The Scarlet Pimpernel- Page 2

[proptart101]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 6:38am

Technically, Zi don't know. My wife is a classical singer, I can ask her.

All I know is that Robert hit a high note, and then the ugliest noise I ever heard came out of his mouth. He stopped singing, looked pale, and turned and walked offstage. We all knew at that instant that we wouldn't be seeing him again on that tour.

It sounded horrible, painful and disastrous.

I know he has done work since, and I hope his singing voice was not permanently shot. He is a very nice man and a true pleasure to work with.

But, there is a danger at pushing your voice too hard, especially 8 times a week. That's why opera singers never go on twice in a row, the vocal demands are just too great.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 8:21am

Aw, poor Patteri. And he was such a wonderful Percy. I never heard about that.

[Anna_Elizabeth]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 2:32pm

From what I vaguely remember, there were other issues besides vocal ones, and that he took a year or so off. The last I heard he was teaching(?) and slowly getting back into acting.

[Noel&Cole]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 6:06pm

Its interesting to see people's recation to this show on this thread. I think it was a wonderful show! I saw the original version and never understood why it was so slammed. I think it is very funny. Douglas Sills gave a fantastic electric star turn as Percy. And I think Wildhorn writes a moving song. HOWEVER I do think the book is rough. Has anyone actually taken a look at this script? Some of the lines are just awful. Espcially in something that is supposed to be this dramatic sweeping epic. But its is a worthy show. And I agree with those on this site that would like to see a revival one day.

It also is very strange to me that both this show and J & H were never done in London. The literary based popera is a staple of the European musical theatre. It seems like both of these show would be right up their alley

[LumBabsFan]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 6:16pm

Great show, so very much miss it!

Everyone's covered the whole "versions 1.0 - 4.0" thing, but I have to add regarding "Only Love." Didn't Rachel York say in an interview or two that she fought to keep it in for 2.0, even though they ulimately decided to cut it?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 6:20pm

I saw the original & enjoyed it very much. What is Sills doing now, by the way?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 6:24pm

I agree that the book is its biggest problem. I think that the show needs to have Marguerite discover the truth on her own like in the book. In the musical, she just comes across as incredibly dumb--certainly not the cleverest woman in Europe.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 8:26pm

I agree with SporkGoddess...Marguerite's character was always..interesting and changed a lot though from version to version. I liked though how SP1 most of all of them really made the show about Marguerite's dilemas first, then Percy then Chauvelin, rather than the switch arounds sort of with it.

And to Noel&Cole: The Scarlet Pimpernel, while never having done a tour or anything, is done quite somewhat frequently in regional theatres around London, but it's too bad it was never picked up. Jekyll & HYDE attempted at a West End run in 2004/2005 with a big national tour to lead it off, but along the way I think there was some drama, and some producers pulled out of the project (seeing as Broadway at that time was seeing Wicked & Ave. Q among other things that I'm sure they knew would possibly be more successful). Also, I'm sure there were problems regarding the book and a lot of people who saw it called it a mess. Who knows, but I really wish it would have made it's way over there!

[philly03]

Posted: 5/15/08 at 8:28pm

That's a great question as to what Douglas Sills is doing right now. In all honesty, I don't really know...but I'm sure he's still performing somewhere or he's being a lawyer (haha). Remember he joined the Spamalot pre-Broadway cast and was planning to take it to Broadway before abruptly pulling out of the project. So my guess is his doing acting, singing or directing in some way.

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 12:56am

Any chance SP might be revived in Broadway...?
I would have loved to see Rachel York in this role...and Sills is not so bad either :)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 1:01am

poptart101, is that the same performance when Aaron Paul took over?

[philly03]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 8:46pm

Honestly, bwaybabe2, I'd be suprised if Scarlet Pimperenel returns to Broadway any time soon. First, It's only been 8 years since closure, it flopped, and honestly, I think Wildhorn could care less about Broadway or West End, and especially the critics. The man can only take so much tearing apart of one's work, and SP ran atleast 772 perfs, partly because of "The League," and of course Jekyll was a fan success. And he's not really on a great streak to Broadway shows: 1500+ performances, 772 performances, 61 performances, 157 performances. Neither of his last three ran more than 4 months (SP3: 3 months, Civil War 2 months, Dracua 4 months). He is a HUGE success in Germany, where Jekyll & Hyde, Scarlet Pimpernel and Dracula had successful runs, as well as making a few world premieres there...and I feel like he's going to be doing a lot more there.

Don't forget, he blew off Camille for Broadway, which I'm sure was partially because of Linda Eder...but it sounds like there going to re-debut it in Europe at some point.

I don't think it needs to be said that I'm a big fan of SP, but I just don't see another producer (besides Pierre Cossette) who would put up a lot of money on a musical that unfortunately flopped not only once, but three times so to say.

[proptart101]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:20pm

LizzieCurry - I honestly don't recall. That was a long time and many many shows ago. Those details fade...

I rechecked my old itinerary and saw that on that particular tour, Seattle came before LA so Douglas would have still been Percy.

