It had been almost 9 months since I’d seen this show, which was just entirely too long. So when I found out the tour was starting in New Haven, which isn’t all that much farther away from me than New York, I decided I just had to go. Plus, I had to take Laurie, who hadn’t seen the show yet, and along the way we picked up Kristal, who I’d never been to the show with. So we were set!
This review will contain some spoilers on the tour ending, so if you don’t want to know what happens, stop reading before the end! 🙂 Also, I never saw Version 3, so some of the things I describe as new probably aren’t.
“Storybook” and “Madame Guillotine” offered a good chance to get a look at the new Marguerite and Chauvelin. I was not overly impressed with Amy Bodnar as Marguerite. She seemed awfully young for the role, and was just lacking that spirit that Marguerite should have. However, this was only her second performance, so maybe that will change! William Paul Michals scared me a little at first, but I quickly came to enjoy his Chauvelin. He has a wonderful voice, and great comedic timing – I’m sure he and Douglas will work well together.
It was really just amazing to see Douglas on stage as Percy again. His voice wasn’t really 100%, but I’m sure that’s just a matter of being a little out of practice. But his acting was amazing. He added so many things, not only ad libs, but gestures and expressions, that were wonderful and brought new depth to the character. One of my favourites was during “Prayer” – after singing “And only fools believe in bliss”, he did this derogatory little laugh at himself, as if he couldn’t believe what an idiot he’d been. It was marvelous!
The library scene was good, though it was a little strange to see the stage so empty, missing three bounders. Elton and Percy did this little bit with Percy mimicking Elton’s stance that was just too funny! I also should mention that I really liked Ken Land as Dewhurst. “Into the Fire” was wonderful as always, though of course I missed the fantastic boat from the Minskoff. I also didn’t really like the sword dance – I missed the old mayhem of that scene. Percy is involved in the rescue scene now, which I like, though I’m still not a fan of that scene by any means. I liked Grappin’s new costume, and I liked Chauvelin in this scene a lot. His “Falcon in the Dive” was great!!
Back to England…when the maids come and sit with Percy, before he starts his verse, he went, “In the nude, with tattoos…tell me more!” 🙂 When he looked at the painting, after the “I’m breathtaking” bit, he added, “You’re good! You’ll have to do everyone in the house. But a few more of me first.” 🙂 When Marie comes over to talk to him, she tells him they’ve found a new hideout – the abandoned Comedie Francaise. The garden was pretty standard, though again there were just little things that were different. He did this stuttering thing several times during the show that was really funny.
“Creation of Man” – why is it I can never find words to talk about this song? I have to admit I didn’t really like the extended hankerchief dance, though the new entrance to the castle was really fun. Douglas had been having some microphone problems throughout the first act, but at the end of this song, his mike made some very strange noises. The next line was David Cromwell’s “Is that you, Percy?”, which made everyone crack up. Douglas very slowly took out his hankerchief, wiped his mouth, and apologized: “Late lunch.” It was too funny!
During “The Riddle”, Chauvelin sang “Let your fantasies die” rather than “fly” … I don’t know when that was changed, but I like it!
The ball scene…I don’t know why they found it necessary to change the costumes, though I must admit that Douglas looks fabulous in red. Favourite ad-libs in this scene would have to include him going “Now I’m hiding” as he steps behind his mask, and “You did *not* just say that!” to the prince, after “We Englishmen are known for splendid balls”. 🙂
The footbridge was wonderful as usual, as was “She Was There”. Instead of “April Fool’s!” with Chauvelin, he just said “Made you look!” 🙂 The Storybook reprise was good, with Marguerite joining in the song earlier. I liked Marguerite spitting at Grappin in the jail, and the new dialogue here about their trap was interesting. Rather than following them to the seacost, they will trap the Pimpernel in an abandoned building…why not the Comedie Francaise? “It’s old, full of rats”, Grappin insists, but Chauvelin won’t be swayed.
The Into the Fire reprise takes place in a dressing room in the theatre now. Again, there’s lots of new lines here about how they’re going to get out of this situation. “I’ll Forget You” and the carriage ride are pretty much the same, and then they arrive at the theatre. Still with the blinding strobe lights though. We couldn’t get rid of those. Chauvelin sings another reprise of “Madame Guillotine”. I don’t really know what I think about the whole set up yet – it almost struck me as Phantom-of-the-Opera-ish at some points (“We make certain the doors are barred, we make certain the men are there, we make certain they’re armed. The curtain falls, his reign will end!”), but the new swordfight had me holding my breath! And the ending, with Douglas running through the crowd, was lots of fun. I do miss returning to the boat for the ending, but that’s just a minor thing.
So, all in all, I enjoyed the show very much! It is not, and will never be for me, the original show, but it is still a very fun evening, and Douglas was as wonderful as I could have possibly hoped. If you can see this tour, do it!
The Quotes:
“You’ve all heard of “Just Jack!”….well, this’ll be “Just Jessup!”
Stephen Hope
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There were no ad-libs in the show tonight.”
Douglas Sills
The cast: (in order of appearance)
|
Marguerite |
AMY BODNAR |
|
Chauvelin |
WILLIAM PAUL MICHALS |
|
Percy |
DOUGLAS SILLS |
|
Marie |
ELIZABETH WARD LAND |
|
Armand |
BILLY SHARPE |
|
Tussaud |
JOHN PAUL ALMON |
|
Coupeau |
STEPHONNE SMITH |
|
Mercier |
RUSSELL JOEL BROWN |
|
Ozzy |
HARVEY EVANS |
|
Elton |
PETER FLYNN |
|
Dewhurst |
KEN LAND |
|
Jessup |
STEPHEN HOPE |
|
Ben |
AARON PAUL |
|
Farleigh |
MATTHEW SHEPARD |
|
Hal |
D.B. BONDS |
|
Robespierre |
DAVID CROMWELL |
|
Prince of Wales |
DAVID CROMWELL |
|
Opera Dancers, Soldiers, Prisones |
JOHN PAUL ALMON |