'Pippin' standout actors, a committed behind-the-scenes team

Harriton High School presented themselves with a king-sized challenge in their production of Pippin. Stephen Schwartz's musical, centered upon a medieval prince's search for meaning, is staged by an eclectic troupe of players, generally members of a circus. The show's backbone is the hypnotic Leading Player, a gender-neutral narrator, along with Pippin himself. The increasingly threatening players bear witness to naïve Pippin's misadventures with war, sex, religion, and politics as he asks himself, and the audience, deeply human questions: who am I? Is this all there is?

Harriton's twist on the classic Pippin narrative strived to add some modernity: rather than a traveling circus, the set was a television studio. The Leading Player was the host and the troupe functioned as a production crew, with heavy emphasis placed on green screens. Conceptually, this was hugely ambitious.

From his first moments, Marcel Werder proved he was a Leading Player to be reckoned with. Wielding tremendous stage presence and moving fluidly, his otherworldly aura was an intriguing foil to his young protégé Pippin (Max Sokoll). Sokoll expertly embodied Pippin's wide-eyed simplicity, with rich tones that truly shone in numbers like "Corner of the Sky." As scheming stepmother Fastrada, Shana Herman's scintillating vocals were fit for a queen. Jon Duska's flamboyant Lewis never missed with his comedic timing, and the chorus as a whole stayed engaged. Although still a few years away from high school, John Gordynsky was simply precious as pint-sized peasant Theo.

Harriton's orchestra deserves tremendous plaudits, adding vitality to the production without missing a beat. There were several standout costume pieces, such as a student-sewn gown sported by Catherine (Aurora Murray). The show was also terrifically publicized by a team that included students Peyton Miller and Megan Rapuano. The sparsely set stage that depicted stark reality while twin screens on each side portrayed the seductive but ultimately false opulence of the Leading Player's world were bold artistic choices that were well-suited to the show.

As Pippin himself eventually learns, you can't have it all. Harriton's "Pippin," with standout actors, a committed behind-the-scenes team, and commendable artistic innovation, was a royally strong effort.