Searching for Glory; Finding Humanity
By Anthony Chase
The eternal quest for meaning takes center stage in O'Connell and Company's endearing production of Pippin, where director-choreographer Joey Bucheker artfully balances iconic moments plucked from Bob Fosse with fresh interpretive touches. This musical fable about Charlemagne's restless son, Pippin, searching for his "Corner of the Sky" resonates as sweetly today as it did when Fosse first brought it to Broadway in 1972.
The musical's framework -- a traveling troupe presenting episodes from Pippin's life as theatrical set pieces in a kind of "anecdotic revue" -- works beautifully on Reuben Julius Schwartz's playground-like set, a multi-level "jungle gym" that serves as castle, battlefield, and domestic hearth. This versatile space allows the ensemble to create magic before our eyes, reinforcing the show's central tension between spectacular achievement and genuine fulfillment.
Connor Hesch steps into the title role with impressive confidence for a young performer who graduated from high school just last year. The 2024 Buffalo nominee for the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (the Jimmy Awards®), Hesch navigates this challenging role admirably. While the character Pippin has just finished university at Padua, Hesch brings a genuine youthful idealism to the role that serves the character well, showing the prince's journey through warfare, hedonism, and political power before ultimately finding contentment in the ordinary. He's certainly a talent to watch.
As the manipulative Leading Player, JeTaun Louie delivers a smart, stylish performance that anchors the production. Louie masterfully navigates the role's demands, simultaneously seducing and threatening Pippin while maintaining firm control over the theatrical proceedings. In a nod to Broadway tradition, Louie joins Ollie Ryan and Emily Weber to perform Fosse's original choreography for the "Manson Trio," a chilling non-vocal highlight that reminds us of the production's darker undercurrents.
Lisa Ludwig delivers a bawdy showstopping turn as Berthe, Pippin's spry and irreverently wry grandmother, almost stealing the show with her ribald humor and startling physicality. Her performance, including playfully sweeping young Miguel Gutierrez into her arms and off his feet – literally – and taking a moment to catch her breath, culminates in a poignantly directed final refrain to her grandson before she rides a chorus boy offstage. It's a sight to behold, and Ludwig undeniably gives Hesch all the motivation he needs to crow, "That's my grandma!"
John Kreuzer brings both regality and pragmatism to Charlemagne, landing one of the evening's biggest laughs after his character's resurrection. This is a compact role with a huge impact, and Kreuzer's down-to-earth approach to the pragmatic king provides the perfect foil for his idealistic son.
Kelleigh Murray delights as the scheming Fastrada, combining excellent vocals with an alluring stage presence. She's naughty, nasty, and entirely appealing as Charlemagne's scheming trophy wife, bringing seductive charm to her manipulations. Meanwhile, Ollie Ryan perfectly captures the narcissism of Pippin's half-brother Lewis, deploying his good looks and athletic buffoonery in his portrayal of this self-absorbed character.
As Catherine, the widow who ultimately wins Pippin's heart, Ashleigh Chrisena Ricci delivers an exquisitely modulated performance. (It took me a moment to recognize her in a red wig that seems to be channeling Keelie A. Sheridan, artistic director of Irish Classical Theatre Company). Here is an actor who always seems entirely relaxed and at home onstage. Her portrayal is endearingly authentic and beautifully sung -- notably powering through a microphone failure at one point, impressively projecting to the back of the house without amplification. She is one of the region’s most accomplished musical leading ladies.
Carter Riccio brings genuine charm to the role of Theo, Catherine's young son, signing and landing tart jokes with confidence.
The ensemble -- Max Decker, Miguel Gutierrez, Matti LaVigne, Jessie Miller, Alexandra Grace Nowak, Bryan Sharry, Emily Weber, and Audrianna Yates -- serves as a sexy, unified yet individually distinctive chorus, executing Bucheker's choreography with precision, humor, and verve.
Timmy Goodman's costumes merit special mention: whimsical, colorful, sexy, and serving the production's playful sensibility while maintaining the mysterious circus-like atmosphere. Jay Marks' lighting design effectively transforms the space as Pippin moves through his journey.
O'Connell and Company's Pippin ultimately succeeds by honoring the musical's theatrical traditions while finding fresh emotional resonance in its timeless message: that the extraordinary meaning we seek might be found in the simple connections we forge with others.
Pippin continues through April 6, 2025 at O'Connell and Company, 4110 Bailey Ave, Amherst.