Pippin is meta-spectacular

The Harris Center for the Performing Arts, on the Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, will host a touring production of the musical Pippin this weekend with five performances spread over three days. Pippin is a fable about a medieval French ruler and his somewhat wayward son Pippin—with the story modernized and presented as a play-within-a-play by a theatrical company on tour.

The music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz, who also penned music for 1971’s Godspell and 2003’s Wicked. The energetic songs reflect 1970s-era ideas with lots of songs about finding oneself and one’s place in the world. They also draw stylistically on Broadway musicals and Motown.

The ’70s vibe isn’t by accident, of course. Pippin originally ran on Broadway from 1972 through 1977, winning Tony Awards for dancer-actor Ben Vereen, director-choreographer Bob Fosse and others. The show was revived and extensively reimagined on Broadway in 2013, winning several more Tony Awards. The retooled production nods toward the popular Cirque du Soleil stage spectacles, with flourishes including jugglers, acrobats doing stunts with hoops and a bit of trapeze work.

Local theatergoers may recall a touring production of Pippin, based on the 2013 revival, that visited Sacramento at the tail end of 2015, playing the 2,400-seat Sacramento Community Center Theater. This weekend’s touring production was organized by a different company with a different cast, and began touring earlier this year—it will be presented in the 850-seat main theater at the Harris Center. Whatever the size and scope, expect a wondrous, metatheatrical scene.