Must have been some other city, can't remember which one anymore, nor do I remember which Aaron (Paul or Lazar) would have gone on, or perhaps one of the other understudies. We had a heap o' Percivals.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 9:42pm

"Don't forget, he blew off Camille for Broadway, which I'm sure was partially because of Linda Eder...but it sounds like there going to re-debut it in Europe at some point."

I assume you're referring to the divorce.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:49pm

Last I heard about Douglas Sills, he was going to be in a benefit concert of Comden & Green music in June. He seems to be doing the occasional TV guest spot as well. But I do hope he gets another good Broadway role one of these days. I would love to see him onstage, instead of just hearing him on a cast album.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/16/08 at 10:58pm

Yes, Mattbrain, I'm refering to the divorce, which even if Linda hadn't been his wife would have delayed/put his mind in a different place type thing, but with Linda being the star..and well .. Linda being a main attraction and if it was an ugly divorce (which is unknown, and I respect their privacy) she may have refused to do it possibly. I couldn't imagine Linda doing it on purpose, but a divorce obviously ruins the relationship. And from what I've heard that show was CAMILLE CAMILLE RODIN CAMILLE CAMILLE'sDAD(?) CAMILLE. And I'm sure they realized no one else who could/would perform the role as good as Linda. Although, I will say that it'd be really interesting to hear Coleen Sexton sing "Gold," or even Luba Mason or Christine Andreas!
Updated On: 5/16/08 at 10:58 PM

[jackson992]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 12:54am

It amazes me how badly his shows do as the songs and score are usually incrdible. I really loved Dracula, Civil War and SP and of course Jekyll & Hyde. Didn't he also do the new Frankenstein also?

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 1:28am

He's working on a Frankenstein musical, but it's not the same show the just played Off-Broadway with Hunter Foster.

[jackson992]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 1:34am

I think the one I love is the one with Hunter Foster. That's the one with Once Upon a Time, Amen and The Modern Prometheus. I am gonna have to do a search for it on here in fact:)

[bwaybabe2]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 6:15am

Well, if the material is superior to the original Frankestein that played, more power to him! I hope he does a great job of this one.
Unfortunately, not all works defined with excellence in music and script work out onstage;there is SO much more to be considered into making it a hit. Our society tell us that only a rewarding monetary aspect/outcome dictates what is/is not a hit or success. Shame, really, because so many great little gems in theatre are overlooked year after year, this way...jackson992, some of those are the ones you mentioned.
I believe that a show needs a "certain" magic (charisma, in reality), to make it big, though. Ususally this is in the form of a 'gimmick", or just the special way the actors play their parts, and the production shines in its various elements: When it ALL comes together...BLAST! You've got a hit.
Overall, if something is done out of pure love for the work, it WILL show, so ALWAYS, put your heart into everything you do, and you will indeed, be a success

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 7:31am

"And from what I've heard that show was CAMILLE CAMILLE RODIN CAMILLE CAMILLE'sDAD(?) CAMILLE."

I'm afraid I don't understand.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 10:26am

He's working on a Frankenstein musical, but it's not the same show the just played Off-Broadway with Hunter Foster.

Wildhorn has a ton of unfinished projects...

Camille Claudel
Waiting for the Moon
Havana
Cyrano de Bergerac
Bonnie and Clyde
Carmen
Zorro
Alice
Rudolf: The Last Kiss

...to name a few. It wouldn't surprised me if he had at least another 10 he's tinkering with.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 12:04pm

Mattbrain, I never got a chance to see the show, but from what I've heard of people who saw it, the show is primarily about Camille, with Camille's dad (I think?) and Rodin (Camille was his mistress/love interest sort of) being the other two "suporting." Who knows though, because it wouldn't suprise me if there's three "leads"/"featured" people, because SP had the center point being Marguerite (in my opinion) with her "interests" with Chauvelin & Percy/Pimpernel. Jekyll & Hyde was Jekyll's relations with Lucy and Emma. I really wish it would have came to Broadway because I love that song "Gold"!

And the chances of Frankenstein debuting on Broadway are so slim. My guess he does it in Austria or Hungry, where he's been debuting some other stuff like "Rudolph". You'd probably see them at a regional theatre before Broadway, which most likely means it won't happen. That's what their planning to do with Camille: regional & international productions, and unfortunately looks like there will never be an english-speaking album.

And I'm pretty sure Havana (like Svengali) is trashed. I don't know anything about the story, but it's been around for too long to have nothing out from it besides one song. And obviously Camille's gone for the most part. Waiting for the Moon I think recently had a debut (and by recent a few years ago), I just saw the WindowCard on ebay?

[WildhornFanatic]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 12:32pm

Actually HAVANA is not trashed. It is having a reading right now in NYC. A couple of my friends are in it.

[philly03]

Posted: 5/17/08 at 8:47pm

Great to hear! Do you know when it will be? I just haven't heard any news at all from that project in any recent times...but great to hear so!