Pippin, his Life and Times

Locations
Call Number: DVD 782.7 Sc
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 1-week checkout	DVD 782.7 Sc	1-week checkout	On Shelf

Originally produced for television in 1981.
Special features include: Interactive menus ; chapter stops ; bios.
Ben Vereen, William Katt, Leslie Dennison, Benjamin Rayson, Martha Raye, Chita Rivera.
Using the medieval legend of Charlemagne's son, Pippin, heir apparent to the Holy Roman Empire, this musical pageant is a parable about a young man's search for meaning and truth.
DVD.
Contents: Pippin.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Has Some Surprising Plot Twists submitted by Meginator on August 27, 2022, 9:16pm I went into this musical without knowing anything about it other than thinking it was a straightforward historical tale, which it very much (and I cannot emphasize this enough) is NOT. I would not recommend this as anyone’s first or even tenth musical, as it is as much a commentary on musical theater as it is a story in its own right, but anyone who enjoys meta-narratives and fiction that breaks the fourth wall should get a kick out of this. This particular production, a filmed and slightly truncated performance from 1981, shows its age quite a bit in the costuming, but Ben Vereen’s extraordinary performance in the lead role (which, notably, is not Pippin) is one for the ages and I’m glad it has been captured on film. I wasn’t as much a fan of William Katt in the title role, although I haven’t seen the show before and it’s possible that some of what I didn’t like is part of how actors usually play the character. While some of its jokes are a bit on the nose, particularly in an era where breaking the fourth wall is relatively common, the show is completely unique and a lot of fun once you figure out what in the world is going on.