The Scarlet Pimpernel
Backstage: West Coast
The Scarlet Pimpernel, the much-revised and recast Frank Wildhorn musical has from the start been an audience show, not a critical favorite, but here I must side with audiences, like the opening night crowd at the Paramount in Seattle, which gave this engaging romp a spontaneous, heartfelt standing ovation. Having seen the first and second Broadway versions of the show, and now this third, scaled-down touring version, I can honestly say that the weaknesses apparent in the first draft have been successfully minimized, thanks to Wildhorn, lyricist/ author Nan Knighton, and director/choreographer Robert Longbottom clarifying the storytelling and finding better slots for some of Wildhorn's catchy if not particularly book-driven songs.
The plot that's been clarified is roughly thus: After a whirlwind romance and impetuous marriage to the charming and witty Englishman, Sir Percy Blakney, French actress Marguerite faces the wrath and blackmail of her ex-lover, French revolutionary scoundrel Chauvelin, who threatens to reveal her jaded past to Percy. When Percy mistakenly assumes duplicity and betrayal on Marguerite's part, he distances himself from her and takes on the dual identity of the swashbuckling Scarlet Pimpernel. Soon Percy and his closest confederates, along with Marguerite's brother Armand, are saving the oppressed in France, while turning up their foppier excesses to giddy heights back home.
Douglas Sills, who was deservedly Tony-nominated for the role, never seems to take a breath in his tour-de-force as Percy/Pimpernel, though he scores biggest in the several scenes in which Chauvelin (pronounced "shovelin' " by Percy) is driven daft by Percy's affected foppery. His fine voice is amply showcased in the rousing "Into the Fire," the tender duet "You Are Home," with Amy Bodnar's Marguerite, and in his big ballad "She Was There." Sills still seems as fresh in the role as he did when the show first opened on Broadway. Bodnar is a charming mix of coquette and heroine, opening the show with a full-throttled "Storybook," delivering the solo version of "When I Look at You" with grace, and imbuing the eleven o'clock number "I'll Forget You" with vocal power, mixed with a sense of restraint in delivery that is a welcome return to a time singers didn't feel they had to blast you out of your seat on every note.
There is genuine sexual tension between Bodnar and William Paul Michals' Chauvelin in their duet "The Riddle." Michals also delivers the goods on his strongest solo "Where's the Girl," and is generally fine as the unsympathetic third wheel in the love triangle. Though their roles are small, Billy Sharpe makes a sympathetic Armand, and veteran Broadway baby Harvey Evans is a sheer delight as Percy's jovial chum Ozzy, while David Cromwell is a hoot in the dual roles of Robespierre and the Prince of Wales. Though the female ensemble is scantly called for to do other than look ravishing (as does everyone in Jane Greenwood's storybook stunning costumes), Longbottom serves his male ensemble well with the staging of "Into the Fire," which becomes a "Stout-Hearted Men" for the millennium, and the achingly amusing camp of "The Creation of Man" and "They Seek Him Here."
Andrew Jackness' handsome, versatile settings are opulent and eye-catching enough without drawing attention away from the storytelling, and Natasha Katz's lighting is most complimentary. Karl Richardson's sound design created excellent balance between singers and musicians throughout, and Andrew Wilder's musical direction is impressive. Seattle doesn't always welcome shows as warmly as it did this (presumably) ultimate version of The Scarlet Pimpernel-a sign that, by George, Wildhorn and company finally got it right!
-David-Edward Hughes, Backstage: West Coast
April 2000
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