NR: Just to give a little background on the interviews I do, because I've gotten many inquiries asking, "Are you a writer?" No. I'm not a writer. Actually, I'd never written anything in my entire life except for school essays and I hated those. I know VJ, the webmaster of Talkin' Broadway and last summer when MSG bought the show, I sent him an email saying, "Guess what? The Internet fans actually made an impact this time. This is really interesting. You should have someone write an article on it." He said, "Why don't you write it?" I said, "I can't write" but he talked me into it and I wrote that little piece for his " On the Rialto." It really surprised me and VJ because it was good. (laughs) I thought, "Well, this is cool. This is lightning striking once in my lifetime." Then he asked me to do a review of the show, which I agonized over. I finally did that and it came out pretty well. (Nancy's review of SP2) At the same time, Peter asked me to help proofread for the SP site, which was OK, but not all that creative. So, we kind of came up with the idea of doing a couple of interviews here or there.

PW: I think it started with Douglas' interview for VJ (For Talkin' Broadway's "Spotlight On" feature).

NR: Well, actually what happened was that we were trying to get permission. MSG didn't really know me. They were thinking about the idea when VJ asked me to interview Douglas. So, that helped MSG say OK.

PW: What happened with MSG is that once I had signed on as official webmaster with them, they came to me and one of the things that they wanted was a way for the fans to communicate with the performers. They asked me if it was possible to have some kind of message board where the performers would post and answer questions directly from the fans on the site. I mulled that over and I was very hesitant because I didn't want to ask the cast to have to check the message board regularly. I knew that some of them would not do that at all and some of them would be happy to. I was afraid that fans would complain if their favorite performer wasn't participating. That just didn't feel right to me.

NR: This actually worked out better, because first of all, it wasn't just the three leads. We started with them, and that was fine. The challenge with them...at the time, Douglas was being interviewed constantly, but by people who didn't know him, didn't know the show, and they asked him the same questions over and over again. We all heard his "Leslie Howard story" fifty times. So, I was able to approach him with a different perspective.

The reaction from the other people in the cast was wonderful. Other than possibly "Wildhorn Side" or a local newspaper, no one cared to ask any of them any questions. They were so grateful to me afterwards. They were so thrilled. Many of them came up to me afterwards and said, "People I haven't seen in years found that interview and read it, and called me up." That was fun. It's wonderful having the submitted questions. I can't think of everything and it would be boring if I didn't have them.

PW: That idea came from MSG. With the Douglas interview for Talkin' Broadway, everything kind of came together. You and I came up with this idea for Center Stage. People submit questions, you run the interview, and then we post it to the site.

KH: You know, if this show taught me anything, it's that everybody on Broadway is special. They're all talented. It's not just the stars. Before, when I went to a show, I was only interested in who was starring, and I didn't realize there were all these random people in the background. Now, I read all the bios and I look at everybody. I don't just look at the stars anymore.

NR: And the people who are behind the scenes.

SP: And the understudies.

NR: Yes, the understudies and the standbys. Every interview - I've met the most wonderful people. And Kelly will tell you the name, since she created it. We now have a new function in life since the show closed on May 30th. We are the...

KH: "The Amazing Traveling Ex-Pimpernel Cast Member Booster Club."

SP: Oh, I really wish I lived closer so I could participate in that.

KH: It's a lot of fun.

NR: We've seen Stephen Hope in Camelot. We've seen Michael Halling in Showboat. We've seen Bryan Batt in Forbidden Broadway out in East Hampton, and we're going to see Mark McGrath in Company. We've met all of these people through the show. We didn't know any of them before. I used to think that professional actors were very vain, conceited people. I haven't found that at all. They're extremely down to earth people.

So, the relationships go on, which brings up an interesting question. Why are we still here? We saw a show that we liked. Most people who see a show that they like, see it twice, or maybe even three times. But, here we are, over a year and a half after seeing it the first time, and we're still here. The original leads that we saw the first time are gone. The original show that we saw the first time is gone, but we're still here. In fact, all of us are donating many hours of our free time to this show...just because. No one asked us to do that, but we all enjoy it and we're willing to do it. So, why?

SP: It's always been the story that I loved. I always thought it was beautiful, from the time that I read the novel, and saw the Anthony Andrews film. The musical itself is such a beautiful story with such beautiful ideas - the intellectual triumphing over brutality. I just think that is so gorgeous. And the idea of the second chance that Marguerite and Percy have. Being able to mess up and make it right. It's just wonderful, wonderful stuff. It's uplifting, not depressing. It's funny, not gruesome. I've always felt very close to the story so it was very hard for me to escape from the show. I've just always loved it so much. I don't think that I had a choice. I think I was already "condemned" to a life of Pimpernel.

NR: So, Peter, how about you? Why are you still here?

PW: Going into it I didn't know much about the story. Since then I have come to love that. But, for me, the two big things I have to say are the music and the people. As far as the music is concerned, I don't know how Frank Wildhorn does what he does. He is incredible, amazing... I need a three page list of adjectives here and I can't come up with them. His music just grabs you and it won't let go, so maybe that's why I'm still here, but the other part of it is all of the people, and in that I include people in the show and the various behind-the-scenes folks I've had dealings with, plus the entire League. Everyone involved is like a family, and to be part of that, and to be able to contribute to that... I don't know how I could give it up, so I'm still here.

SP: The friendships that I've made through the League have been so special to me and so supportive over the last year and a half that it's another tie that binds.

Interview conducted by Nancy Rosati.