Lu Limanowski On February 4-6th of 2015, Latin School’s theatre ensemble performed the musical Pippin. Starring senior Chris Quazzo as Pippin, the musical entertained through interactive comedy and drama. Pippin tells the story of a  young prince, son of legendary Emperor Charlemagne (played by Harry Scholes); it’s enacted by two leading players (played by Hunter Dunn and Charlie Fox) and a troupe. The opening scene greeted the audience with song, dancers, acrobats, and more. The story then ventured through Pippin’s life—how he kills and rules, or at least tries to do so.  There’s also a consistent mention of the finale, but that’s for the ending. Although Pippin’s strength resides in his education, he attempts to be as enthusiastic on the battlefield as his dim-witted step brother, Lewis (Alex Goff). Although he ‘succeeds’ in battle, Pippin quickly sees the destructive ways of his father. Eventually, he kills his dad, then gets overwhelmed with the tasks of being the king, so the narrators resurrect his father, much to Fastrada’s (his evil stepmother played by Claudia Johns) dismay. I know. Queue another musical number. Also, at one point, when Pippin’s young-spirited grandmother, Berthe (Tricia Crimmins), gives advice to her grandson through, of course, a fabulous musical number. At one point, presumably during his mid-life crisis, he meets a woman named Catherine (Meredith Lostaglio) and her son Theo (Kat Wanger). As Pippin learns the joy of life through simplicity, he also finds true love—starting with a duck. Yes, a duck. The death of a rather important duck leaves heartbroken young Theo in depression, and as Pippin strives to lift his spirits, his character evolves. With comedic desperation, over the course of a year, the three become a family. That’s not all; Pippin decides to go back to his kingdom and finish his reign, crushing Catherine and Theo’s hearts, and the actors did a fantastic job showing that remorseful emotion. When Pippin returns to his kingdom, it is time for the finale. Layla Passman’s character, after so many rejections, finally gets to begin the anticipated ending to the life of Prince Pippin. Last minute, however, Catherine and Theo burst in and proclaim their love for Pippin, and that family-love had the audience collectively awwww-ing. The narrators, acrobats, singers, and other thespians, however, are angry at the way the plan has unfolded, and they strip Pippin, Catherine, and Theo of their clothes and music and lighting. What theatrical shame. Alas, the true finale comes, as Kat Wanger stands on stage, one spotlight, no music, all alone, and sings “Corner of the Sky.” It was beautiful, and to be honest, there were some teary eyes. To finish up, the fantastic troupe—freshman to seniors—came out one last time, singing and dancing, going up to audience members and making them feel included. The performance was fantastic. I was able to discover the talent of my classmates as actors, as entertainers. I fell in love with each character for different reasons—whether it was Christopher Chu when his hand was cut off or Pippin himself. I can’t wait for the next show coming up!]]>