I loved Pippin. I had/have no problem at all with the circus overlay. It works without a hitch and adds some amazing bits and pictures to the show. It will easily win Best Musical revival, especially considering that the competition is Annie and Cinderella.
Drood is up also but Drood has closed which means many people will have forgotten about it. I LOVED Drood and it should still be running but that being said, Pippin will win without question. I think part of the problem with Drood closing after the limited subscription run at Roundabout run is, I have to say, the theatregoing public. It's like politics, we elect these brain dead politicians to run the country and then complain when they screw everything up. Well, we complain about Broadway and the shows we are getting but then the public rushes to crap like Motown, The Musical (yes, it's a boomer's dream musical with great songs but it's NOT A F*****G Broadway musical, it's a revue with an embarrassing book and some good performances) a critic-proof show that will probably run for years.
I digress.
Pippin is overall excellent in every way. I left the theatre happy, excited and beaming. I did go in with slight reservations because I had heard the circus "theme" was controversial but it works beautifully. In my opinion, it's like it was part of the show from the beginning. If you love the original you may not like this but I only know the show from the CD and clips I've seen. I think this production works beautifully and I have no problem with "circus".
Pippin (Matthew James Thomas) is not the strongest cast member but he's still very, very good. He was in Spider Man for a spell.
Andrea Martin as Berthe is PHENOMENAL and will win the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in my humble opinion. She will beat out her cast mate Charlotte D'Amboise, who is also excellent.
CD has a Cassie kind of dance moment (she played Cassie in the Chorus Line revival) in the second act and it's wonderful.
Her husband, Terrance Mann is great as Charlemagne as is Patina Miller as the Leading Player.
The Leading Player doesn't need to be a man, PM is fine and just as funny, chilling, scary and mean as any male actor could be.
There are beautiful stage pictures and scenes of circus feats and wonderful choreography that completely integrates the songs and the dance.
Although it's different from what most people remember Pippin to be I would recommend the show highly.
