'Pippin' at Oxford High School - My Review

Oxford High School's Wolverine Players are presenting Pippin this weekend. Senior citizens were invited to the final dress rehearsal on Thursday evening. After a reception in the lobby, the high school cast members came out in costume to interact with the seniors and pose for photos. Then everyone, including me,  headed into the auditorium to watch the members of the Drama Program "make magic" in the musical with a book by Roger O. Hirson and music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

This is the third year that director Stephen Dest has worked with the Drama Program and writes of being "very proud of each and every young actor that has allowed me to shape their show." He worked hard with producer Cathy Prowe to make the program possible. Music and vocal direction was by Darren Lougee.

This whimsical story of the always searching young Pippin is set in the middle ages and  features a large ensemble of students called "Players" in colorful and creative costumes by Rebecca Seibert. As I marveled at the outfits up close at the "meet the cast," I knew that Mrs. Seibert had outdone herself with these beautiful creations that were her vision of what the characters that inhabit Pippin should be. Many of the leads even had a costume change at intermission. Kudos to this talented costumer on the three months of work that went into dressing these young actors at such a professional level.

So of course the members of the cast looked amazing onstage in front of the onstage musicians and the simple set designed by Pam Aldrich that was painted by her students which featured gears in subdued tones. The ten-piece band included three student musicians and sounded wonderful. All the sound elements were managed by students and  were well done.

As soon as Kolby Forrest entered from the back of the auditorium, she commanded the stage as the Leading Player. This young lady reminded me of Patina Miller as she confidently ran the show; she is a fine actress and dancer who sang well. Confidence was also apparent in all the featured dancers who pulled off the inspired choreography by Madalyn Sheehy. I would be hard pressed to choose my favorite dance number, although the opening "Magic to Do" was pretty impressive.

In the title role, senior Nathan Seibert was well cast. Despite his height, Mr. Seibert brought a boyish charm to the role of young Pippin; this is the fourth and final time that we will see this fine comic actor and singer on the Oxford HS stage. Senior Travis Pyka was appropriately annoying as his half-brother Lewis.

Senior Samantha Longo was a lovely Fastrada in her regal purple costume. Maggie Palys did a wonderful job as Pippin's grandmother Berthe that had the audience singing along on the chorus of her number. Senior and drama club president Katelyn Wentz played up the comedy in Catherine and freshman Connor Speaker played her son Theo.

I was very impressed with the performance of OHS junior Tyler Panek in the role of Charles, Pippin's father and king. This young man displayed his trained singing voice and is a very strong actor. He won a Halo Award for his performance as J.B. Biggley in last year's How to Succeed...and Pippin marks his 20th show. Mr. Panek also attends the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven where he studies vocal performance. This is a young man to watch.

Overall this production was a very good one. There were some charming elements that made one of my favorite shows even more enjoyable. Many strong performances make it highly enjoyable and the dancing was top notch. I highly recommend a trip to Oxford to see this musical that continues to run on Broadway.