In our telling of "Pippin", our young ambitious lead Pippin is plucked from the audience to join a mysterious cabaret troop led by the Leading Player. These players attempt to entice and persuade Pippin to make various poor life choices as he tries to reach his goal of being extraordinary.
This story is very poignant today as social media is an ever-present part of our lives, especially for our high schoolers. The Leading Player can be viewed as the internet/social media that encourages Pippin to try new things and the Players give him "likes" to reward him for his questionable behavior.
This is a “coming of age” story. Pippin is continuously striving for perfection and getting the most approval from his peers, the Players. He strives to find meaning in the world and importance in his life. Despite searching to make his mark, he cannot find satisfaction. In the end, he realizes that he does not need fame, power, or promiscuity to be happy and that living an ordinary life can be extraordinary.
The play uses “theater of the absurd” concepts and Brechtian theatrical elements in telling this story, such as breaking the 4th wall and the use of scene placards. The Cabaret theme we have chosen in our production highlights these elements.
The Leading Player and other Players are dressed in black and white to represent that they aren't real. They are coming to Pippin in a dream and are voices inside his head. Some believe that when you dream in black and white, it means that someone is controlling the narrative of your life and you have little freedom to express yourself while you are awake. The red accents on the costumes and around the set represent caution and danger.
David Mayer & Levi Walker
