Bakersfield College has, for a number of years, put on a musical every summer, complete with live orchestra. I am fully in favor of this excellent idea, had have done my best to go see the productions.
This year is The Scarlet Pimpernel, in the musical version by Nan Knighton and Frank Wildhorn. I mention this because the first stage version of this story was also the original version of the story. Baroness Orczy and her husband, Montague Barstow, wrote the original, which enjoyed a long run in London back in 1903.
In the wake of this success, Orczy adapted the stage play as a novel, which is how most of us first experienced this classic. Okay, other than, perhaps, the Looney Tunes spoof, with Daffy as the “Scarlet Pumpernickel,” which has little to do with the original story.
You can check out my post on the novel, which the kids and I listened to as an audiobook over a decade ago.
The Scarlet Pimpernel may not have been the first adventure story where the hero had a secret identity. That honor may well go to The Count of Monte Cristo. But this story is definitely the first true forerunner to the comic book hero - and specifically to Batman.
A wealthy man assumes a secret identity, relying on his wealth, skills, and brains to outwit the nefarious villains? That works for both.
But Bruce Wayne is an amateur compared with Percy Blakeney. Totally boring. Percy would never approve of those dowdy duds.
Blakeney, in both the book and this musical, leans hard into his identity of a fop, an overdressed, effeminate, twee British aristocrat without a single brain cell.
Nobody could possibly suspect that he is really the Scarlet Pimpernel, the fearless and dashing leader of a band of fellow fops who are saving innocent victims from the guillotine during the Terror.
While the musical does a decent job of setting the proper stage, I think it helps (for both the book and the musical) to have the background history in mind.
The French Revolution overthrew the Monarchy, and established a fledgling democracy, the First Republic.
Unfortunately, this government was undermined from without (conservatives across Europe threatened and goaded France into an ill-advised declaration of war against England) and within - as always when there is instability, the worst people see opportunities to seize power.
The new constitution was suspended, and Ropespierre and his goons initiated the Terror, when tens of thousands were executed, mostly on the pretense that they were a threat to the nation. In reality, the bloodlust fed on itself, and by the end was mostly a settling of personal grudges, where neighbor denounced neighbor, and justice and morality ceased to even pretend to be factors in the bloodletting.
(This pattern would later repeat itself in Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Mao’s China.)
The story takes place during this time, when so many were being denounced and murdered. In fact, that first scene is all about an ill-fated denunciation, where Marguerite denounces a family, not realizing they will be killed. (In the book, there is a more nuanced explanation of her motivations - the family had her brother beaten for showing romantic interest in the daughter of the family.)
In light of this, it makes sense that Percy isn’t merely taking the side of the rich people in the revolution - he is protecting people from senseless violence.
I won’t get into the specifics of the plot much more than that. I did want to note that if you have read the book, you will see some significant differences in the musical.
The first half follows the book fairly closely. The main change is that Margarite’s brother Armand comes with her to England, and, rather than being an older brother and surrogate parent, he is portrayed as a younger brother - a mere child.
It is in the second half that the play is much different than the book. Whereas the book has a series of encounters between the hero and the villain, in more one-on-one situations, with the hero single-handedly triumphing by his wits; the musical has an open confrontation, a duel, and a triumph of the entire league of gentlemen (and a woman) carrying out a successful plot.
Which ending you prefer may vary, but there is no doubt that in terms of getting actors on the stage in the second act, the musical version is more successful.
Which is, of course, a lot of the point. With a cast of over 30 actors, and more than 300 individual costumes, putting people on stage is much of the fun.
Between me and my wife, we know a number of people involved in this production, including on the costume end, so we did keep a close eye on the details. I also care about the musical side, and it was great to have a real orchestra (if a bit light on the number of strings) to add that real sparkle.
I really can’t think of any weak points in the show. The orchestra sounded great, the singers were excellent, the leads were riveting, and the costumes were over-the-top fun.
This may be the first lead role I have seen Nathan Armendariz in, but he was hilarious as Percy/Scarlet Pimpernel. He has a great voice too. Elana Baker-Hart had a number of songs, and the more emotionally complex role as Marguerite, and she too was excellent. Rounding out the central trio was Adrian Francies as Citizen Chauvelin, the villain. I can’t remember seeing him on stage, but his might have been the best voice of them all. Professional level performances from all three.
My favorite moment was before the Prince’s ball, with the show-stopping tune, “The Creation of Man” - which has some of the most hilarious lyrics in the repertoire. I link one off YouTube, but BC’s is a lot better, actually. Definitely better body language, shimmering, and general fabulousness. Seriously, you have to see it yourself.
This show runs this upcoming weekend, Thursday through Sunday. While there were still tickets available at the door when we went on opening night, later dates might sell out. You can get tickets online at the event page.
The last several years, Bakersfield College has really upped their game, with a number of excellent shows, and creative programming. You won’t regret the modest cost of a ticket, and these local kids deserve our support.
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