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Broadway buffs take their favorite shows seriously. They're fierce and protective over every lyric. One negative word against a theater enthusiast's favorite show, and you might receive an essay about why you're wrong.
That's why when Misty Shipman had the chance to direct a mainstage production for the first time, let alone of her own favorite musical, she jumped at the opportunity.
"I love Pippin," Shipman says. "It's an extraordinary story. I asked Stage Left to give me a show a few years ago, and they took that risk."
Pippin made its Broadway debut in 1972 and was revived in 2013, bringing the musical to a whole new crowd of theater fans and amplifying the show's already dark yet humorous nature. While the original production featured calculated and sultry choreography by Bob Fosse, the revival leaned more heavily into the circus theme that runs throughout the show.
"I'm making sure to be very faithful to the 1972 version," Shipman says. "I wanted it to be very stripped down and simple. It doesn't require the pageantry or the circus, per se."
Pippin is a show with many layers. Pippin and his father Charlemagne's characters are derived from historical figures from the Middle Ages. The musical uses the premise of a mystical performance troupe led by the Leading Player to tell the story. The fourth wall is broken countless times.
Shipman was aware of and ready for the challenge of a show with such complex themes woven into the script. But first she had to choose the right actors to portray each of the unique characters.
Having just moved to Spokane a little over three months ago, Owen Henderson figured trying out for a community theater production would be a great place to find friends and community, even if he didn't land a role.
Henderson ended up landing the role.
"I never in a million years thought I was gonna be Pippin," he says. "Like truly not at all. When I was just casually enjoying the show, all of the songs I gravitated toward were for the parts of the Leading Player or Fastrada or the ensemble. I had to go back and figure out what I needed to do in order to be the emotional heart of this show. As flashy and fun as everything is, it will only go so far if you don't have something for the audience to hold onto."
Just like Shipman, Henderson has always loved the story of Pippin. He discovered it in high school and made it his goal to be a part of its production one day.
"As a queer person, you don't often see yourself as the lead or just someone who the story is about," Hendersons says. "Let alone as a character with a love interest. It's easier to think I could be the sexy, slinky Fosse dancer. This role really made me work as an actor."
Catherine, Pippin's love interest, is played by Kiki Prater, who's in a lead role for the first time in her theater career. Like Henderson, Prater never saw herself as the romantic lead in a production. Prater says she sees a lot of herself in Catherine.
"I'm a kind of silly, goofy gal," Prater says. "Catherine is too, but she's also regal, elegant and very responsible. All of the things I would like to say I am, but I'm not necessarily! I had to dig pretty deep because, when it comes down to it, a lot is going on in this show, and it wasn't good enough to just act like a princess."
Both Henderson and Prater have appreciated having Shipman at the helm of the complex musical that is Pippin.
"You can tell she loves Pippin," Henderson says. "She has a lot of reverence and respect for the original, but she isn't afraid to do her own thing."
In the love song that Pippin and Catherine perform together, aptly named "Love Song," the two sing: "They say the whole is greater than the sum of the parts it's made of. Well if it's true of anything, it's true of love."
"Misty is doing this because she loves the show, and she's created a cast of people who love each other," Prater says. "The basis of all of this is love, which translates into the show itself. Pippin dreams of wanting something bigger, and what he finds is love. It's been incredible to get to be in a show that feels produced by love." ♦
Pippin • Aug. 2-18; Thu-Sat at 7 pm, Sun at 2 pm • All ages • $15-$35 • Stage Left Theater • 108 W. Third Ave. • stagelefttheater.org
