Theatre Production Paper
I attended a musical production by Broadway and directed by Bobb Fosse. Music and lyrics in the play was done by Stephen Schwartz and narrated by Ben Vereen, who is also the leading player. The other characters in the play are Benjamin Rayson(the King), Wiliam Katt(Pippin), Leslie Denniston(the widow), Martha Raye(Pippin’s grandmother), and Chita Rivera(Pippin’s stepmother). The play is about a young prince who had big ambitions in life other than being royalty. He was adventurous and quite passionate about this thing called life. This is seen as he struggles so much to get the attention of his father, the King. Throughout the play, the King is portrayed as either being too preoccupied with issues royalty or drunk. Hence he has no listening ear to the young prince. The prince then decides to go to war, an opportunity that Chita Rivera takes to eliminate both father and son to pave the way for her son to be King.
The costumes used in the play depicts the different roles played by the characters. The King, for instance, is seen wearing a royal mantle as a symbol of his authority. Pippin’s grandmother, portrayed as being attractive, is seen wearing beautiful clothes, a feature that depicts her taste for fine things in life. Sound effect is also in line with the play. A good example is when the King is celebrating his victory after going to war and conquering the enemy. The mood created by that particular sound effect is celebratory. Also, when Pippin decides to see the grandmother and seek for advice, the grandmother tells him to enjoy his youth, the mood that comes out of the scene is a lively one full of life. Just the perfect one for Pippin, who was feeling so low and needed a little encouragement to soldier on.
Matters prop, the very first time the King is introduced in the play, the banner used in the background has crowns drawn all over it to signify his symbol of authority. Also, the incident in the play, where Pippin stabs his father to death while praying, he does so using a dagger as his weapon. Set lights appear as crucial elements of the design in the play, as they help the audience focus on the happenings on the stage at that particular moment. This captures the attention of the audience fully and cultivates concentration from their end. It also ensures the transition of the different scenes smoothly, creating the right image in the mind of the audience.
Benjamin Rayson, who played the role of King Charlemagne, comes out as a symbol of authority thanks to his physique that is quite intimidating and commands respect. His costumes spell royalty and power. His administration is also exercised when he goes to war and brings back victory to his people, an act that is worth celebrating. Martha Raye, playing the role of Pippin’s sophisticated grandmother, is portrayed as full of wisdom as seen when she tells the young man to live his life to the fullest and stop worrying too much as everything will fall into place in due time. She emerges as a keen person when he notices that the child seems disturbed, a feature shared with motherly people.
In conclusion, in as much as the play was done years ago, I would recommend it to people as it highlights issues that are happening at the present moment. Subject such as lack of role models among the young, parents being too preoccupied with societal problems to perform their parental roles and state of hopelessness among the youth in the society as they strive so much to belong. In my view, though, I would change the setting of the play by incorporating defined props to bring out the effect of different backgrounds accordingly clearly.