Pippin 50th Anniversary Concert - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Yes, it is a choice. Never said it wasn’t.

But it’s a choice made out of ego and bad taste when it only serves the singer and not the song.

I think Cool Rider is quite unique in that sense, thought. It’s built (for legal reasons…) as a quasi-parody where the audience is encouraged to sing along, shout quotes in unison, and ultimately celebrate the campness of the show. Pippin not so much, though I do think a celebration concert audience can be excused for some cheering and whooping more so than a regular theatre audience. I hate bad audience behaviour usually, last night I was a lot less annoyed by it than usual.

Aww.

But as Patricia Hodge says in "Miranda," it was all "such fun" and I personally felt the embellishments added to the atmosphere of fun.

You could easily read the embellishment last night as a way of exhibiting majesty to dazzle Jac Yarrow's innocent dopey unembellished Pippin all the more by sheer force of character.

And you could also read it as competition between all the seducers of Pippin for his attention, as all the players, bar Pippin, seems to be under the Leading Player's sway to a degree.

The idea that there's only one way to do something sounds a bit like the end of variety and directing as a profession. Might as well just give the Director's job to an AI if there's only one way to see the character.

I could not agree with you more.

I think vocal runs can be thrilling to hear when they fit the song and the moment - but when they are thrown in just to get an audience reaction and deflect from the lyrics and melody rather than enhance it (as was pointedly clear in this instance), thats a problem.

Forgot to note earlier, Amonik Melaco is an incredible dancer, couldn't take my eyes off of him.

Likewise, would love to see him in a long term west end role

Glad I wasn't the only one, he was a huge standout, just the way he performed the choreography was incredible.

I have no idea how Zizi can dance like that, and yet her vocals stay perfect!

Omg yes! So glad that people are celebrating Amonik!

I thought this was absolutely delightful. Pippin is an excellent musical anyway, but almost exclusively now performed in small-scale and stripped back productions, with little in the way of a set, so this concert version fits right in. Even better, it didn't suffer from the cuts that so many productions have. The concert vibe also suits much of the abstraction and ambiguity in the show.

Sound on Tuesday was fantastic. Yes there was the odd missed sound cue, yes there were some annoying screamers in the audience, yes not every song was perfect for every performer, but as an overall package for a show only performed for two nights, this was as good as you're likely to get.

Those of you raving about being Amonik Melaco should have been a Heathers' fan! We got him first.

This is the type of concert production that I wish could have a future life, but I know the demand isn't there. Well done to everyone involved.