Today: Mar 29, 2024

Cast of Pippin prepares for debut

Ellie Sherry — Reporter

All hail King Pippin! The cast and crew of Pippin are putting their final touches on the show before their opening night on Friday, Oct. 11.

Memorizing all of the lines, singing the right notes, and learning the choreography to the show, all in about a month is what the cast had on their hands when joining the production.

“The hardest thing about putting a show together is definitely the coordination between the three aspects of acting, singing and dancing,” said psychology major, Keegan Smith, a sophomore and cast member, “and having all of them work together to a nearly perfect point.”

Smith, who has been acting since the age of 8, plays the role of Lewis in the show and has done over 20 productions in his lifetime. He is not alone in his experience as many other cast members have a long background in theatre.

There are difficult parts to being in a production, according to the cast. To elementary collaborative and theater major Julia Raucci, a senior, one of the hardest things is getting everything done in a short amount of time.

“The hardest thing, in my opinion, about putting a show together is telling the story,” said music major, Alexine Cristante, a freshman. “Yes, the actors say lines with music and sets to show and tell what happened, but the hardest part is the emotion the actors have to have to tell the correct story and everyone is telling the same story.”

This has been a bonding experience for the cast as many shared memories from the past month of working together.

“This whole experience has been memorable for me,” said elementary education major, Olivia O’Connor, a freshman, who has the role of a Player, “but I think my favorite memory has to be the first run-through because it’s the first time you can see how the whole show is coming together.”

The role of the father of Pippin is played by theater major, Matthew Lopes, a senior. He said he also enjoyed the first time the cast ran the whole show through. His favorite memory, he said, so far was doing full run throughs as the actors began to take their work more seriously.

“It’s at these times when I try my best to make Keegan Smith, who plays Lewis, break character, and whenever he does, it’s the funniest experience for us both,” Lopez said.

Pippin has less than a week before opening night, and the cast said they are ready. Theater major Christian Gunzenhauser, a senior, plays the lead role of Pippin. He said one of his favorite memories was how he felt after his audition. He said it felt like it was the best audition he had ever done.

“I am very excited for opening night,” said Gunzenhauser. “Putting the show on in front of a crowd is always so rewarding.”

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