Two years after the first Jekyll & Hyde CD appeared, Frank
Wildhorn released another recording of songs from one of his musicals in
progress. This one was based on Baroness Orczy's stories about the
world's first superhero, The Scarlet Pimpernel. This time the
songs were presented in pop arrangements with no care given towards
making this sound like a theatrical recording. At first I didn't give
this recording much thought, especially not being too fond of his
Jekyll & Hyde. Upon closer inspection though, I thought the
lyrics by Nan Knighton were far superior to Mr. Bricusse's for Jekyll
& Hyde and much more specific to the story and character. But
confusion ensued once again; there was a synopsis, but no hint as to how
they might fit into the story. I wasn't too attracted to them because of
this and once again, there seemed to be too many ballads. Being
presented in pop arrangements was a turn off as well. As a result I
quickly dismissed it as a theater piece and never thought it would be
produced on stage. Cast in the leads were Chuck Wagner, who has a rich baritone, and Linda Eder, once again returning to
do the honors as leading lady, Marguerite. Peabo Bryson makes a guest
appearance on the disc as well in the lovely pop ballad, "You are My
Home." Once again, like Jekyll & Hyde, I had doubted its
credibility as a theater piece.
Since I had doubted it would even make it to any stage, let alone
Broadway, I must say I was shocked and pleasantly surprised when I
attended the last preview of The Scarlet Pimpernel. What I found was
a most enjoyable evening of theater filled with wonderful music that was
evocative of 18th century Europe. As a result, the original Broadway
cast recording of The Scarlet Pimpernel is the most satisfying
recording of any of Mr. Wildhorn's scores. But it could have been
better. He has sharpened and refined what was good on the concept
recording with only a few flaws. One flaw is Chauvelin's second
solo in the first act, "Where's the Girl?" It sounds as if the
sound engineer accidentally turned on a radio switched to lite-FM. But
fortunately it is reprised later in the show and sounds much more
theatrical and less pop. The others being Marguerite's "Vivez" which
closely resembles "Storybook" too much and "You are My Home" which also
has too much of a pop feel to it. At least Mr. Wildhorn's romantic music
is more suited to this story of love and betrayal than Jekyll &
Hyde. Nan Knighton's lyrics are sharper and clearer than on the
concept recording as well. Unlike Mr. Wildhorn's Jekyll & Hyde,
you feel instantly transported back in time from the very first note of
the thrilling overture. With the exception of a few numbers, the score
is much more consistent in style and overall tone. This recording would
also have been helped had it had some of Ms. Knighton's wonderfully
witty book. Missing from the CD are the spoken lead-ins to songs and
dialogue connecting songs. In the show, "Believe" and "Vivez" flow from
one right into the other with only a few lines of dialogue to break them
up. On the disc, the dialogue is missing and it sounds odd that
Marguerite starts singing "Vivez" for no reason at all. Douglas Sills
makes an auspicious debut as a leading man showing off a strong tenor
that seems much more suited to the role than Chuck Wagner's baritone. He
does exceptional work, especially on "Into the Fire," "They Seek Him
Here" and "She was There." It is also nice to have Broadway vets,
Christine Andreas and Terrence Mann back on Broadway and in the same
musical. They are perfectly cast as Marguerite and Chauvelin, who are
former lovers. Both are at the top of their form. Christine Andreas
possesses one of the finest soprano voices to ever grace a Broadway
stage and it has been far too long since her last engagement. Not only
that, she is a consummate actress as well and it shows through on her
many solos. She ranks right up there with the many other Broadway divas
such as Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley and Bernadette Peters. She also gets
to sing the better tunes in the show, "When I Look at You," "Only Love"
and "Storybook." Terrence Mann, as always, turns in a solid performance,
bringing to mind the role he created on Broadway of Inspector Javert.
Unfortunately he is stuck with the worst music in the show, "Where's the
Girl?" and "Falcon in the Dive" but his strong acting ability helps
elevate this material. At least he gets to sing in the terrific act one
finale "The Riddle" with his co-stars.
Overall, the performances by the 3 leads could not be topped and the
score is a bit uneven. So without a doubt, this is my favorite recording
of a Frank Wildhorn score to date. Despite its minor flaws, I highly
recommend this recording.
Join me in two weeks when I will finally be reviewing the original
London cast recording of The Goodbye Girl and Ragtime: Themes
from the Hit Musical.
'Til then, happy listening!
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