Pippin Lines

LP- He may be a little nervous. This is his first time playing the role.

Could I have some more lights please?

LP - Well, he’s not that nervous

Thank you. Gentle tutors, respected members of the faculty. I’m very grateful for the knowledge you have given me, but I’m afraid what I’m looking for can’t be found in books.

LP - And Pippin made a promise

I promise not to waste my life on commonplace ordinary pursuits. I am going to live a life thats extraordinary. I know there is something…uh…I can’t quite find the word for it.

LP - Fulfilling? Something completly fulfilling

Yeah that’s it. Something completely fulfilling and I’m going to find it. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do or where I want to go.

C - Out, Out, Everybody Out

No, wait sire!

C- I said everybody out

Father it’s me, Pippin

C- Wait what are you doing here?

I’m home, I finished school.

C - Already well how did it go?

Oh very well father, Some of my tutors-

Good, Good. I’m a great believer in education

And yet you’ve become the most powerful man in the world without it.

C-What about the pope?

I rank you ahead of the pope sir.

C - And I happen to agree with you. Well, Pippin. Good to see you.

Wait Father

C-You know we have a library now. Maybe you can find a book

Thank you-

C-After all, tomorrow is for you

But, it’s still today

You’ll see Pippin, sunrise and sunset are similar but they are not identical.

Father, what does that even mean?

L- Hah! Visigoths!

Well done brother!

L - Did you know this arm slew twenty Frisians last year? and its going to slay even more visigoths!

You’re going to war against the visigoths?

L - Yup thats the next one. And Oh- those visigoth women! I don’t mean to shock your bookish sensibilites-

I’m only shocked your intereseted in women now!

L - Look at this isn’t it a beauty!

It really is beautiful

C - You know sometimes I wonder if the fornicating I’m getting is worth the fornicating i’m getting

Father! I know what I want to do now

C- What oh good

I want to be a soldier.

C-What? denied

But Father, I’m your oldest son. That means I’ll be king one day and fighting wars is an important part of being king, isn’t it?

C- After all, the pope and I have dedicated our lives to spreading christianity across the world, even if we have to kill every non-christian to do it.

Exactly, I want to join you in your campaign against the visigoths

C - Denied

But thats not fair, you’re taking Lewis

C- yes, well Lewis is an ideal warrior. He is strong and stupid. You on the otherhand are smart and educated

And for what? Father you’re dedicated to something, I just want to be dedicated to something to, with all my heart and soul. Something extraordinary, otherwise my life will have no meaning at all.

C- You want your life to have meaning

Yes I do.

C- Denied!

Father, you created an entire kingdom out of nothing. And now I want my chance. My chance to fight for my country, for my family. For my king.

C-All right. Get yourself a decent helmet and come along

I’m a soldier

LP - Yes you are

Me, a warrior. Finally a chance to do something important. A chance to use my sword and my arm and maybe even my blood.

C - Now the main factor in tomorrows battle against the visigoths-

hah Visigoths!

C - Is the terrain. So look at this map. Study it

Father, since we’re braver and stronger than they are, and have god on our side. Why don’t we just go out there and slaughter them?

L - Your going to be very proud of me once again father

I will try not to disgrace you, sir.

Soldiers - We can hear a grateful nation’s cheers

I guess it’s a little late to wonder who this man was.

H - A visigoth, but a good man. A very good man

You’re also a lucky man. You’ve had the privilege of dying for your king

H - Words fail me

You know of course, dying in battle like this, you’ll be going straight to valhalla. Or wherever you infidels go.

H - Absolutely, the king has assured us personally. But this waiting around’s got me edgy

This wasn’t your first battle was it?

H - No my third

Well then maybe you can tell me, how did this battle compare with your other two?

H - Well, unless you get killed. One battle pretty much like another

I was afraid you’d say that

C- Pippin Where are you?

I hope you get to valhalla soon!

H - Hope you get to heaven

Oh I will

C - Pippin this is embarrasing. A victory celebration and my own son not joining in

Sorry father, You’ll have to get used to victory celebrations without me. I thought there’d be more plumes

B - Due to a personality conflict with her daughter in law, Fastrada

Grandma.

B - I hate needlepoint

Ah, but your so good at it

B- Pippin? Pippin oh how good it is to see you and hold you the way I used to

Grandma you look great.

B- No I don’t I look terrible

No you look great

B - No I don’t I look terrible

Alright fine, you look terrible

B - but pippin actually you look terrible. You need some fresh air, some good food. Some hanky panky

I don’t know what I need

B- You gotta tell me what’s going on at court. Is Fastrada still leading your father around by the nose?

Grandma, you havent changed a bit

B- But you have pippin. What have you been doing with yourself?

Well I went to war.

B- that explains it.

