EXCLUSIVE: Circus Gypsy Takes PIPPIN to New Heights at A.R.T.

There's an interesting irony that's informing The American Repertory Theater's daring revival of PIPPIN currently in previews at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Mass. According to circus choreographer Gypsy Snider, the co-founder of Les 7 doigts de la main enlisted by A.R.T. artistic director Diane Paulus to incorporate circus acrobatics into her bold new staging of the iconic 1970s pop musical, it is the very "magic" that Pippin seeks in his quest to become extraordinary that Snider sometimes dreams of escaping.

"The choice Pippin has to make is whether or not to run away with the circus," she says. "For me, sometimes I would like to run away from the circus."

Born and raised in her parents' San Francisco-based Pickle Family Circus, Snider has been in the ring since the age of four. Her life has been one death-defying act after another. But it wasn't until a few years ago when she faced her greatest nemesis - stage 3.5 colon cancer - that she realized her happiness didn't depend upon the thrills and chills of her unusual career.

"Why do we all search for lives better than what we are?" she ponders. "Why do we have to climb Mt. Everest or jump out of an airplane for adventure? For me, why was 'ordinary' not enough? But cancer changed all that. I forgot the circus and just focused on healing and being with my family. In that stage of total illness I realized that 'extraordinary' is what's inside of us."

PIPPIN marks Snider's full-scale return to work since her recovery. As she creates high-flying circus feats to emphasize the young Pippin's harrowing journey in search of personal fulfillment, she draws upon her own unique life-and-death experiences to achieve the right balance between physical daring and emotional expression.

"The acrobatics are not incorporated as skills but as a way to seduce Pippin to a life less ordinary," Snider explains. "The pull is to 'join us,' to push Pippin further and further on his quest. But when he meets Catherine (a widow with a young son), and she asks, 'Can you help me?' he faces an existential crisis. Will he be enticed to go out in a literal blaze of glory or give up everything to care for others who need him? In the end maybe real life just isn't all that thrilling. And maybe that's okay."

PIPPIN, with a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, opened on Broadway in 1972 and ran for five years, nearly 2000 performances. Directed and choreographed by the legendary Bob Fosse, it starred Ben Vereen in a Tony Award-winning turn as the Leading Player and sparked numerous pop artists, including Michael Jackson and Diana Ross, to record covers of the score's more universal tunes "Morning Glow," "I Guess I'll Miss the Man," and "Corner of the Sky." Other memorable songs are "Magic to Do," "No Time at All," and "Spread a Little Sunshine."

Set in 780 A.D. during the Holy Roman Empire - but designed and performed anachronistically to give it a contemporary feel - PIPPIN tells the story of the young royal heir to King Charlemagne's throne as he pursues his dream to live an extraordinary life. On his way he encounters a troupe of players who show him an array of dazzling possibilities. He experiences war, murder, seduction and betrayal but remains unhappy and unfulfilled. The burning question is, "What will it ultimately take for him to achieve his glory?"

"PIPPIN is really Everyman's story," director Paulus says enthusiastically. "Who doesn't go through trials in life to find one's deepest meaning? PIPPIN takes that quest and structures it theatrically, like a morality play. The theater itself becomes a powerful metaphor for young Pippin's experience. He goes through a ritualized series of trials by fire, if you will. Taking that theatrical concept to the next level and performing in the style of the circus just seemed to be in the show's DNA."

Jan Nargi is owner and creative director of JMN Publications, a marketing and public relations firm based in Boston, Mass. She provides consultation, communications, and writing services to clients in the health care, entertainment, financial, retail, manufacturing, non-profit, and sports industries. As a freelance writer, Jan has had hundreds of articles published in business and high-tech magazines. Theatrically, she has reviewed, written, directed, acted, produced, sung, danced, managed publicity, pounded nails, and designed lighting and sets. Jan has even acted in the occasional B-movie, playing a zombie, a psycho shrink, and a clueless news reporter. You may visit her on the web at www.jmnpublications.com.

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