‘Pippin’ settles in at Horn Theatre

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 8:41 a.m.

When: 8 p.m. today, Saturday and April 26-27; 2 p.m. Sunday and April 28.

Where: Community College of Southern Nevada's Horn Theatre, 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.

Tickets: $12.50 for adults; $10 for students and seniors; $5 for CCSN students.

Information: 651-5483.

"Pippin" is a timeless tale about the search for meaning in life.

The Broadway musical, which won five Tony Awards, debuted at the Imperial Theatre in New York City in 1972. It opens tonight at the Community College of Southern Nevadas Nickolas J. Horn Theatre.

The production is directed by Douglas H. Baker, known locally for originating the role of Merlin in the "Tournament of Kings" dinner show at Excalibur in 1990. Among the featured players in the "Pippin" cast of 19 are Las Vegan Vince Manfredi, who played Pippin in 1980 in a summer stock production in Louisville, Ky., and Manfredis 10-year-old son, Michael.

The musical, written by Stephen Schwartz, is the story of a young prince longing to discover the secret of happiness and fulfillment.

A narrator, called the Leading Player, tells the audience the tongue-in-cheek story of Pippin, son of eighth-century King Charlemagne, who is on a quest to find his true calling in life. Pippin goes through war, love, politics and other pursuits before settling down with a decent woman and her son.

Schwartz has written a new ending to the show, which will be featured in the CCSN production.

"The new ending is very enlightening to me," said Baker, who teaches acting and voice techniques at CCSN, while portraying Merlin at Excalibur on a part-time basis and co-managing the production. "I didn't like (the original) ending. I thought it was a let down."

The original ending focuses on Pippin settling into life with his newfound love and her son. The new ending focuses on the son.

"With the new ending, it comes to light that Pippin is every person and that we all must break the bonds of parenting and find our own way. Parents can't do it for their children," Baker said. "They may guide them to a certain point, and then the child must make his own decision as to what's important in life."

Baker said the large-scale production is an excellent training vehicle for CCSN drama students, which was one of the reasons he chose to produce the play.

"We wanted to do something a lot students could be involved in," he said. "It was a very youthful and upbeat rock musical, and we also wanted lot of technical elements so our students could learn about the backstage work."

Before coming to Las Vegas to perform as Merlin, Baker was a Shakespearean actor who performed for several years at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

Baker said he first saw "Pippin" in 1976 New York City when Ben Vereen played the role of Leading Player, which launched Vareen's career. Other notables in the original production were Irene Ryan (Granny Clampett of "The Beverly Hillbillies") and film star Jill Clayburgh.

"It is an amazing show," Baker said. "It is a poignant message about stepping up and making choices. Everybody in society helps us make choices, and sometimes they are good ones and sometimes they are bad ones."

Manfredi, who plays Charlemagne, had to make some choices of his own early in his career. He was a budding actor but chose a family and career in the gaming industry over the stage.

He has had a number of marketing jobs in Las Vegas during the past 20 years. Manfredi helped open Excalibur; he was with the Las Vegas Hilton and Boyd gaming for several years. He is now vice president of marketing for Acres Gaming.

"But I call myself an out-of-work actor," Manfredi said. "I have always dabbled in the performing arts."

Manfredi said he is also pleased with the new ending, especially since it puts his son in the spotlight at the final curtain.

"In the old ending, a troupe of actors are trying to entice Pippin into committing suicide, so that he may glow like the sun for a moment," Manfredi said. "With all the suicide bombings taking place today, it's not just a fantasy, but a rather chilling and telling comment about how mob psychology works."

With the new ending, Pippin begins walking offstage with his love interest and her son, but the son remains behind.

"The little boy begins to sing a reprise of and the troupe of actors gather around him, having found another potential victim," Manfredi said.

The play was written during the Vietnam War era.

"There are many dark references to war in the play," Manfredi said. "I think Vietnam had a lot to do with that. Otherwise, it's a very lighthearted production." "

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