Hip Hop meets anime
‘Pippin’ has never been funkier
By Jana J. Monji 05/29/2008
A shogun, a sexy stepmother with prominently displayed cleavage, a stepbrother with impressive pecs, green- and pink-haired young ladies — this doesn’t sound like the cast of a historical costume drama.
Roger O. Hirson (book) and Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) didn’t exactly write a period piece, and Tim Dang’s take on “Pippin” infuses the influence of hip hop and anime. This costume piece by East West Players at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Little Tokyo is a sassy, fun morality tale about what’s really important in life, with an Asian twist.
The play takes place in Charlemagne’s court — except Dang has transported it to feudal Japan. Charlemagne is decked out in shogun attire and called Charles (Mike Hagiwara). His wife, Fastrada (Jenn Aedo), is costumed in big hair, boots that would give Wonder Woman pause and a neckline that plunges to her waist. Her son, Lewis (Cesar Cipriano), is what one might call a himbo — the guy equivalent of a bimbo. He’s dressed in the kind of split skirt that one might expect on a samurai, but with his bare chest and long hair, he looks more like a man from the Nile than one from Japan.
Fastrada wants her son to be declared heir to the throne. After all, Charles’ eldest son and her stepson, Pippin (Ethan Le Phong), has book-learning rather than battlefield experience. Dressed in modern, casual hip hop-inspired wear, Pippin is obviously out of place at home and begins to search for meaning. He even contemplates killing his father and becoming a leader who can create a kinder and gentler national policy. The problem with feudal eras is that might was right. Leading Player (Marcus Choi), who is dressed in a hat and long coat that reminds one of Neo from the “Matrix” series, narrates.
Some of Blythe Matsui and Jason Tyler Chong’s dance design pays tribute to Bob Fosse, who choreographed and directed the original 1972 Broadway version of “Pippin,” but they also infuse a modern sensibility using hip hop moves. The genre- and era-jumping costume design by Naomi Yoshida is, for anime fans or those familiar with “Pippin,” nothing new. Fosse used top hats and canes in a jazz interpretation of the battle scene. He was, of course, right at home with the erotic flavor of some of the dances. In this production, the erotic segments are sensually and tastefully done with no nudity. It’s all tease and suggestion in Dang’s production, even during the orgy scene.
Pippin was actually a real person — the first-born son of Charlemagne (747-814) by a woman who he later discarded for a political marriage to seal an alliance. Years later, Charlemagne had one of his legitimate sons re-christened as Pippin, the name of his father (Pippin the Short), and disinherited his eldest son.
Nicknamed Pippin the Hunchback, the eldest son was part of an unsuccessful rebellion against his father. While his co-conspirators were executed, he was confined to a monastery where he died two decades later.
One hardly imagines that Pippin conjured up visions of women in short skirts or short shorts and platform boots, even during those 20 long years as a monk. “Pippin” is not a historical play and doesn’t even pretend to be one. It doesn’t attempt to build on the legend of a great man and historical figure in the manner of “Camelot.”
Instead, “Pippin” is about what most musicals are about — songs, lyrics, costumes and sexy dancers of both genders. There is a moral and a happy ending, but Hirson and Schwartz didn’t allow that to bog down the proceedings, and neither does Dang.
Despite some problems with sound balance between the music and the actors, particularly when they are singing, this exuberant production is a solid revival of a lightweight but well-loved musical.
“Pippin” continues through June 22 at the David Henry Hwang Theater, Union Center for the Arts, 120 Judge John Aiso St., Little Tokyo, downtown Los Angeles. Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $45 and $50. Call (213) 625-7000 or visit www.EastWestPlayers.org.
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