Ellie Sherry — Reporter
Lights. Camera. Action. After many weeks of hard work, the cast members of Pippin were able to show off their talent and skill at opening night on Oct. 11.
Auditions for Pippin were held the first week of school, and cast members have been working ever since. The cast and crew had only a little over a month to put the entire production together. Learning the lines, dance moves, songs and notes to sing was a lot to do in a short period of time, but the cast pulled it off on their opening night.
The musical began with a narrator introducing all of the characters and the plot line of the story without giving away the climax. The narrator’s part continued throughout the show, which is untraditional.
With rehearsals complete and lines memorized, psychology major Keegan Smith, a sophomore who played the role of Lewis, said he thought opening night went well and that “everyone had high energy and was dialed in.”
“The gala and celebration after the show really signified the rush of relief and adrenaline that comes with an opening night,” he said. “I think for the second show we don’t have to make many changes, just keep doing what we’re doing.”
Smith said the audience was receptive to the characters and the plot of the musical. The audience laughed when jokes were told by the characters. More specifically, the crowd laughed the most at the more crude jokes, and they sang along with the characters when they were asked to do so.
The cast was able to keep the audience captivated for the entire musical. “I have been going [to shows] to support my friend Allie since middle school, so why stop for college,” said diagnostic medical sonography major Natalia Pienkosz, a student from Quinnipiac
University.
“My favorite thing from the play were the behind the scenes and the effects, like when they were sword fighting behind the girls singing.” Nursing major Talia Raucci, a senior, also attended opening night and said she thought the music was phenomenal and that every character was played perfectly.
“It couldn’t have been any better. I may even go to another show with my friends,” said Raucci. “I loved the scene of Catherine and Pippin singing their love song. I was so simple, but their voices were so beautiful.”
Political science major, Jordan Caplan, a freshman, also said she really enjoyed attending the performance of Pippin.
“I thought Pippin was excellent,” she said. “The props, lighting and costumes were very high quality. The amount of talent on the stage was immense.”
Photo credit: Izzy Manzo
