Pippin

Pippin, the story of a young Prince who longs to find passion and adventure in his life was brought to life on stage by this large talented group of students, who have worked tirelessly to ensure audiences were not disappointed.  I can truly say that on the performance I attended, I think everyone left the theatre knowing that they had seen an excellent array of storytelling through singing, acting and dance.

Olivia Attwool-Keith, Leading Player captivated the audience from the start and her narration of the story through song and acting was well executed.  The story of Pippin’s search for passion and adventure played out through very strong performances from the Principal cast.  Michael Pellman as Pippin acted with ease and with his strong vocal ability, he coped well with the range of singing the character required.  Harrison Owens, in the role of Charlemagne displayed solid acting and in particular in the delivery of War is A Science.  Magdalene Cybulska playing Fastrada showed strength in her performance in both singing and acting, and Frankie Cusack, brought his acting skills to bear as the son, Lewis, for whom Fastrada has ambitions.  Rachel Hunter played a very convincing Catherine with great ability in singing and acting.  Grace Kanyamibwa brought comedy and style to the stage in the role of Berthe, and Theo, played by Francheska Francisco, was perfectly cast in the role.

From start to finish this company of students brought energy, vitality and lots of talent to the stage.  Pippin is a show that is not seen often on the amateur stage.  However, making a brave choice like this, The Cecilian Society worked well in showcasing a cast of extremely enthusiastic and talented performers.  The production team worked extremely hard, and credit should be given to Izzy Way, Director, Michael Smith, Musical Director and Katharine Northcote, Choreographer for bringing this musical to life.  The creativity in the staging was well thought out, and the large cast of approximately seventy moved well from scene to scene as the story unfolded.  As always a show like this never happens without the work that goes on in the background and I was particularly impressed with the simple but effective set, and the technical team cannot go unmentioned for their work in this area.

Overall, this was a great production, displaying the many talents from a great company known as The Cecilian Society.  Well done!

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