Broadway is often a stage for young actors, especially in a physically demanding production like “Pippin” that is filled with acrobatics, magic tricks, and circus-feats of tumbling and balance. The production of “Pippin” currently playing at East Lansing’s Wharton Center, though, belonged to the older actors.

In this complex coming-of-age play within a play where the young Pippin searches for meaning and fulfillment in his life, the brightest shining moments came from John Rubinstein’s Charles (Charlemagne), Pippin’s father, and from Priscilla Lopez’s Berthe, Pippin’s grandmother.

Rubinstein originated the role of Pippin back in the 70s when the musical first appeared on Broadway and he’s clearly having a blast with the part of Charles. He was full of humor and pumped the most laughs and energy out of every moment he was on stage. He chortled, he strutted, he stopped up his ears and went “lalalalalala” when he didn’t want to hear what Pippin was saying. Every choice was one that added excitement to the moment and invited the audience to be further invested in his character and the story being told.

Lopez absolutely charms and tickles the audience with her bawdy grandmother who encourages Pippin to take a little from life and search for meaning in sex. She gives the illusion of being made fragile by age and then soon bursts that perception with tricks worthy of this ensemble of gymnasts, aerialists, and magicians.

Central to the storytelling are the storyteller and the hero. Sasha Allen’s Leading Player pulls Sam Lips’ Pippin by the nose as he samples war, learning, sex, politics, art, religion, and country life on his journey for purpose. Allen is sassy in her attitude and has a commanding stage presence. One of the show’s challenges, however, comes in her singing style. Her voice is strong and skillful, but her pop background is very apparent.

Show tunes have always had a distinct sound from pop music, even when the two cross-over. Part of the reason for this is because pop songs can be heard many times before a listener decides whether she likes it. The lyrics can be learned after multiple repetitions of the song. In a musical, the lyrics are essential to the story and the listeners have only one chance to hear and understand them. It was too often difficult to understand what Allen was singing, particularly during her first-act solos.

Lips’ Pippin showed great contrast from the rest of the ensemble, underlining the Leading Players’ fourth wall-breaking assertion that he was new to the role. He was always one step off from the rest of the ensemble, a choice that contributed greatly to the story being told. It telegraphs the idea that Pippin doesn’t fit in anywhere he goes. Lips also has an enviable set of pipes that can go from softly singing to belting in a matter of a few bars of music. He’s an emotional singer who evokes a wide range of feelings in his listeners.

On opening night, Diane Paulus’ direction got applause as the curtain fell to reveal a perfectly staged set of circus performers posed to begin the journey. It’s an ensemble that often evoked Cirque du Soleil in their applause-inducing, breath-taking performances, but it was more than just a circus act. The highly skilled and talented ensemble was constantly raising the stakes for Pippin. With each trick, with each physical feat, they were insisting that it was realistic to be extraordinary, that he too must simply strive harder to join those around him who were doing the seemingly impossible.

It was a constant build-up of physical feats and wonders by people who lacked the authentic humanity of Kristine Reese’s Catherine or even Lips’ Pippin. They were always other-worldy, circus performers that reminded you of the denizens from Ray Bradbury’s carnival in “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” It was a contrast that made the finale, and the post-finale, resonate with power.

“Pippin” is a full night of entertainment with songs like “Corner of the Sky” and “No Time at All” that stick in your head long after the show is over. It is a performance that caters to the audience, breaking the fourth wall often to draw the audience into being a part of the storytelling and the journey.

It is perhaps fitting that it is the older characters, the ones who have found their corner of the sky and their place in the world, who really shine in this production. They are early hints to Pippin of what he might have if he can break away from the siren call of the Leading Player.

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