More Magic To Do in the Black Box

“There’s got to be something worthwhile to do with my life,” Pippin sings. This lyric embodies the message of Pippin—a message that has made the musical popular among students for decades. Originally, the show, which follows the life of Pippin the Hunchback, the son of Charlemagne, was performed as a student musical at Carnegie Mellon. This weekend, the beloved Stephen Schwartz musical is returning to its university roots once more as the Columbia Musical Theatre Society presents their version of Pippin.

Why Pippin at Columbia? Director Molly Braverman, CC ’09, explains her choice: “Pippin is college age. He is at the point in his life where he’s like ‘shit, now what?’ That’s where most of us will be in one or four years.” Stage manager Darcy Zacharias, CC ’10, adds, “Pippin is struggling to find his purpose in life. ... I feel like as a Columbia student I go through that struggle every day.”

Bringing a Broadway favorite back to life is not easy—especially when the show in question broke boundaries in the ‘70s, like Pippin did. Braverman has, in this light, attempted to modernize the show. Traditionally, Pippin is a grand scale production with a full orchestra and chorus. This version, instead, is performed in the black box theater. The lighting in the black box is dim—deep purple and yellow lights create an atmosphere that feels less like a Broadway theater than the close-knit setting of a cabaret night club. Braverman says, “I decided to put Pippin the Black Box because it allows a different way into Pippin—putting it in a more intimate space.”

Braverman and the other members of the production team have worked hard to make this version of Pippin unique and applicable to students at Columbia. The first step to achieve this modern style: ditch the orchestra. Braverman explains, “It has more of a rock setting than the traditional orchestra, like the electric piano playing the flute part.” Although it still maintains some of the original director and choreographer Bob Fosse’s style, the choreography has been updated as well. Choreographer Bryan Hobgood, CC ’09 explains, “This is a classic show and we are putting our own spin on it. We put a new spin on the choreography. We’ve taken Fosse’s basic moves and molded them into a new style.” Another twist is that musicians are placed on stage and during the duration of the show, they interact with the cast on stage.

The cast is comprised of a diverse mix of students, first-years through seniors, spanning all of Columbia’s undergraduate schools. It is quite an impressive group of actors, but the standout is Ricky Schweitzer, CC ’11, in the lead as Pippin. Schweitzer, already a Broadway veteran, acting in shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime, and A Christmas Carol, mesmerizes the audience with his immense vocal ability and stage presence.

“It has been an eclectically wonderful group of human beings,” exclaims Braverman. In the opening number “Magic to Do,” the cast sings “Come and waste an hour or two.” A waste of time, this production of Pippin most definitely is not.

Pippin is presented in the Lerner black box theater: Thursday, Nov. 15 and Friday, Nov. 16 at 8 PM; Saturday, Nov. 17 at 2 PM and 8 PM. Tickets are $5.00 with CUID and $10.00 general admission.