Pippin 50th Anniversary Concert - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Absolutely loving this so far couple of off lyrics but overall very slick highlights so far are of course Patricia Hodge and Zizi Strallen, looking forward to act two I really forget how much this show makes me smile:-)

Well, I'm in the interval, and Zizi Strallen, as Fastrada, has made it absolutely impossible to top Act 1!

She's one part breathy, hissing, camp, gurning, eye-popping, scheming, scene-stealing Disney villain, one part high-kicking gold-dressed showgirl, who can freeze with her leg up (her son Lewis was literally talking to her leg half the time lol), and one part stand-up, her line deliveries so OTT that they were downright hilarious! The moment that Strallen, doing a half handstand, rolled the King's crown suggestively up and down her outstretched leg was magical for being so outrageously preposterous.

That number alone was worth the price of the ticket right there.

Patricia Hodge sang far far better than I expected, and poignantly, as observed above, and like Strallen, she had the showmanship to just own the audience and command them to sing (the chorus words on a large banner behind her), and then the regal authority just to command a stop so she could sensitively sing the last verse to Pippin herself! Marvellous!

And yes, the sound was PERFECT! Is it that Drury Lane is just acoustically better than the Palladium, or is it that purple box reigning in the percussion (cos Jesus, the percussion destroyed the sound of "Made in Dagenham" at the Palladium)?

Anyhow, kudos to the producers. And Kudos too for hiring these 2 young Bob Fosses (Amonik Melaco and Jak Allen-Anderson) to dance so fabulously, and exuding such variety and sheer showbiz life force! You hear a "concert" and you really worry they'll cut costs by skimping on the dance numbers, but these numbers are THRILLING!

Cedric Neal absolutely rocked Charlemagne too, with camp prancing and trilling interspersed with commanding authority.

Add Alex Newell, as the Leading Player, stalking around and teasing and brilliantly and beautifully belting in her blue outfit and Jac Yarrow (kitted out in a golden robe reminiscent of his coat of multi-colours from "Joseph") as the slightly dim-witted but uber-confident sparrow-like calm at the centre of this storm of a show, and this was a total smash of a first half. . .

Bring on Act 2:

(Edit to include Act 2. . .)

Ok, so this was a 5 star concert, for me, the best revival concert of a full show, in my opinion, since Maria Friedman's concert version of "Witches of Eastwick" outdid the original. . .

Lucie Jones, absolute perfection as Pippin's love interest, Catherine, the role Patricia Hodge played 50 years ago, was my highlight of Act 2!

Jones nailed both layers of the role, the OTT slightly sickly, yet somehow utterly endearing breathy try-hard sweetness of Catherine, but also simultaneously the meta-role of the dimbulb actress playing Catherine, tottering around the stage self-consciously over-emphatic, ever-petrified of getting another scolding from the caustic, cutting, commanding, Leading Player scornfully barking orders at her!

The superb balancing act of Jones's performance set up both Jac Yarrow's Pippin and Alex Newell's Leading Player to get major laughs!

Yarrow's Pippin, jaded by his adventures in the first half, was much funnier in the second half, developing a seriously dismissive attitude to Catherine, a yawning eyerolling boredom which escalated exponentially the sweeter she got, leading to bigger and bigger laughs.

Newell's Leading Player also benefitted by playing opposite Jones, as the more Jones tottered around looking hapless, the more Newell could bark at her, the more hapless and helpless Jones became, allowing Newell to play ever-more uber-mean for maximum mirth.

Even the orchestra made me laugh at one point, waving coloured wristbands about in mock celebration of Pippin's antics, a kind of parody of a Coldplay concert.

All in all, 5 stars from me of wall to wall joy, without question.

Thoroughly enjoyed this last night. Went in expecting Alex Newell to be the highlight, but as incredible as they were Zizi Strallen stole the show for me. Clearly having the time of her life and playing with every single line, finding innuendos where there have never been any before and sailing dangerously and cleverly close to pure camp nonsense. Absolutely brilliant. Patricia Hodge was also a highlight. Jack Yarrow is fine, more than capable, but does lack a certain something when he’s sharing a stage with such star power.

The orchestra was brilliant, enhanced by the choir. I don’t love Pippin as a show, but the music is fantastic so I loved that this was such a celebration of it, with the music and the orchestra quite literally taking centre stage.

I would email into LW Theatres ladidah - not acceptable.

She was the best thing in that too!

I wish I could say I had a brilliant time at this last night but I found it was a very mixed bag.

Yes, some of the lead performances were incredible (especially Zizi, Patricia, Alex and Lucy) but overall it left me cold.

I love the show itself and saw the stellar Broadway revival at The Music Box a couple of times (and was one of the few that adored the Menier production). But what this concert version might have delivered in volume and sparkle, it lacked in heart and getting to the core of the piece. It seemed geared toward the X Factor/HEATHERS crowd that can't seem to watch a show without whooping and hollering everytime a performer does a vocal run and, based on the folks sitting around me (who came in armed with more drinks than they could carry for both acts), they got what they came for.

Cedric Neal was fine in terms of his Charlemagne scenes but the ridiclous vocal runs during " War Is A Science" and the whooping and hollering that ensued more than pissed me off. It shows the disrespect some performers have of not letting the material shine and instead throwing in vocal acrobatics that are unnecessary and out of tone with the actual piece. I know I am very much in the minority here but I got less interested in the show at that point and had to settle for the fact that was a 'check your brain at the door' PIPPIN and not an honest rendering of the material which (even in concert) does have heart, nuance and one hell of a point for those paying attention. But based on the folks sitting around me, none of that mattered. Pity.

I did think the band/choir were exceptional.

Going to be a solid 3 stars from me.

This actually sums up very much what I felt. It took me the first few numbers to warm to it as there were whoops and cheers any time someone threw out a riff, but I think once I’d accepted that I could enjoy it for what it was - an elaborate concert concentrated on the music and the vocals rather than telling the story and the emotion. Once I accepted that it helped me enjoy the highs, such as the standout performers and the stellar orchestra/choir which I previously mentioned.

Don't know if I'm getting senile but I didn't feel there was excessive whooping and cheering on Monday night and I usually hate that kind of thing - looking at you BGT! Certainly the audience was enthusiastic, but rightly so as it was an amazing concert. I thought the audience reaction added to the atmosphere.
You would have hated the Cool Rider concert which was Pippin x 10 for audience reaction.

I get vocal gymnastics not being to everyone's taste, but to say Cedric's been in the business for 5 minutes just...isn't true.

I can 'ovate' with the best of them if I feel it is deserved, but having attended many of these concerts (EVITA, CHESS, WITCHES OF EASTWICK), nothing was as offputting as the behaviour at last nights show...at the least in rear(ish) house right stalls where I was sat last night. 

My NEXT TO NORMAL experience (preview) was scuppered by the projection designer and his assistant literally pointing and gesturing at the projections and talking to each other throughout the entire first act. We had words.....

But going back for the transfer with hopes that the audience bring their brains and their manners (and perhaps a few less cocktails). I enjoy a drink like most folks but Jessica Christ....these days....

I was generalising, of course.