Deep regional talent pool boosts Grand’s ‘Pimpernel’

ELLSWORTH – The Grand Auditorium’s production of the lush musical “The Scarlet Pimpernel” dispels all doubts that amateur performers can conquer complex material often left to professional companies. The stars and supporting cast are the area’s best singers and actors, resulting in one of the most well-rounded and talented casts on any northern Maine stage in many years.

The show opened at The Grand on Friday and will be performed this Thursday through Sunday.

The musical, written by Nan Knighton and Frank Wildhorn, is a romantic adventure set at the end of the French Revolution. Based on the 1905 book by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, “The Scarlet Pimpernel” tells the story of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English aristocrat who falls in love with and marries French actress Marguerite St. Just.

Chauvelin, her former lover, is unhappy with the union and determined to unmask the Scarlet Pimpernel, Percy’s altar ego, who with help from his English friends rescues French aristocrats from the guillotine. The show, which opened on Broadway in 1997 and ran for two years, combines romance, adventure and comedy with complex songs that enhance the plot and reveal the characters’ true feelings.

Robert Hitt, a former artistic director for the Belfast Maskers, directed the production, his first at The Grand. He deftly captured the show’s delicate balance of romance, comedy and adventure and used the area’s deep pool of talent to create an ensemble that masterfully supported the three leading characters.

Bangor attorney Sam Lanham portrayed the Pimpernel with style and depth. He not only captured Percy’s heroic instincts, but his fatal flaw – doubting his wife’s love and loyalty – in a multilayered portrayal not often seen in American musicals. Relegated to supporting roles in recent years, Lanham’s velvety voice has been vastly underused during the last decade.

His voice has never been stronger or more nuanced than it was in “The Scarlet Pimpernel.” It was his performance of songs like “She Was There,” “You Are My Home” and “Into the Fire” that revealed Percy’s true feelings, doubts and motivations. It would have been easy for Lanham to turn the Pimpernel, the first literary superhero, into a two-dimensional comic book character. Instead he created a real human being – a man who becomes a hero simply by following his principles.

Lanham’s performance was matched stunningly by Elena DeSiervo’s portrayal of Marguerite. Well-known in the area as an exceptionally gifted soprano, DeSiervo sparkled as the former actress torn between her husband and his cause and her former lover and French politics. In the past, her strong voice has dominated her singing partners. Not so in “Pimpernel.”

Her vocal depth and range blended beautifully with Lanham’s, yet it was her solos performing “I’ll Forget You” and “When I Look at You” that stopped the show and stunned the audience. DeSiervo’s strong stage presence makes her a star no matter the role she plays, and served her extremely well as Marguerite while not overpowering her co-stars.

Tyke McKay played the villain Chauvelin. This is one of the most difficult roles ever written for a musical. Not only is the character happy to lead the innocent to the guillotine, he also is so charming that he tempts Marguerite to leave her husband’s arms for his. McKay captured all of Chauvelin’s evil ways but was unable to portray the character’s ability to bewitch his victims. McKay’s vocal performance matched his co-stars, but his acting lacked their depth and subtlety.

Brian Shepard was excellent as Marguerite’s brother Armand, torn between his love for his sister and his loyalty to the Pimpernel. Shepard’s delicate tenor blended well with his fellow bounders, the men who follow Percy “Into the Fire.” Chuck Somers, Peter Carriveau, Ben Layman, Bruce Mallonee, Jason Wilkes and Steve Gormley were funny and fierce as the bounders.

While the cast and the orchestra, conducted by musical director and The Grand Executive Director Robert Bahr, gave excellent performances, it was Anne Bahr’s shimmering 18th-century costumes that almost stole the show. Replete with huge and imaginative hats, the shiny satins and brocades created a rich visual portrait that was the icing on this cake of a production. More elaborate set pieces to complement the costumes would have been nice but wouldn’t have added that much to the production.

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” is a complex musical staged by The Grand with a professional flair rarely achieved in community productions. It is a must-see for music and theater lovers, but it is more romance than adventure and may not be appreciated fully by children under 10. Anyone who’s ever been in love, however, or had a swashbuckling fantasy will relish every moment of this romantic adventure.

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 667-9500.