Miracle plays to play

Tonight we went to see Pippin, performed by Emerson students at the gorgeous Cutler Majestic.

Overall, it was very good. It's one of my favorite musicals and has a lot of fun songs and I think that "Glory" is an astonishing piece of art--how to fit a bloody battle into a musical comedy! The actors were all quite good, especially the Leading Player (Michael Joosten) and Berthe (Marlena Yanetti). Their Pippin (Rob Morrison) had a good voice for the role and the fresh-faced blondness to carry it off. He failed to be as likeable as I think the part requires, but that only became a problem late in the show, when "Extraordinary" turned from adolescent frustration to actual whining. The sets were pretty standard, but well executed, and the severed limbs were brilliantly realized. The orchestra was possibly the best I've heard in a student show. The cast was enormous, but used well and many of the players managed to get in good "bits" that made them more individual. I wish they had singled out the guy playing the severed head--he had a wonderful wryness that deserved more recognition.

I wish I could have seen them better. I think the lighting designer took the phrase "dark comedy" a bit too literally. There was also some trouble with the sound--the actors with lavalier mikes were cutting in and out at inconvenient times. I tended to dislike the costumes--they seemed remarkable rag-bagged for an organization I would expect to have a significant costume shop (this being their 51st Annual Spring Musical). The choreography was somewhat weak, especially with regards to Fastrada, whose "Spread A Little Sunshine" is usually a fairly wild bump & grind number and was here reduced to swaying and the occasional kick--is it my imagination, or was it also at a slower tempo than usual? The actress (BethAnn Bonner) had a lovely voice and seemed to move well, so I just wonder what happened. The exception to this was the Leading Player, who was obviously having tons of fun with his coat and used his hips to great advantage.

A lot of fun, with plenty of "magic to do," and I will hope to see Michael Joosten again.

Miracle plays to play

Tonight we went to see Pippin, performed by Emerson students at the gorgeous Cutler Majestic.

Overall, it was very good. It's one of my favorite musicals and has a lot of fun songs and I think that "Glory" is an astonishing piece of art--how to fit a bloody battle into a musical comedy! The actors were all quite good, especially the Leading Player (Michael Joosten) and Berthe (Marlena Yanetti). Their Pippin (Rob Morrison) had a good voice for the role and the fresh-faced blondness to carry it off. He failed to be as likeable as I think the part requires, but that only became a problem late in the show, when "Extraordinary" turned from adolescent frustration to actual whining. The sets were pretty standard, but well executed, and the severed limbs were brilliantly realized. The orchestra was possibly the best I've heard in a student show. The cast was enormous, but used well and many of the players managed to get in good "bits" that made them more individual. I wish they had singled out the guy playing the severed head--he had a wonderful wryness that deserved more recognition.

I wish I could have seen them better. I think the lighting designer took the phrase "dark comedy" a bit too literally. There was also some trouble with the sound--the actors with lavalier mikes were cutting in and out at inconvenient times. I tended to dislike the costumes--they seemed remarkable rag-bagged for an organization I would expect to have a significant costume shop (this being their 51st Annual Spring Musical). The choreography was somewhat weak, especially with regards to Fastrada, whose "Spread A Little Sunshine" is usually a fairly wild bump & grind number and was here reduced to swaying and the occasional kick--is it my imagination, or was it also at a slower tempo than usual? The actress (BethAnn Bonner) had a lovely voice and seemed to move well, so I just wonder what happened. The exception to this was the Leading Player, who was obviously having tons of fun with his coat and used his hips to great advantage.

A lot of fun, with plenty of "magic to do," and I will hope to see Michael Joosten again.