Veronica Valenti

Thea 14

5/13/19

In the Heights/Pippin​ Comparison

In the Heights​ and ​Pippin ​both tell a story of growth and personal fulfillment

among young characters as they search through life for their purpose. However, even

though both productions tell such a story, the styles in which they are told are

significantly different. ​Pippin​ uses a more presentational aesthetic with colorful lights

and extravagant costumes compared to ​In the Heights,​ which styles were

representational and more grounded in reality during real time, based in a real place.

In the Heights​ and ​Pippin​ both have a full cast. However, the styles and use of

those characters differed. In the Heights reflects a more modern style of theatre that

features an array of different characters living different lives, and shows how they

intertwine with one another. The cast is focused more on ensemble and each character

faces their own difficulty. The characters face realistic concerns, like ​Nina dropping out

of Stanford because she had to work two jobs to maintain her tuition. A problem ​that the

general audience most likely can relate to rather than just facing the question, “what is

my purpose in life?”

Pippin​, on the other hand, focuses on just Pippin and every other character is in

the background and is somewhat irrelevant. ​The musical uses the premise of a

mysterious performance group, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin’s life.

The master player immediately breaks the fourth wall, directly speaking to the audience
and provocatively inviting their attention. The players tell Pippin’s life as it progresses

and his main conflict of searching for his life’s purpose. Pippin’s conflict is not as

specific as, say, Nina’s, but the question of his purpose continuously follows him

throughout the show until he defines his purpose himself. ​The outside characters in

Pippin​ tell his story from an outside perspective, whereas each character in ​In the

Heights​ tells their story themselves from their more emotional point of view.

Overall both shows did a great job of creating a message of finding one’s own

sense of personal fulfillment. But the way each production went about getting this

message across was creative and engaging with the audience.

I'm sorry titian I'm just so tired