Duct Tape Productions (DTP) debuted their fall musical, “Pippin,” co-directed by Katherine Heyman ’24J and Eve Mehalick Wilcox ’22, in the Davis Ballroom on Nov. 18. This is the student-run theatre company’s first show since the cancellation of “Newsies” due to COVID-19 in March of 2020.
“Pippin,” with music by Stephen Schwartz and book by Roger O. Hirson, was originally directed by infamous choreographer Bob Fosse in 1972. DTP’s production, however, used the minorly altered script from the revival in 2013. Before Broadway, the musical was created and performed by Carnegie Mellon University’s student-run theatre organization, Scotch’n’Soda. While little of the original production remained in the Broadway version, there is something poetic in seeing “Pippin” performed by another student-run theatre company 50-or-so years later.
The set itself was simple: a two-feet-tall stage with a hand-painted backdrop depicting the sun, making the performer the show’s focal point. Fiona King ’22, who played Pippin, said, “We joke that this is how ‘Pippin’ is really supposed to be put on: just a simple set and the players. It’s all about the spirit of the show.”
The show “Pippin” follows Pippin, the son of Charlemagne, as he searches for a meaningful life. Beginning with his graduation from university, Pippin sets out on a number of different adventures until, by the end of the musical, he’s tried war, sex, art and farming and finally settles for love. If any readers were worried that Pippin doesn’t have any sex, fear not. Not only does Pippin participate in an orgy in Act I (there was a bra with grapes hanging off of it), there was also on-stage simulated sex in Act II, where dancers represented sexual partners reaching climax.
But at its core, this show is about coming of age. As director Katherine Heyman ’24 said, “It’s a funny thing. You do ‘Pippin’ with a bunch of people in their late teens and early 20s and they say, ‘That’s me, that’s just like me.’ The forces in Pippin’s head are relatable for people of this age, and they translate it really well into their performances.”
“Pippin” was filled with dancing, as to be expected of any Bob Fosse production. When asked about this legacy, director and choreographer Eve Mehalick Wilcox ’22 said, “We were definitely influenced heavily by Bob Fosse. You probably saw the Fosse hands pop up many, many a time in this show. I love his style in general; it’s my favorite dance style to perform.” Even with a cast that included non-dancers, the production’s dance numbers were impressive to behold. Wilcox said that “the great thing about Fosse is that a lot of the moves aren’t that hard to do, they’re just stylized. As long as you get the style and keep on the beat, it looks really good.”
The dancing wasn’t the only part of the production that was heavily stylized. DTP’s “Pippin” was set in the 1970s. All of the cast members wore orange and red, ’70s-inspired costumes that made the stage explode with color during big numbers. Heyman said that they took a lot of inspiration from the 1972 Bob Fosse version that was inspired by old Italian circus theatre—”commedia dell’arte.” “Thematically,” said Heyman, “the musical reflects a lot of the tumultuous nature of the era in which it was being produced, so part of my vision for this production was to bring some of those background issues to the forefront by setting it in the ’70s.” This time period does make a fitting background for “Pippin,” a show about growing up. The barefoot, simply dressed Pippin fighting against his business-suited father then having an orgy with hippies feels so apt that it is surprising that the show wasn’t always directed in this way.
Still, with all the players wearing masks, this production had its own uniquely contemporary feel. Since the leads were all mic’d, the masks didn’t prove to be an auditory issue, but they did remind the audience that this was a theatre production in the age of COVID-19. On the subject of masks, Sammy Oster ’24 (who played Lewis) said, “It was fine. I have a very expressive face, so I sort of wish people could’ve seen my expressions. But aside from that it was fine.” Still, masks didn’t get in the way of comedy, especially not for Fiamma Cochrane ’24, whose expressive eyes had the audience in stitches in both their roles as an ensemble member and as the severed head.
In fact, with players like Cochrane and J Cramer MHC ’25, the ensemble proved one of the most impressive parts of the show. Cramer played the small yet mighty role of the duck, charming the audience in a yellow tutu and beak taped to his mask. I don’t think the audience was ever more heartbroken than when that duck died.
Another performance that stood out was “Glory,” performed by Leading Player, Aria Ramanathan ’25, and the ensemble members. The characters went to battle, dancing to a Scott Joplin-esque number under dreamy sunset lighting and singing their hearts out. Medieval battle had never seemed like such good fun.
King gave a remarkable performance as Pippin. She made the character of an 8th century son of a king relatable to a modern audience at a historically womens’ college.
But that isn’t King’s only role in DTP, as they are currently the chair of the organization. Asked about balancing these, she said, “It’s hard. The last time I had a big role in a Duct Tape show, I wasn’t the chair of the org. I’ve had to navigate a complex relationship with Eve and Katherine. At what times do I have to step in and say, ‘No we can’t do that for this production’? And at what point do I have to step back because they are the directors and they are in charge?”
Heyman and Mehalick Wilcox, the directors, who happen to be dating, had to navigate many new situations as they put the show together. Not only were they first time directors, they were also working with an almost entirely new cast. Heyman said, “DTP has changed a lot since I was last in it. During COVID, the vast majority of our active members graduated. I believe there are only five or six people in our cast of 30 who’d been in DTP productions before. So we had no idea what to expect coming in.” Although they were nervous about directing the show, they feel as though they can call it a success: “This production feels like I’m making the kind of theatre I want to make. It’s so collaborative— all of our actors are good at interacting with my directorial vision instead of just blindly taking direction. It feels like we’ve been making our own community.”
Indeed, others in the production noted the strong community at work throughout this endeavor. King said, “DTP has been such a safe haven through my college experience, and I know that many other people can say the same. I’m really happy that we can continue to provide that for new people. It’s been wonderful to watch friendships blossom during the production of the show.”
King has been a member of DTP for years and noted that the organization has changed a lot in that time. “When I first got here,” she said, “we were doing the second show that we’d ever done that had more than fifteen cast members. I arrived at a time of change and growth for the org, and I think the pandemic has only furthered that.”
Although DTP has changed a lot since COVID-19, its scrappy, underdog mentality remains. Heyman told me, “Our whole thing is that we are ‘duct tape’—we start with very little, and we make stuff that’s really cool. ’Pippin’ is kind of a blank slate everyman’s story, so it’s a show that is really fun to place your own vision onto. It has been really amazing to create an original vision and bring it to fruition while putting together every single aspect of tech, scenic design, costume design and everything else.”
This feat is impressive to behold; from the live orchestra under the direction of Isabel Panciera ’24J and Phoebe Uman ’22, to the colorful lighting done by Aria Khalique ’25, to the intricate dances, it is staggering to realize that a group of students, without a large budget or oversight, put together such a remarkable show. According to Oster, this is all due to community: “At a certain point money doesn’t matter,” they said. “Nothing else matters. As long as you believe in something existing, it’ll exist.”
As I left the Davis Ballroom on Thursday night, I reflected upon the power of student-run organizations like DTP. The students in this group are dedicated, passionate people who managed to create the fastest-selling production in the company’s history. They made art out of quite literally nothing. I’m reminded that “Pippin,” a production that became one of the most significant musicals in Broadway history, originated from a group not dissimilar to this one.
