This semester, Denison University’s fall 2022 singer’s theatre adapted the 1972 musical Pippin, a story that is, at its core, about an existential about searching for purpose hidden under the guise of a fantastical fourth-wall-breaking theatre troupe. Of course, this production was given unique flair from the culmination of incredible skill and talent from its actors, technicians, choreographers, and costume creators.
I’m not at all biased because I work at the theatre. Definitely not. Either way, I was extremely excited to see this show. I knew nothing about Pippin going into it, other than a few bits that were told to me by my friends and coworkers involved in the production, so I was pleasantly surprised by how enrapturing I found the story. It was quite a timely one for me, and I’m sure many other college students can relate to its message. The struggle of teen or young adult angst is right at the forefront; protagonist Pippin, son of King Charlemagne, is a young man straight out of University yet he feels purposeless and wants to dedicate himself to finding something truly fulfilling.
A quick story synopsis first (spoilers ahead): Pippin’s search for meaning is guided by the Lead Player, the head of the theatre troupe framing the story, who assures him that he will find meaning. First Pippin wants to find fulfillment in glory by fighting for his father’s army, but when he sees the horrors of war he searches for something else. His grandmother advises him to find joy in simple things, leading him to seek fulfillment in sex. When this too fails to give him satisfaction, the Lead Player suggests he lead a revolution against his father’s dismissive, tyrannical rule. Enter Fastrada, Pippin’s stepmother, who plots to have her son Luis installed as second-in-line by either having Pippin kill Charlemagne or the other way around. She tells Pippin where the king will pray alone, so Pippin finds him and kills him, becoming King and swearing to overturn his ways. In Act 2, in his Kinghood he reverts to doing the same things as his father and then wishes to give the throne back to his father. The Lead Player either rewinds time or simply brings Charlemagne back from the dead through magic, and Pippin continues on trying art, religion, etc., before falling into extreme apathy at his lack of results. He is found by Catherine, a widow, who brings him into her estate. There Pippin is brought into the fold of monotony with farm tasks and chores but finds he cares about Catherine and her son Theo. Eventually rejecting monotony and attempting to go back to finding his purpose, he leaves, returning to the Lead Player for the finale.
It should be noted that from the very start the Theatre troupe has been acting on their own motivations, leading Pippin this way and that with magic and promises. They also promise the audience a “grand finale” at the end of the story. See, the story of Pippin is multi-layered and complicated, acting more as one man’s means of escapism through illusion and storytelling rather than a true tale of his life. Sure, Pippin’s search for meaning is real and true, but he seeks this meaning through the fictitious theatre troupe, where all of the actors play the people in life, from his family to soldiers to regular townspeople. Even Catherine is just a character and an actor, at least in the beginning, but truly falls in love with Pippin and breaks the script that the Lead Player created for them. The story of the son of King Charlemagne with his bored grandmother, scheming stepmother, and dim-witted half-brother is a farce, a set piece constructed by the Lead Player to give “Pippin” a means of escape and seek whatever truth he wants. Who even is “Pippin?” How much of the play is fact or fiction?
In the film’s climax, the escapist fantasies that “Pippin” has been wading through during the entire show come to a head. The Lead Player tells him the only fulfilling thing in life is their “grand finale,” where she and the troupe beckon Pippin to throw himself into a fire and become one with the flame, like the shining sun. The theatre troupe’s eagerness betrays a disturbing belief that the most meaningful part of life is death. Their “purpose” is one mirrored to Pippin’s own; instead of searching for purpose they have resolved that if nothing in life is truly satisfying then the only way to be satisfied is death. One can escape from the futility of life with all of the lights, music, makeup, and glory they want, till their shining finale. Yet Pippin rejects this, to their anger, believing that there must be something other than death. Catherine and Theo appear, and he seems to find resolve in living an ordinary life with them. This causes the Lead Player to not just break, but decimate the fourth wall, having her troupe strip Pippin, Catherine, and Theo of their costumes and makeup, cut the lights, stop the musicians, and take all of the actors offstage. She tells Pippin to try singing without music, but once she leaves he continues singing Acapella.
Even at the end, when “Pippin” has escaped his escapism (how about that title drop?) and returns to mundane life with “Catherine,” he is still not fulfilled or truly happy. He has accepted that satisfaction will not come from either forever searching in fantasy or one glorious release, but that being ordinary can too be disappointing. Yet, even when he and Catherine leave, Theo returns to the stage and expresses his own desire for purpose, marking the return of the Lead Player and her troupe who intend to show Theo the same journey they led Pippin on, repeating the cycle of escapism.
At least, this is my interpretation of it. I found this story incredibly meaningful, especially for where I am at this point in my life. Like Pippin, I have dreamed of becoming something fantastical. As someone who experiences a great deal of perfectionism, I have spent so much of my youth chasing after doing or creating something fulfilling and facing constant disappointment at not living up to my own standards. I’m sure many teenagers and young adults can relate to this story, as I have, as it deals with a core part of our experience of change and finding our own futures. While the musical intentionally provides no “answer” to the existential question, its message on the dangers of escapism has definitely stuck with me. As of now, there are no more showings of the musical at Denison, but I highly encourage anyone interested to see the show if you ever get the opportunity. It will truly be a grand finale to remember.
