#leading player pippin

[tobbogan-13]

WHY IS THE E5 AT THE END OF SIMPLE JOYS SO BELTY?????

[come-see-our-show]

How a Female Pippin Affects the Story: a Queer Ramble

Pippin is one of my favorite musicals, and I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it would mean for the show if Pippin was a woman. In many ways, the story wouldn’t change it all. It’s about a person trying to find their purpose in life, guided by a performance troupe which is clearly a metaphor for mental illness. But, there are some changes.

With a female Pippin, the story is about a closeted lesbian going through an identity crisis, explores gender roles, discovers her sexuality, finds love, gets a cottagecore girlfriend, learns to accept herself, and fights internalized homophobia.

Let’s go bit by bit through the story, pointing out how things would change.

The Leading Player welcomes the audience to the story of Pippin, the firstborn child of Charlemagne, wanting you to cast aside all previous misconceptions. We meet Pippin, who has just finished university, “where [her] father had sent [her] to study, so that [she] may embark upon [her] life with a maximum of choices and possibilities.” (Feminist icon King Charlemagne??)

Pippin tells the faculty that she’s grateful for her newfound knowledge, but what she’s looking for can’t be found in books. She doesn’t know what she’s looking for, but it’s going to be something completely fullfilling. This is a very relatable experiences when you’re deeply closeted. You don’t know what you want, but you know that something’s missing.

For Corner of the Sky, I would keep the lyrics masculine. “So many men seem destined to settle for something small, but I won’t rest until I know I’ll have it all.” Although Pippin is a woman, she compares herself to men. Men have the freedom to dream, to be independent, and she wants that. But still, she’s going to do so much more than them.

Pippin tells her father she wants to be a soldier, again aligning herself with masculinity. We see after that Pippin isn’t a violent person and isn’t meant for battle, but doesn’t realize it yet. She thinks this will be fullfilling. It is a common queer experience to try to shove yourself into one box, thinking that is how you’re supposed to present. This Pippin thinks, “In order to prove that I’m unique, I should present myself in a masculine way by participating in war.” But of course, there is no right or wrong way to be a lesbian. A hobby or interest or trait doesn’t mean you’re gay or trans.

Pippin realizes she’s not a soldier. Her grandma Berthe tells her to find live in the moment and enjoy the simple things. This is when Pippin discovers.... women. I’m not gonna paste all of the lyrics (here is a link!) but the gist of the song With You is that Pippin is telling each girl, “You’ve awakened me, and I want to be with you” but the joke is that while he’s singing this beautiful earnest song, he’s hopping from girl to girl. However, even if you keep in that joke, a female Pippin is basically saying, “Oh, this is what I’ve been feeling. I’m a lesbian. Something has awakened in me and I want to explore these feelings.” (Cue the epic orgy scene!)

However, having all of this sex without love leaves Pippin feeling “empty and vacant” (obviously not everyone needs romantic love to be fulfilled but this is just one story ok). She’s had this sexual awakening but still hasn’t found love yet. So she starts a revolution, kills her father, and becomes queen, as one does of course.

Onto Act 2!

Pippin realizes she isn’t very good at being a queen, but TLP tells her that she’s on the right track. She’s discovered by Catherine, a widowed farmhand. TLP is concerned that Catherine is actually attracted to Pippin. Catherine says, “[She] put [her] hand on my face! They don’t usually do that.” At this point we know that this isn’t the first time TLP has told the story of Pippin, but this is the first girl Pippin. And this is the first time Catherine has fallen in actual love with one of the Pippins. Yeah, lots of lesbian implications there.

Catherine and Pippin begin a relationship and it’s very adorable. But then when Catherine asks Pippin to sit at the head of the table, Pippin freaks out. Even though this is what she wants, to live this simple life with Catherine and her son, a part of her is telling her it’s “wrong.” But of course, it isn’t wrong, but her internalized homophobia is telling her otherwise. So she leaves, and Catherine stops the show for a second so she add a new song, I Guess I’ll Miss the Man Girl.

“I guess I'll miss the girl She's gone now, in a whirl Her face was far from fine But still I'll miss her face And wonder if she's missing mine Some days she wouldn't say A pleasant word all day Some days she'd scowl and curse But there were other days When she was really even worse Some men are heroes Some men outshine the sun Some men are simple, good men This girl wasn't one And I won't miss her moods Her gloomy solitudes Her blunt abrasive style But please don't get me wrong She was the best to come along In a long, long while.”

