Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...I still recommend "Pippin." It is one of the most innovative Broadway revivals of the last decade. It serves the material beautifully and yet breaks new ground. I guess I had some dreams for the tour that ... well, maybe they'll all read this and go a bit deeper by the time you hit the tent."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Yet no matter how many hoops the show’s athletic cast might jump through, the alternately pasted-on smiles and extreme crankiness only increase in intensity as this retooled edition of the 1972 musical, with a score by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, unspools."
Gapers Block - Recommended
"...Ultimately, director Diane Paulus and circus creator Gypsy Snider's innovative and modern reinvention of Pippin is made for the times, with an apt audience ripe to explore the meaning of existence and its subsequent temptations with circus, song, dance, drama and an multi-talented cast."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This touring production of the Broadway musical is at the Cadillac for just two weeks, featuring many of the original Broadway performers and others you might recognize: Sam Lips as Pippin and Sasha Allen of “The Voice” are powerhouses. Another standout is Adrienne Barbeau as Berthe, Pippin’s grandma; her rendition of “No Time at All” is a showstopper, offering some levity to Pippin’s angsty despair."
Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended
"...Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz's rock score abounds in good songs, and the acrobatics are jaw-dropping. Loved the two guys who did side-by-side one-hand stands and, clasping each other by their free hands, leaned apart. Don't try this at home."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...What really makes director Diane Paulus's Pippin stand out is its control of energy. There are almost always a lot of interesting things happening onstage, from human jump ropes, to people flipping through hula hoops, to Chet Walker's Fosse-inspired choreography, but it seldom feels overwhelming or interminable. Sure, the play's message that you shouldn't let superficial excitement distract you from the dirt and compromises that make up real life is a little disjointed from the first act and doesn't quite land an emotional punch, but the journey there is a tribute to the theatre's visual power."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...This is performance Arts taken to a higher level. Yes, there is a story. One that is silly or inane, but one that allows us to sit for over two hours and never get bored. That is no easy task. The set is a circus tent filled with all types of circus tricks; knife throwing, disappearing people, people chopped in parts (during a battle scene) and countless other sight gags as well as magical moments."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Unfortunately for Chicago, this magnificent production is only in town for two weeks. It deserves a longer run. The "Magic to Do" that opens this infectious, heartwarming production continues throughout and sends audiences out into the warm night realizing that, like themselves, even a prince like Pippin suffers apprehensions about life. Stephen Schwartz understood those qualms were as universal as love and death. He painted a portrait of a young man searching, like every one of us, for his "Corner of the Sky." Most audience members will know up front where this journey is headed, but joining Pippin on his voyage to enlightenment will bring unbridled joy to theatre patrons looking for their own "Magic to Do.""
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...As a triumphant example of the theater arts, "Pippin" is a joy. Most of the casting is spot on and the motor of the large chorus never stops. The pageantry is straight out of the top drawer, showing no tour company economies I could see. When it's good, "Pippin" is terrific. When it looses its way in the last act, the energy seems to drain out of the whole theater. But the reaction of the audience, heavily populated by groups of teenagers, indicated lots of spectators were having a whopping good time. I shared their enthusiasm, right up to the start of the second act."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...PIPPIN is magical! The dynamic ensemble is remarkable. They sing. They dance. They defy gravity. And tickle realism. An extremely tall man climbs on top of multiple moving parts to do a slip-and-slide. Aerialists continually suspend from silks and a center ring. And a pair of legs sans torso walks across the stage. Between all the marveling circus feats (created by Gypsy Snider) and Fosse-inspired choreography (choreographer Chet Walker), this musical is gawkable yet still up-lifting. It's the musical "Fish" meets "Cabaret" with plenty of Cirque du Soliel flare. Heart-warming and sexy with mystifying moves."
Splash Magazine - Somewhat Recommended
"...Spectacle should only be used if it enhances the story. Here it takes away from it. The purpose of going to the theatre is to see a story. That should always, first and foremost, be the main focus of any form of theatre. But even if there weren't the unnecessary circus-aspect this tour still would have been a struggle to sit through. Our two main leads need to step up their game and raise the stakes more. While performing in smaller towns you might be able to get away with not going full out and acting silly, Chicago is not one of them. It's a city with an abundance of theatres and far more theatre-going audiences. Bad acting and lazy singing just don't cut it here."
