The Scarlet Pimpernel
From the novel by Baroness Orczy | Book & Lyrics by Nan Knighton | Music by Frank Wildhorn
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a family-friendly comic swashbuckler. Based on Baroness Orczy's classic novel of the same title, the show takes place during the French Revolution. Sir Percy Blakeney, a daring English nobleman, rescues innocents from the Reign of Terror while playing the part of an inane fop at home in order to mask his covert activities. Complicating matters are the relentless Citizen Chauvelin and Percy's own French wife, Marguerite, who he fears he cannot trust.
About the Show
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a family-friendly comic swashbuckler. Based on Baroness Orczy's classic novel of the same title, the show takes place during the French Revolution. Sir Percy Blakeney, a daring English nobleman, rescues innocents from the Reign of Terror while playing the part of an inane fop at home in order to mask his covert activities. Complicating matters are the relentless Citizen Chauvelin and Percy's own French wife, Marguerite, who he fears he cannot trust.
The show had its world premiere at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in 1997. Previews began on 7 October and the official opening took place on 9 November. Following a nearly year-long run, and in an unprecedented move, the show went through a major revision during its Broadway run.
Stopping performances for just over a week, the newly revised show began on 10 October 1998 with an official opening date of 4 November. The show continued at the Minskoff Theatre until 30 May 1999, before going out on a mini-tour and then returning to Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre from 10 September 1999 through 2 January 2000. More information about the development of the show, the changes that were made between each of the different versions, and the reasons behind those changes, can be found in the History Section at ThePimpernel.com.
Following its Broadway runs, Pimpernel went out on a national equity tour. It was then opened up for licensing, and productions have taken place throughout the US and the UK, and in countries such as Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Mexico.
In February 2019, Lincoln Center in association with Manhattan Concert Productions will be presenting a concert reading of The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Tony Yazbeck, Laura Osnes, Norm Lewis, and Corey Cott.
Licensing
Tams-Witmark via Concord Theatricals handles licensing for The Scarlet Pimpernel.