Touring with The Scarlet Pimpernel
Town and Village Weekly
Good news for all the fans of the Broadway hit "The Scarlet Pimpernel": The show may no longer be on the Great White Way but the national tour is alive and well - and with original leading man Douglas Sills at the helm.
Sills took time out of his busy rehearsal schedule last week to talk to T&V about his return to the stage as the Pimpernel in the national tour starting in New Haven Conn., on Feb. 22.
The Frank Wildhorn musical that enjoyed a run of some two years on Broadway in two different theaters closed its doors in the Neil Simon Theatre a month ago to take its show on the road. And Sills is in Connecticut at the Schubert Theater doing just that with the swashbuckling, amusing, musical that has garnered considerable fan support - fans who call themselves part of "The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel."
One of the most intriguing aspects of Sills' return to the role was his insistence some time ago that he "didn't want the Pimpernel to walk ahead" of him to his next audition. So what's the story? Why did he slip back into Sir Percy, the Scarlet Pimpernel?
"I was able to gain perspective being away from the role, " Sills told T&V. "It was the sense of putting distance between me and the role. I realized that I missed it and that being known as the Pimpernel was not necessarily a bad thing." Sills added that he was able to get "re-energized on the West Coast (his other home). I got to be a homebody for a few months since leaving Broadway. "I got to go to the gym, get to the doctor and do regular everyday things."
When this reporter told Sills he looked like he was on "your last legs when I saw you last," laughing, he acknowledged that was true. "The producers (of the show at that time) asked me to do them a favor and stay on with the show longer that I wanted to, and I agreed to do it. But it was great. I decided to do what I could for the show to make it a success. "It wasn't just me though. We all had to go over 100 percent to make it work."
Being reinvigorated apparently has done wonders for Sills' energy and voice, though. "I'll be trying to do eight shows a week on this tour as long as I can.
"We start in New Haven for two weeks, then to Minneapolis for two weeks, then to Seattle for two weeks, then to San Francisco for two weeks and then to LA for eight weeks. My stint on the tour will probably end in L.A. on June 20."
Commenting on his surrounding cast of characters for this incarnation, Sills said, "The cast and my co-stars are wonderful. Amy Bodnar (who plays Percy's wife, Marguerite) is wonderful. She has a ballet background, and has appeared in Ragtime. She's lean and tall, and a wonderful actress."
William Paul Michael plays Percy's foil in this tour, the evil Chauvelin. "He's played the Beast (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast), Sills said. "He's a baritone," he added, "and his voice blends well with mine, being a tenor. They're both immensely talented. The chemistry among us is just as strong as the other actors I've worked with on this show. We all get the chance to ad-lib during the show and everyone comes ready to play. They're all hard workers. The learning curve is different this time though; I know more than they know. I've been in the show before."
Sills said he even had the chance to slip into the Neil Simon Theatre a couple of times to see the last version of the musical as it appeared on Broadway. "Yes, I saw the show twice. I enjoyed it. The first time I went, I had one man sitting next to me turn and say, "'I hope you like the show.'"
Sills said he "liked what Ron Bohmer (his replacement in the lead role) did. He made the show his own. I very much admired what he and the new cast did. I liked the changes they made." Yet the handsome 39 year -old actor said he loved "the idea of being on tour with the Scarlet Pimpernel because I have the chance to bring the show to other audiences rather than just New York City. And I love the idea of bringing the show to L.A."
As for his future plans, Sills said that he wants to "spice it up. I'm looking for TV or film work after the tour. That would be swell. I want to do different things. "I love to sing and would like to maybe do a CD, but I really want to be on stage." When asked about a project that Frank Wildhorn has been working on for a couple of years now - a musical version of the classic horror story of Dracula - Sills said "it is on the drawing board, and I'd love to do it."
In the meantime, the Pimpernel lives again and fans across the country couldn't be happier. Quoting from the show's signature song: "Into the fire" they go.
-Thomas A. Tuna, Town and Village Weekly
February 2000
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