Pippin is Alive and Well

I received 2 tickets to the show from The Straz Center as part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.Lats night my husband and I had the pleasure of traveling to the beautiful Straz Center in Tampa to see the musical Pippin. Let me start out by giving you a warning. In my opinion, Pippin is not a family friendly show, I would give it a strong PG-13 borderline R rating due to language and as they call it “pastoral sex” scenes. Personally I wouldn’t want my unmarried 19yo son to see this show but my standards are very strict. That being said, I was aware of this going in. I have had a love affair with Pippin since my freshman year in college when the Show Choir I was in did the music of Pippin in one of our reviews. It wasn’t til years later when I found a VHS recording of the Broadway play that I saw the actual show.

Fast forward 30+ years to last night when I finally had the opportunity to see Pippin live on stage. Pippin, in its current form, is a mixture of Broadway musical and Cirque du Soleil rolled into one debauchery filled, Fosse choreographed extravaganza. At it’s core, Pippin the musical is about Pippin the son of Charlemagne, who is trying to find his place in life, trying to find what fulfills him. The depth of his quest can get lost in the burlesque-type show going on all around him, but if you bother to look deep, Pippin is a man searching for meaning in his life.

The music of Pippin is what originally drew me to this show and as I sat watching and listening, I was overwhelmed by the college memories that came flooding back as I watched this amazing cast breath new life into this show. Sasha Allen was phenomenal as Leading Player, her voice is powerful and her stage presence commanding. Sam Lips’ portrayal of Pippin was mesmerizing. Pippin as a character has many levels from weak, depressed and vulnerable all the way up through confident warrior and just about everything in between. Lips was able to give each level the care and attention it deserved at just the right time. The entire cast was wonderful in its own right and I was blow away by all of the talented players.

Pippin is at the Straz Center in Tampa through April 19th. The tour continues throughout the US so if you aren’t in the Tampa area look for the tour coming to a city near you. Plan a night out with your hubby and as the song says, “Join us…….. Leave your fields to flower. Join us…….. Leave your cheese to sour. Join us…….. Come and waste an hour or two. Doo-dle-ee-do. Journey……. Journey to a spot exciting, mystic and exotic. Journey…….. Through our anecdotic revue. We’ve got magic to do…….. Just for you. We’ve got miracle plays to play. We’ve got parts to perform…. Hearts to warm, kings and things to take by storm as we go along our way.” (Magic to Do-Pippin). Have you ever seen Pippin? Would you like to?