I tried to own my own manhood you know. Give my blood back. I wanted to do something important, something meaningful. But that wasn’t it. Now, I just feel empty and vacant. So I think I need a plan- Yes that’s it a goal or a plan. Well I have a goal I want to be fulfilled. But a good plan? That’s what I’ve been thinking about. You can’t just go rushing into whatever comes along and hope for the best, but on the other hand, you can’t just wait around wasting time and expect something to fall into your lap. So-

B- And maybe tonight , down at the tarven there’s a lovely young girl you could hook up with and do those things youkids do and then come back and tell me everything in graphic detail

Grandma, I don’t have time for that.

No time at all song ends:

That’s my grandma! and she’s absolutely right. It’s time for me to start living. Maybe that’s the secret to life. Just live in the moment. Enjoy the simple things. The fresh air, the cool clean water, the fresh fruit off of the….Oh, yes . And women

P - My life with you

I found it

With you song ends

Enough. that’s enough. Leave me alone

LP- Boy when you frolic you really frolic don’t you? Well how do you feel now?

I feel empty and vacant

LP -Oh I don’t know. That looked like fun to me what you were doing…

But it wasn’t…fulfilling. Why can’t I find something completely fulfilling?

LP - Look you just got started. There’s a whole lot of things you can try

Like what?

LP- Like taking a look at this

“Peasents revolt. King slays thousands. Peasents protesting a rise in taxes were slaughtered yesterday by charlemagne’s soldiers” What? that can’t be true

LP- Now would a newspaper print anything that wasn’t true

My father would never slaughter people just for protesting

LP- “Charlamagne today has given orders that nonbelievers be given the choice between baptism and beheading

Wait a minute! Forcing people to believe? Telling them what to think? Something has got to be done about this.

LP- You’re absolutely right

I’m finally beginning to see what my father really is. He forces people to fight and die over land that doesn’t even belong to them.

LP-He does!

Well, I think that this has got to stop!

LP- It has got to stop

It’s time for a change

LP- Dammit it’s time for a change

You know, It doesn’t matter that he’s my father. We can’t just sit around and wait for someone else to take action. Otherwise one day we’ll look around and ask what happened? What happened is we failed to act.

LP- Testing, Testing

It’s time to make a better world for all people, not just the rich and powerful. This tyrant must be overthrown. Terror and bloodshed must be ended we need a leader with the youth and courage to sweep out the old order. Down with charles. Up with me!

F - I sought out Pippin, Your father loves you Pippin

Freedom and dignity for all men is more important than the love between one father and his son

F - still your name will be on his lips when he prays, at arles, next month, alone

Alone?

F- and unguarded

What date?

F - Pippin I beg you to bring this estrangment to an end

I intend to

F- May I tell your father of this ressolve?

No let it be a suprise

C - It’s alright father you may come in

I’m sorry to disturb you my son. I know you like to pray alone

C- You know who I am father?

Of course, my son

C- You want something from me perhaps. A favor? an advancment?

I’m here to be with you for one moment. To look into your eyes

C - And what do you see?

I see two eyes, a little cloudy with age, a sunset

C - what else?

I see the death of thousands, the slavery of more, terror and bloodshedC

C - You see all that in my eyes

Do you deny it?

C- Deny it? If terror and bloodshed were necessary to achieve order so be it

Those are words of the past. Time has passed you by my son

C- and your time has come my son?

Yes father.

C - By god I blew my breath across a continent and shaped an empire with it

Father maybe you did the best you could, but things have to change

C- And your the one to change them?

yes I am.

C- Well, if you truly believe that, there’s only one thing that you can do.

Thank you I brought my own.

C- then use it or leave me to my prayers

What do you pray for father?

LP- King Pippin is prepared to hear petitions

Come ahead! You will all be dealt with fairly. My invitation extends to high and low alike.

P- Sire I am a poor man

You may stand, you may all stand.

P-I own not one millimeter of land on which I’ve worked so hard all my life. Is that fair?

No that’s completely unfair. But I will do something about it. I hereby decree that from now on, all Peasents shall own the land they cultivate.

N- We loyal nobles have no source of income. Therefore we can no longer pay taxes

Well then, I abolish taxes.

S- Without taxes, you will have no money to support an army

That’s alright I don’t need an army. That’s it! No more taxes no more army.

L - He has destroyed three villages and killed thousands fo your royal subjects

Can he do that?

L - But he will withdraw on one condition

Well thats very reasonable what’s the condition.

L - He demands your reproductive organs on a pike staff.

Oh. Well in that case, I guess you’ll just have to go out and destroy the infidel

S- But sire, we have no army

Good point. Excuse me a moment. Noble? You remeber that decree I made a little while ago about land and taxes

N- Yes sire

That’s off.

N- But sire without land I have neither money nor power over the peasents

Oh. Right. Uh-Peasent?

P- Yes sire

I hereby suspend land reform

P - Suspend land reform? You mean give it back?

That’s right. Give it back.

P - Up thine sire.

Take that man away and hang him.

P - Oh no not again

No, stop. Wait! Could you just let me think a minute…Please

F - Now about my royal allowance

Denied! Denied, denied, denied!

LP- King Pippin the unpopular

I need to pray

LP- Pray? What in the world would you pray for?

Strength.

LP- Anything else you’d like back?

Yeah- I’d like my knife back.