PIPPIN
by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirn
Performances: Wednesday, April 20th and Thursday, April 21st at 7:00p.m.
Location: Tuttle Hall @ 86 4th Avenue, NYC (south of Union Square)
The show:
The son of King Charlemagne and heir to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, Pippin has returned home from college to discover that he has no idea what to do with his life. He wants so badly to be special, to be extraordinary, but has no idea what will lead him to the path to greatness. After looking for meaning in religion, art, politics, war, and carousing, he wonders if it's possible to discover a meaningful existence in a life that’s a little more... ordinary.
Pippin's question resonates deeply with many young people today, which is why we are taking a contemporary spin on the show. For our production, we are looking at Pippin's journey through the lens of social media and celebrity culture. Pippin is the quintessential Post-Millennial. He can’t remember a time before Instagram and Snapchat. He has grown into a young adult alongside YouTube vloggers. He curates his life through the internet and social media and takes cues on how to be special from the major players there, to the point where what happens online and what happens in reality start to blur. The people he follows and the pictures he likes start to manifest and lead him to what he believes will be an extraordinary life. But what happens when the quest for greatness, as defined by the major players on the internet, leads to one's own self-destruction? Is it possible for anyone to truly be extraordinary, or is an "ordinary" life special enough?
Directed by Sabrina Jacob (staging/choreography) and Andrew Leonard (music)
Assistant Director Cesi Toy
Stage Manger David Carzis
The Cast
Class of '21: Rafe DiDomenico
Class of '19: Charlotte Spohler, Diana Michaelis
Class of '18: Camille Segre-Lawrence, Lucia Rogerson, Isabella Dyczek, Jorie Coe, Georgia Ossorguine, Penelope Hinds, Naomi Talbott
Class of '17: Brody Dozoretz, Evan Neiden, Eva Burgos, Kit Keenan, Joey Fox, Cesi Toy
Class of '16: Charlie Tiedemann, Caitlin Berg, Theo Kaufman, Electra Carzis, Adrian Oxley, Ava Thornton, Jade Hui, Terell Long, Maxine Bell, Rosalie Horton, Eleanor Sgaramella, Kristen Dahlberg, Lauren Davis, Mark McPhillips, Coco Goupil, Rose White
The Crew
Abisola Fashakin ('19), Livia Brodie ('18), Henry Curcio ('17), Henry Kamp ('17), Danielle Quick Holmes ('17), Remi Yuter ('17)