arts & life

His

Corner

'‘- The C kV

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Acrobats (above) and dancers (below) in Pippin

John Rubinstein

comes full circle

in Pippin.

John Rubinstein, who

originated the role of Pippin,
now plays his father.

Pippin runs June 9-21
at the Fisher Theatre in
Detroit. $39-$95.
(313) 872-1000;
broadwayindetroit.com .

I

Suzanne Chessler

Contributing Writer

ge seems to have given
a kind turn to John
Rubinstein's stage career.
Glad to have won the title role in
Pippin when he was approaching
30, the actor also is glad to have
won the supporting role of Pippin's
father as he approaches 70.
The musical, holding a 2013
Tony Award for Best Revival of
a Musical and featuring a score
by Stephen Schwartz, follows a
young prince looking for mean-
ing in life and wondering wheth-
er to risk everything for a single
rush to glory.
The tour runs June 9-21 at the
Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
"I played the callow youth, son
of a king and very privileged," says
Rubinstein in a phone conversa-
tion during a tour stop in North
Carolina. "He wants to make a
mark, as everybody does. He's try-
ing to find his 'Corner of the Sky'
[the title of Rubinstein's favorite
song in the show].
"That was very much my
wheelhouse when I was 24, 25 and
26, although I was a bit further
along than Pippin. I was the father
of two then and learning a lot
about life.
"I grew up with a very famous,
hugely accomplished father [pia-
nist Arthur Rubinstein] so I knew
about that relationship, trying to
figure out a way to both honor him
and measure up. I now have a son,
20, and a son, 18, and I am watch-

ing them trying to make their lives
fulfilling and important. They're
actually living Pippin's life:'
Rubinstein, who left the
University of California Los
Angeles early for his first profes-
sional tour (On a Clear Day You
Can See Forever) has many stage
credits that include Children of
a Lesser God, Ragtime and Love

Letters.
On TV, he regularly appeared
in Family and Crazy Like a Fox.
Moviegoers have seen him in The
Boys From Brazil, Jekyll and Red
Dragon.
Rubinstein decided he wanted
to work before audiences as he
frequented New York theater and
traveled with his father to watch
the pianist perform.
"Music was in my DNA,
and I took piano lessons:' says
Rubinstein, introduced by his
father to other great musicians like
Stravinsky. "I had a very good ear
and played [musical theater] songs
by ear. I learned orchestration on
the job:'
In college, a friend produced a
movie and asked him to develop
a score, his first. He went on to
compose for many projects, such
as Jeremiah Johnson and The
Candidate, both films with Robert
Redford. He also composed the
background music in the TV
series Family.
Falling in line with a Jewish
father and Catholic mother who
stayed away from observance,
Rubinstein does not identify with
any religion nor pass faith along to

his five children.
"My father was a proud Jew but
not at all religious," he says. "He
had a scorn for religion although
he never played in Germany after
1914 [despite studying in Berlin]
and [willed that he should be bur-
ied in Jerusalem].
"I feel a connection to Judaism
just as I feel a connection to
Poland since both of my parents
were from Poland. I don't mean
any disrespect, and I've enjoyed
Passover meals at people's houses:'
Rubinstein, based in California
and partnered with aesthetician
Bonnie Burgess, follows baseball
when he relaxes from the Pippin
tour that has given a new turn to
the play.
"The original was based mostly
on dance explains Rubinstein,
who has played both his roles
on Broadway. "Bob Fosse was
the choreographer as well as the
director.
"Diane Paulus, the current

JN

director, discovered the circus
metaphor and found Gypsy Snider,
a fabulous Canadian circus [tal-
ent]. Chet Walker, our choreogra-
pher, was in the original produc-
tion of Pippin in its last months
on Broadway and knew the Fosse
choreography.
"The three of them put together
this new version of the play. They
made some cuts while adding new
scenes and different lyrics and
lines. The play has been polished
and reconceived."
Pippin was darker and more
sinister as it first launched, par-
ticularly as the politics during the
Vietnam War entered into the play.
"One of the reasons that Pippin
endures as a piece of theater is
because it's a universal story,"
Rubinstein says. "Once the knowl-
edge of the finite nature of life
kicks in, there is a natural feeling
of making this ride very worth-
while, extraordinary and fulfilling.
That's what the play is about:'

❑

June 4 • 2015

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