful life. His perfectionist standards lead him to almost miss out on the real happiness that could be his in marriage to a beautiful widow with a young son.

It is ironic that a play about the hazards of perfectionist ideals is being staged with consummate excellence. Under George Vollano’s leadership, everything, from Andrew Knapp’s set design to Sabrina Post’s musical direction to Jennifer Turey’s choreography, to Dee and Don’s costuming, and especially the performance of the entire cast, including the 16 teenagers who comprise the black-clad “players” presenting the story, is carried out with a sense of high spirited integrity.

Against the background of Knapp’s airy gothic framework of a castle, hung with illuminated banners reminiscent of a Medieval manuscript, the three principals — Bret Poulter as the darkly handsome Leading Player, John Congdon as the angst-ridden Pippin, and Priscilla Squiers as Catherine, the warm hearted lady who needs someone to oversee her estates, patch the roof of the chicken house, and be a father-figure to her young son and his pet duck — dominate the stage with both their musical voices and their personal presence.

The rest of the company — including Brian Maher as the powerful Charlemagne, Sarah Lee Michaels as Pippin’s sultry stepmother, Ed Gonzales as his gung ho stepbrother, Christina Balsama as his grandmother, and Brett Pond as Catherine’s demanding little boy — do their parts convincingly.

But it is the players’ swirling about in the spirit of Bob Fosse (who directed the original Broadway version of the show) who provide the pageantry that make this show enjoyable and entertaining in spite of its episodic story and less than memorable musical score. Crisply paced and reasonably timed (as opposed to the interminable Camelot, which seemed to stretch on longer than the Thirty Years War), and far less sappy than The Fantasticks, Pippin is a show you can take the whole family to and the kids might even learn a bit of history.

Now in its 17th season, Musicals At Richter is a wonderful tradition that involves both kids and adults working together to present three musical shows each summer, on an outdoor stage (in addition to a related Saturday morning children’s Fairy Tale Theatre series).

Families come with picnics and lawn chairs and bug spray and get to see theater under the stars not in a huge stadium, but in an intimate setting behind Richter Park Golf Course, where you are never more than four or five rows back from the action.

(Performances of this season-opener at Musicals at Richter continue on weekends, Friday through Sunday at 8:30 pm, until June 30.

For reservations, directions or other information, call 748-6873 or visit www.musicalsatrichter.org.)