That’s gay!

TLP and the troupe tell her that the only fulfilling thing will be to to light herself on fire and “become one with the flame.” Basically, they’re telling her to kill herself. She almost goes through with it, but she says there has to be something more than death. Catherine and Theo come back on and stand by her. Now Pippin has found her purpose. To be with a woman, to have a family together, to live a beautiful quiet life.

The three are stripped of their costumes. The lights and music are out. There’s no more mystique. But this is what Pippin and Catherine want. To be their authentic selves, even if it doesn’t look glamarous or as beautiful as people wanted them to be. They’re not putting on a false performance for anybody anymore.

They walk off, but Theo stays on, singing the reprise of Corner of the Sky, with the queer implications of “I don’t know who I am.” Theo is a young queer kid. But of course, TLP and the troupe enter, implying the internalized homophobia, depression, and suicidal thoughts that are so pervasive within the queer community. Blackout.

So what have we learned today, kids?

Pippin is an allegory for queerness and self acceptance

Pippin and Catherine are cottagecore lesbians raising their gay son

ummm  be yourself or something

On a serious note: I just wanted to take a moment to say, if you’re a closeted queer person: you are perfect just the way you are. And I know it’s hard. Believe me, I know. But even when it feels like the entire world is against you, please know that you’re not alone. You are under no obligation to come out until you feel ready to do so. But right now, there is a whole community of people who will welcome you with open arms.

[en-scribed]

He had wealth and pelf and name and fame, all of that noise... but he didn't have none of those simple joys.

And he had long since accepted that they were never meant for him. That was the price he paid for choosing to be one with the city. But the end of the Narrator's days might be closer than even he knows.

[running-tweezers]

🎭Theater Kid Guy Headcanons🎭

As a former theater kid and current lover of all things musical theater, I can sniff out a fellow theater kid from a mile away, and Guy Redacted made my alarms go crazy. So here’s some roles I think he’s played

His first time on stage was in a 3rd grade play where they acted out various fairy tales. Being a talkative class clown kid of kid, his teacher gave him the role of Rumpelstiltskin and encouraged him to ham it up. As soon as he heard the audience laughing along with his antics, he was hooked.

His first time in a real official show was when he played Jojo in a community theater production of Seussical while in junior high. He still has a big soft spot for the show today, the themes of creativity and imagination really stuck with him.

He was in a musical all 4 years of high school

Freshman year he played Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. He wasn’t expecting to be cast as a Freshman, but he was just So Perfect in the role they had to.

Sophomore year he played Lefou in Beauty and the Beast. His “Gaston” was legendary.

Junior year he had his first big leading role as The Leading Player in Pippin. The role requires a TON of stage presence, and he enjoyed delving into a more serious role while still getting to have fun with it. He didn’t love how much dancing he had to do, (he’s always been what’s we call “a mover” rather than “a dancer”.), but he did his best. It remains one of his favorite musicals.

Senior year he returned to his earliest theater experiences with fairy tales and played Cinderella’s Prince in Into The Woods. It wasn’t as big of a role as the previous year, but he had a BLAST with it. Guy absolutely SLAYED Agony, he had amazing chemistry with Rapunzel’s Prince, and their duet was as over the top and hilarious as a good performance of Agony should be. Occasionally when Honey is giving him shit he will still respond with “Am I not sensitive, clever, well-mannered, considerate, passionate, charming, as kind as I’m handsome, and heir to a throne?? Honey, I’m everything maidens could wish for!!”

[ancientfrozenglaciershark]

I’ve got laundry to do

[loganschwarzy]

i'm thinking about when i saw pippin.

i'm thinking about how magical it felt, how easily i was swept into the show. thinking about how the audience for that show might as well be pippin. we are invited in, invited to waste an hour or two. they're all in our head, after all. we are invited to complete the finale. there is time to accept. do you?

you watch the leading player fall apart. slowly at first, in missed cues and wrong lines. then bigger. the show destroys itself before your eyes. you are pippin. you are still watching. does it feel wrong to watch? do you feel guilt, pity, something else? does it matter?

you watch pippin and catherine leave. you hope. your eyes drift to the leading player, still onstage, eerily silent. but everything is fine. this is a musical comedy. everything will be alright.

theo walks back onstage. the leading player looks up. your stomach sinks. you keep watching. you hear it. theo is singing corner of the sky. the notes of magic to do drift past you. the magic is returning, the stage resetting, the lights going back up. you look behind you. catherine and pippin are gone. they left. it's possible to leave. (how many pippins didn't?)

the leading player smiles. grips onto theo's shoulder, looks up at the audience, and grins. "see?" their smile seems to say. "we promised a good show. didn't we deliver?"

and didn't they? you enjoyed the show. you clap, and the cycle starts again. and you encourage it.

