*Partially From The Scarlet Pimpernel Songbook*
It is the actress Marguerite St. Just’s last performance at the Comédie Française (Storybook). She introduces two special guests to her audience – Citizen Chauvelin, a member of the French government, and Sir Percival Blakeney, her fiance from England. As the performance ends, Chauvelin and his soldiers close down the theatre because of “sentiments regarding the old regime”. Marguerite argues with him but eventually goes to get him information he has convinced her to turn over – the whereabouts of the Marquis de St. Cyr who is being hidden by his English friends. Meanwhile, Marie, the costume designer at the theatre, speaks out against the closure and is almost arrested until Percy distracts the soldiers with a false diversion. He and Marguerite, along with her brother Armand, leave for England.
Chauvelin takes the information he has been given and uses it to execute the Marquis and his family (Madame Guillotine).Marie is also arrested for speaking out. Dewhurst, one of Percy’s friends, witnesses the whole event.
Back in England, Percy and Marguerite are married (You Are My Home). But the wedding reception is interrupted by the arrival of Dewhurst, who informs Percy what has happened, and of Marguerite’s involvement. Sending a confused Marguerite off to bed alone on their wedding night, Percy sings of his heartbreak (Prayer).
Determined to somehow right the wrong his wife has done, Percy gathers his friends around him and persuades them to join him in a “private war” against the inhumanities of the bloody French regime. They will call themselves the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel and work through disguise and diversion to save as many innocent lives as they can. Boarding a schooner to sail to France, Percy and his men fight back their fears (Into the Fire).
Paris. Early July. Percy (a.k.a. The Scarlet Pimpernel) has managed with his men to pull off one clever rescue after another, and Robespierre, leader of the French Republic, is enraged. He orders his chief henchman, Chauvelin, to catch this mysterious Pimpernel instantly, and Chauvelin responds with a fiery determinatio (Falcon in the Dive).
At Percy’s home in England. Marie, having been saved by the League, is now a guest. The serving girls in the Blakeney household all speculate with Percy over the identity of the mysterious hero (The Scarlet Pimpernel). Marguerite has no idea why Percy has become so distant and inane, and their marital estrangement is a source of constant pain for her (When I Look at You). Percy, too, agonizes over the loss of the woman he thought he knew (When I Look At You: Reprise).
Chauvelin arrives in England and pays a visit to his former lover and revolutionary ally, Marguerite. He asks her to work with him again and help discover the identity of The Scarlet Pimpernel. She angrily refuses, but realizing that Marguerite is unhappy in her marriage, Chauvelin tries to win her to his side, reminding her of the passions they shared early in the revolution (Where’s the Girl?). Marguerite sends Chauvelin away, determined to never fall into his clutches again. When she learns Armand is to escort Marie back to Paris, she urges him to be careful (You Are My Home: Reprise).
Percy gathers his men to tell them that they have been summoned to the Royal Palace by the Prince of Wales, who suspects they may have something to do with The League of the Pimpernel. In order to deflect suspicion, they must behave as complete “nincompoops”, which Percy demonstrates for them (The Creation of Man). They manage to convince both the Prince and Chauvelin that this is the case. Meanwhile, Chauvelin meets secretly with Marguerite, informing her that her beloved brother, Armand, has been arrested in Paris as a member of The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. He insists she spy for him at the Prince’s ball the following night. If she fails to come up with information about the Pimpernel, Armand will be guillotined. Marguerite and Chauvelin eye each other warily, as Percy enters and all three wonder who can be trusted in this slippery world. (The Riddle).
The Prince’s ball begins, and Percy and Marguerite articulate the question that everyone is asking: Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? (The Scarlet Pimpernel). Percy proclaims that Chauvelin is in England to discover the identity of this man (They Seek Him Here). The gavotte begins, and Marguerite persuades one of Percy’s men to have the Pimpernel meet her on the footbridge at one in the morning. Percy stands behind her in the shadows as the Pimpernel. Unable to look upon the mysterious hero, Marguerite confesses her sins to him in the dark: yes, she has tried to expose him and yes, she has spied, but it has all stemmed from Chauvelin’s coercion and blackmail. She warns the Pimpernel to run from Chauvelin, and begs him to help her save her brother, Armand. Percy sends his wife away, and releases his great joy at discovering she has only been an innocent victim. All along she has been the same woman with whom he fell in love (She Was There).
Percy instantly sets off for France with his men to try to save Armand, but Marguerite also secretly travels to Paris. Disguising herself as a French tart, Leontine, she goes to a bistro late at night, where she sings with other tarts and drunken soldiers (Storybook), attempting to cajole from the soldiers information about her imprisoned brother. Chauvelin, however, is also present, and instantly seeing through her disguise, he orders both Armand and Marguerite to be sentenced to the guillotine. Embittered at his realization that Marguerite will never return his love, Chauvelin finally drives her out of his heart (Where’s the Girl?: Reprise).
Percy returns to his hideaway and tells the League of Chauvelin’s plans. The odds seem to be stacked against them, and, realizing the full extent of the danger, Percy tells his men to return to England. But his friends refuse to leave his side (Into the Fire: Reprise).
In prison, Marguerite tries to overcome her feelings for Percy as she faces the fact that she is to die (I’ll Forget You). But Chauvelin has a more subtle trap in mind. Resolved to catch the Pimpernel, he allows Marguerite and Armand to escape. Knowing Armand will lead him to the Pimpernel’s hideaway on the French seacoast, he follows them as they travel all night to the fishing port of Miquelon. Here, Marguerite finally learns that the Scarlet Pimpernel is none other than her own husband, Percy, and Percy and Chauvelin confront each other in the ultimate showdown (The Duel: Instrumental). After Percy outwits Chauvelin one last time, he and Marguerite sail happily home to England renewing their wedding vows, trusting in each other at last. (When I Look At You: Reprise). Full Company joins in to celebrate this triumph of the human spirit. (Into the Fire: Reprise).