blu486
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LewisWell, my high school is doing this play. I love it lots, I'm in it as chorus.
I read a bunch of synopsises (and there are some very disturbing versions of this show) and I realized that in either version Lewis was either gay in denial or someone who didn't care about girls and only about himself...so if you've ever done it, which was he. (In ours, he's a little of both).
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Brother Marvin Hinten, S.
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Actually, most of the directors who make Lewis gay are making a major mistake in doing so. Lewis is Pippin's opposite. He is animal, physical; while Pippin is cerebral, spiritual. Yet Pippin envies Lewis' prowess in battle, his strength, his confidence. Lewis is the kind of man Pippin thinks Charles wants him to be...brave, proud, never questioning.
The part of Lewis is often played as a homosexual because of one line in the second scene. Pippin tells Lewis he's shocked he's interested in women. However, Pippin isn't shocked that Lewis is interested in women instead of men; he's shocked Lewis is interested in women instead of war and killing. If Lewis were gay, it would undermine the impact of the incestuous relationship clearly indicated between Fastrada and Lewis. It would also subvert Lewis' position as the masculine soldier Pippin aspires to be, yet never will be.
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blu486
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Oh yes, I am very aware of all of that. We say that he is a bit of both because he tends to act it a little, but we don't let him have the gay lisp because the guy playing him in ours...well, he wouldn't do it even if he had to. What we're doing is leaving it to the audience to interpret.
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Melindaisy
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I honestly don't see how you can interpret Lewis to be gay.
"Lewis loves Lewis", for his physical prowess in battle and his own masculinity. As was stated by Brother Marvin.... he is all Pippin thinks his father wants him to be. It would be wrong to portray him as less than all male animal.
Pippin's "I'm only surprised you're interested in women now" alludes to Lewis' total obsession with battle....
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Salome
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Pippin has a line to Lewis
"I'm just surprised you like women now!"
also being homosexual wasnt the same as being effeminate in those days. look at Richard the Lionhearted.
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blu486
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If you read synopsises or anything, you'll learn that Pippin actually does not have a specific time period. I also read that some productions do make Lewis a homosexual whereas others make it to where Lewis and his Mother do "things". Ours is only making it seem like he's gay a little bit...just to give the students a laugh and to let them try to figure out if he is or not...but still, I really like how it can be interpreted so many different ways.
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EponineMNFF
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In the production I saw, Lewis was played as gay. I don't remember it too well (it was really long ago), but I do remember being very amused by that actor. He was fantastic and I didn't really notice it as a flaw in the directing.
Then again, I was really young.
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blu486
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It's not known as a flaw in directing, but as a flaw in interpretation, really.
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Jennifer Lynn
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Brother Marvin, you wouldn't happen to be the author Scott Miller, would you? Or are you quoting him? Those are the words from the Pippin chapter of From Assassins to West Side Story. Either way, they're quite accurate!
That line could also be just a case of one sibling baiting another. You know, "Ha ha, I bet you're gay!" and running like a rabbit before he can clobber you.
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Brother Marvin Hinten, S.
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If I were Scott Miller, I don't think I'd advertise it, but no, I'm not him. Just a seventeen year old who wants to be a big thing in theatre one of these days. I quote wisdom wherever I can find it, and Miller has a lot. His views on JCS and HEDWIG are amazing.
Agreed, it could be baiting, but at least in Fosse's production, Lewis is definitely the cerebral animal Miller describes.
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Jennifer Lynn
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You bet he does! I wish he'd get around to another book. I love his expanded and added articles on his website and I'd love to see his take on 1776, South Pacific, and Avenue Q.
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