This past Thursday, the Hinman Production Company (HPC) presented “Pippin: The Musical” — a story about the life of Pippin, a young prince from the Middle Ages who is looking for meaning in life under the reign of his father, King Charlemagne. The musical was written in 1972 with music and lyrics written by Stephen Schwartz, and the book written by Roger Hirson. The story is based on real-life historical figures of Charlemagne, who was King of the Franks, and his eldest son, Pippin the Hunchback.

The musical follows the tale of Pippin and his involvement with an acting troupe led by the Leading Player as they work toward the Finale. The Leading Player and acting troupe are a part of Pippin’s journey of self-discovery, often resorting to drastic measures to achieve what they consider to be the performance of a lifetime, even if it means putting Pippin in the line of fire.

Erin Memmesheimer, the director of “Pippin: The Musical” and a sophomore double-majoring in political science and anthropology, described what it was like preparing for opening night.

“[Preparing for the play meant having to deal] with all the things that come along the way,” Memmesheimer said. “Dealing with all of the unforeseen challenges that we don’t really prepare for. But this cast [was] so adaptable and so willing to go along with whatever, and [it was] really amazing to get to work with them.”

As director, Memmesheimer further explained the process leading up to opening night.

“We had our first auditions [and our callbacks in January], and we had the big cast list out by the end of January,” Memmesheimer said. “We have been rehearsing every week since then, in addition to all the work that the actors do on their own and all the prep work that I have been doing since winter break when I got picked to direct.”

There were several parts of the musical that the audience responded well to, but nothing could beat the scene in Act 2 where all the Players were dressed in farm animal onesies — crawling around the stage as Pippin had an existential crisis. The Players perfectly unfolded the back-and-forth between the comedy and drama aspects of the musical, as the background interactions and dances made the audience break out into laughter at several points throughout the night.

Leilani Harris, who plays the role of Leading Player and is a freshman majoring in musical theatre, spoke about her experience in preparing for her role. The Leading Player plays a pivotal part in the musical, as they guide the story along and Pippin as he goes through his journey.

“The most challenging part for me definitely was being confident in this role,” Harris said. “The Leading Player has a very big presence on stage, and it is a very intimidating role in all aspects. [It means having] confidence in myself that I can go on stage and pull that off, and [just having] faith in myself.”

When asked about what her experience was like preparing for the musical, Harris revealed that her favorite part was not only performing in the play, but the sense of community she gained along the way.

“My favorite part in preparing [for the role] was definitely getting to work with so many talented and kind people,” Harris said. “This is one of the kindest cast and most talented casts I’ve ever gotten to work with before.”

While the musical for the most part follows the traditional format of most musicals, it is different in one important aspect. It often breaks the fourth wall — an imaginary wall that exists between the actors and the audience — as the Leading Player often spoke directly to the audience throughout the performance, narrating out loud what was occurring on stage at the moment. Oftentimes, the actors themselves would walk along the aisles and interact with the audience as they sang and danced.

At one point, the Players handed out pieces of paper containing lyrics to the song, “No Time at All” in Act 1, performed by Berthe, Pippin’s paternal grandmother, played by Aiden Hoey, a junior majoring in biology. The Players and Berthe asked the audience to sing along as one of the Players held up a handmade sign that contained the lyrics in bold, colorful letters, all while Hoey danced around the stage wearing a shirt that said “grandma rocks.”

The breaking of the fourth wall was met with delighted reactions from the audience, as the jokes and remarks made by Harris were met with hysterical laughter from the audience as the chaos created by the Players unfolded on stage.

Emerald Hall, one of the Players in the show and a senior majoring in biology, explained what her experience was like performing in her final show with HPC.

“The most rewarding part [of the show] is definitely the people,” Hall said. “I’m very, very busy [preparing to graduate] … but I still had to make time to do one more show because the people here are just so incredible, and they truly are the light of my day. I love coming here.”

As one of the Players who are a part of the play’s traveling performance troupe, Hall had to partake in much preparation and rehearsals to prepare for the role, which they explained was very extensive but nonetheless rewarding once they got to perform it on stage for an audience.

“One of the most challenging parts would probably be the dancing,” Hall said. “This is my third HPC show here, and I’ve never done one that had such intricate dancing. We had to learn the fosse style of dance, which I’ve never done before. It was truly such an amazing experience learning how to do [the] fosse, ballet and tap. It was very rewarding.”

While the Players themselves were a crowd favorite, several performances done by the main cast were also met with praise from the audience. Fastrada and Lewis, Pippin’s stepmother and half-brother, respectively, provided much of the comedic relief for the musical, with their rendition of “Spread a Little Sunshine.”

King Charlemagne, played by Maddisyn Campagnone, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, was a fan favorite as well. Their comedic timing wherever they were on stage allowed for chaos to unfold on stage for the character, to which the audience responded with cheers and applause.

With its comedy and its “climax that [the audience] will remember for the rest of [their] lives,” HPC certainly enjoyed a successful opening night with its rendition of “Pippin: The Musical.”