By Cain Luke, Staff Writer
After putting on great productions such as “The King and I” and “The Importance of Being Earnest,” some may think that there is nothing that hasn’t been done by the Reynolds High School theater crew.
“Pippin,” however, is something unexpected that students will bring to Reynolds Auditorium Thursday through Saturday (March 21-23) at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $5 in advance and $7 at the door. They are being sold during lunches in the cafeteria.
“Pippin” is about a young man who realizes that his life is empty and has nothing meaningful and fulfilling in it. He then decides to go and find the meaning in his life – and will try anything to find it. A not-great relationship with his father and a few misadventures on his journey to fulfillment make Pippin question the very foundation of his quest.
“ ‘Pippin’ is a show that is designed so the audience always knows that they are in a musical,” said sophomore Gray Kinnier, who plays the part of Charlemagne, Pippin’s father. “The actors are always interacting with the audience.”
George Whitaker plays the title role and Tony Jenkins is another key figure in this challenging production (see full cast and crew list below). The original “Pippin” was a semi-interactive musical, where some actors would address the audience directly, because that idea was different and not in most other musicals.
“It was a bit challenging finding people who do both (singing and dancing),” said Linda Moody, director of the Reynolds theater program.
Since “Pippin” is a musical, there is a lot of singing and dancing among the cast, and many musical numbers that involve singing and dancing simultaneously.
From 1972-77, “Pippin” ran for an incredible 1,944 shows on Broadway and became “one of the most popular shows on Broadway,” Moody said.
“Pippin” had a long career in many countries and won many awards. In 1973, “Pippin” was nominated for 15 and won nine awards for both the Tonys and Drama Desk Awards. Among those were the Tony for Best Leading Actor and the Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Director and Best Choreography.
Taking such a popular hit from Broadway to Reynolds Auditorium may not be an easy task, but on March 21-23, the audiences will be in for an entertaining treat.
“It’s gonna be huge,” Kinnier said.
THE CAST OF PIPPIN
- Madison Allred
- Lilith Bachelder
- Sarah Austen Banner
- Jonathan Bethel
- Keenan Brown
- Chloe Clements
- Mary Katherine Conaway
- Brittany Edwards
- KeeCee Frazier-DeVenny
- Gary Freedman
- Da’Mar Hodge
- Claire Hoke
- Iyanna Huffington
- Katie Irwin
- Acy Jackson
- Agnes Jallah
- Tony Jenkins
- Catie Jones
- Maggie Kennedy
- Gray Kinnier
- Molly McKenzie
- Lauryn Miller
- Alberto Nava
- John Peddycord
- Madeline Saintsing
- Delaney Scott
- Lucy Smoot
- Shirley Tan
- Marcus Watson
- Jacob Weinberg
- Camilla Wheeless
- George Whitaker
- Bradley Wilkerson
- Katie Wood
- Penny Worthy
- Orchestra
- Taylor Bragg
- Jason Clore
- Allen Smith
- Niko Rheingold
- Holden Dometrius
- Jeremiah Kamptman
- Grace Craige
- Sam Pait III
- Elizabeth Wallace
- Ben Cowgill
- Naomi Ruchugo
- Caitlin Moffet
- Andrew Brodeur
- Ryan Eaton
- Crew
- Katelyn McAleer
- Bruce Maddox III
- Joseph Porter
- Seth Morton
- Courtney Serber
- Garrett Briggs
- Sam Booth
- Katherine Laheen
- Leah Wilkerson
- Danielle Bruce
- Max Booth
- Ryan Seamans
- Claudia Edwards
- Sara Laheen