SV Civic Theater’s ‘Pippin’ is a fantastical exploration of meaning

Coming-of-age story contrasts extravagance with mundanity in search for purpose

By Calvin Nuttall

The magical tale of a young prince searching for life’s meaning is coming to the Morgan Hill Playhouse, as the classic musical “Pippin” takes the stage Nov. 16.

Set during Europe’s Middle Ages, the story follows Pippin, the son of King Charlemagne, beginning when he completes his formal education and begins his search for glory, or his “corner of the sky,” as he calls it.

“‘Pippin’ is a story about a boy trying to find his purpose,” said producer Jenn Oliphant. “He is trying to decide whether that purpose needs to be something grand and huge, or whether it’s OK for that purpose to be something  simple and quiet and ordinary.”

Although Pippin and his father are both based on historical figures, “Pippin” makes no effort to remain historically accurate. In fact, the show continually breaks the fourth wall, as its narrators — referred to as the “Guardians of Splendor” led by the enigmatic “Leading Player” (portrayed by Klara Klotzbach) — converse with both the characters and audience throughout.

“They are trying to push him toward this idea that glory comes from one moment, one huge, grand act,” Oliphant said. “They’re not just ensemble members, they are active participants in bringing the magic.”

Pippin tries to walk many different paths in his pursuit of glory, from war, to art, to sex, and everything in between, but inevitably finds that these ephemeral pursuits fail to leave him with lasting fulfillment.

“He tries war, but realizes that’s not for him, that it’s actually gory and ugly and sad, and not something really to be celebrated,” Oliphant said. “When he meets these different women whom he thinks might fulfill him, and he equates love to sex, he finds that his understanding of love in that way just doesn’t work. It doesn’t fill his heart, it doesn’t fill his life.”

So Pippin runs away from it all, in spite of the objections of the Leading Player and her Guardians of Splendor, who insist that he follow their script. Eventually, he proves them all wrong and chooses to write his own story.

“The way it is represented at the end is breathtaking,” Oliphant said. “This show is amazing.”

“Pippin” will include theatrical elements, what the Leading Player refers to as “the magic,” that have rarely if ever been seen on the Morgan Hill Playhouse stage.

“We’re adding a lot of things you don’t typically see on the stage at SVCT,” said director Michael Grimm. “Things like people walking on stilts. We have at least one performer on a silk, up in the air. We have people doing acrobatics on the stage, we have people doing juggling, a lot of things that do not typically show up in one of these shows. It’s been both challenging and really rewarding watching this cast step up.”

For Grimm, directing “Pippin” is more than any old musical — he has a personal connection to it, and this is what brought him to directing in the first place. He recalls a fondness for the music of “Pippin” that has stayed with him since his high school years, around the time of the show’s original Broadway run.

“I feel very strongly about the show, personally,” he said. “I feel it is a show that helps us think about our own lives, our own values, and what is important to us in the kind of life we are designing for ourselves as we live it. Watching Pippin go through it and seeing the mistakes he makes and the triumphs he has, I think it is something that would be fun for anyone to see and to go through and talk with their friends about.”

Pippin’s journey, though fantastical, is one that many people can relate to, said Andy Gonzalez, who portrays the wayward prince.

“Of all the roles I have played, he feels the closest to me, personally,” he said. “I feel I can connect with him a lot, because I see a lot of myself in his journey, and it makes it easy to portray that onstage in my own way, because I am very connected to the character. He’s very much a ‘common man’ type character, despite being a prince.”

The less-than-straightforward structure of the show will leave audience members thinking and discussing the meaning of the story for days, Grimm said.

“It’s a show in which people have been debating back and forth for years about exactly what is happening onstage.” he said. “It’s open to interpretation, which I find fascinating. As a theatergoer I prefer those kinds of shows because it lets me make up my own mind about what I think about what I am seeing. This is the kind of show people will leave and be talking about.”

Calvin Nuttall is a Morgan Hill-based freelance reporter and columnist.