CORNER OF THE SKY,
CENTER OF THE RING

Signature’s dazzling revival embraces
Pippin‘s whimsy, darkness, and
enduring search for meaning

Brayden Bambino (Pippin) with Hank von Kolnitz, Calvin L’mont Cooper, and Ben Bogen (photo by Daniel Rader)

A sort of ninth-century, one-ring circus crammed with presentational glee, Pippin has always been an unusual musical. Premiering in 1972 with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson, it follows the restless son of Charlemagne as he searches for purpose in all the wrong places. War, politics, sex, power, revolution, domesticity—each promises fulfillment, and each leaves him wanting more. Guiding him through this journey is the mysterious Leading Player and a troupe of performers who alternately encourage, manipulate, and tempt him toward ever more extreme experiences.

Cedric Neal (Leading Player) and the cast (photo by Daniel Rader)

At Signature Theatre, director Matthew Gardiner leans fully into the show’s theatricality, transforming the MAX Theatre into an immersive playground where fantasy and reality constantly blur. The in-the-round staging places the audience inside the Players’ world, making us complicit in their games from the opening strains of “Magic to Do.” Rather than treating the musical as a period piece, Gardiner embraces its carnival atmosphere while allowing its darker undercurrents to emerge naturally.

Candice Hatakeyama, Cedric Neal (Leading Player), and Emily Steinhardt (photo by Daniel Rader)

The production’s visual style draws heavily from Commedia dell’arte, with elaborate costumes and makeup by Erik Teague, Christopher Swader, and Justin Swader creating a world that feels playful, seductive, and slightly dangerous. The aesthetic pairs beautifully with Rachel Leigh Dolan‘s choreography, which tips its hat to Bob Fosse without becoming a museum piece. The angular poses, sharp isolations, and sly sensuality are unmistakably Fosse-inspired, but the movement feels alive rather than imitative.

Awa Sal Secka (Catherine) with Candice Hatakeyama, Alanna Sibrián, and Georgia Monroe (photo by Christopher Mueller)

As the Leading Player, Cedric Neal is magnetic. Charming one moment and quietly menacing the next, he keeps the audience—and Pippin—under his spell. His performance captures the character’s dual nature as both master of ceremonies and manipulative puppet master. Opposite him, Brayden Bambino makes an appealingly earnest Pippin, conveying the prince’s yearning for significance without reducing him to self-pity. His search for meaning remains sympathetic even when his choices are frustrating.

Naomi Jacobson (Berthe) and Brayden Bambino (Pippin) with the cast (photo by Daniel Rader)

Eric Hissom is a delightfully blustery Charlemagne, Pippin’s larger-than-life father and ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maria Rizzo revels in the scheming ambitions of Fastrada, Pippin’s manipulative stepmother, who has plans of her own for the royal succession. Naomi Jacobson brings warmth, wisdom, and comic verve to Berthe, Pippin’s irrepressible grandmother, whose advice comes in the form of one of the show’s most beloved songs, “No Time at All.” As Catherine, the widowed mother who offers Pippin a glimpse of an ordinary but meaningful life, Awa Sal Secka provides the production’s emotional center. Young Ellison Bihm, as Catherine’s son Theo, displays confidence and comic timing well beyond his years.

Brayden Bambino (Pippin) and the cast (photo by Daniel Rader)

What ultimately makes Pippin endure is not its spectacle, however dazzling, but its central question. How do we find meaning in our lives? The title character spends two acts chasing greatness only to discover that fulfillment may lie somewhere far less grandiose. Signature’s production never loses sight of that idea. Beneath the glitter, theatrical tricks, and infectious score lies a surprisingly thoughtful meditation on ambition, identity, and happiness.

Cedric Neal (Leading Player) and the cast (photo by Daniel Rader)

The result is funny, visually inventive, musically vibrant, and emotionally satisfying—a revival that captures both the show’s exuberant surface and the melancholy that lurks just beneath it.

Ryan Sellers (Lewis) and Maria Rizzo (Fastrada) (photo by Daniel Rader)

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photos by Daniel Rader and Christopher Mueller

Pippin
Signature Theatre
MAX Theater, 4200 Campbell Ave in Arlington, VA
2 hours and 15 minutes, with one intermission
ends on July 26, 2026
for tickets, call 703.820.9771 or visit Signature

for more shows, visit Theatre in DC

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Ellison Bihm (Theo) and Awa Sal Secka (Catherine) (photo by Christopher Mueller)