[blackcatarts]

outshine the sun, girl!

[musical-hunger-games]

Second Wave of Tributes

All tributes and pairs were chosen randomly

Tribute list under cut

Aladdin (Aladdin) vs. Eva Perón (Evita)

Leading Player (Pippin) vs. Michael Mell (Be More Chill)

Rameses II (The Prince of Egypt) vs. Greaseball the Diesel Engine (Starlight Express)

Lin-Manuel Miranda vs. Natalie Goodman (Next to Normal)

Odysseus (Epic: The Troy Saga) vs. Elsa (Frozen)

Evan Hansen (Dear Evan Hansen) vs. Tanya Chesham-Leigh (Mamma Mia)

Carrie White (Carrie) vs. Man in Chair (The Drowsy Chaperone)

Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) vs. Sharpay Evans (High School Musical)

Victoria the White Cat (Cats) vs. Paul Matthews (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals)

Annie Oakley (Annie Get Your Gun) vs. Nathan Detroit (Guys and Dolls)

Shrek (Shrek the Musical) vs. Kermit the Frog (The Muppets)

Tara Maclay (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode 'Once More, With Feeling') vs. Ashley the Smoking Car (Starlight Express)

Agatha Trunchbull (Matilda) vs. Elder McKinley (The Book of Mormon)

Rebecca Bunch (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) vs. The Three Fathers from Mamma Mia [Harry Bright/Sam Carmichael/Bill Anderson] (Mamma Mia)

Grizabella the Glamour Cat (Cats) vs. Velma Kelly (Chicago)

Enjolras (Les Miserables) vs. Henry the Duck (36 Questions)

Éponine Thénardier (Les Miserables) vs. Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)

Claire (Ordinary Days) vs. Dr. Horrible (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog)

Spot Conlon (Newsies) vs. Crutchie (Newsies)

Maizy (Shucked) vs. Mr. Krabs (Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical)

Anne Boleyn (Six) vs. Glinda Upland (Wicked)

Judas Iscariot (Jesus Christ Superstar) vs. Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka)

Robert (Company) vs. Fanny Brice (Funny Girl)

Draco Malfoy (A Very Potter Musical) vs. Mr. Mistoffelees (Cats)

Deloris Van Cartier (Sister Act) vs. Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors)

Mae Tuck (Tuck Everlasting) vs. Harry (Fangirls)

Boq (Wicked) vs. Percy Jackson (The Lightening Thief)

William Schuester (Glee) vs. Hannah Montana (Hannah Montana)

Dr. Doofenschmirtz (Phineas and Ferb) vs. Gretl Von Trapp (Sound of Music)

Caldwell B. Cladwell (Urinetown) vs. Dr. Henry Jekyll (Jekyll & Hyde)

Edna Turnblad (Hairspray) vs. Zazzalil (Firebringer)

Vriska (Homestuck: The Musical) vs. Rum Tum Tugger (Cats)

[twinkjomarch]

“Now think about the beauty in one perfect flame…”

[ellie-the-character]

Guys why don’t people like Pippin it’s so good :(

[rainyblueshroom]

just watched my local middle-to-highschool production of Pippin the Musical and omg.... leading player girlboss I know her personally and it was such an amazing show

[90stvqueen]

I'm going through a musical theatre phase where I'm feeling like I'm not gonna be happy until I'm onstage singing with people again

[theiloveyousong]

do u ship pippin x leadin player? if so them

this is weird to me because my production has two leading players lmao

[ironiccryptid]

shoujo kageki revue starlight(2018) has surprisingly similar themes and plot to pippin(1972). in this essay i will

[inevitablemoment]

Okay, big brain moment-- Ego Nwodim as the Leading Player.

JUST IMAGINE!

[chipadykeso]

Pippin is a 1972 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto. The musical uses the premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by the Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. The 'fourth wall' is broken numerous times during most traditional productions.