SP: League Roundtable Discussion

Peter

NR: Sal?

SI: I think everybody has this need to belong to something. I belong to a group of incredible people. The world has become so technical, it seems the individual person has almost forgotten how to interact one on one. I have never seen the interaction between fans and performers like I've seen with the three Wildhorn shows. I've been involved in rock for ever and a day and that doesn't even come close to this. It only goes to show that the actors need that interaction as much as their fans - well, most of the actors. So, actors and fans alike, I have made so many great friends. As long as I stay involved, I will keep making more friends. To me, that is what life is all about!!!!

NR: How about you, Kelly?

KH: I can't imagine not having Pimpernel to see and not having these friends. I love the story. I didn't know anything about it when I went, but now I take so much joy in searching the books down on other continents, having them sent to my house so I can read them, wrapping them in towels because I'm so afraid of having them get damaged, carrying them to the Minskoff and having Rachel York say, "Oh, my God. Can I touch it?"

SP: Which book was it?

KH: The Gallant Pimpernel Omnibus.

SP: (gasp from Shari and laughter from everyone else)

KH: She seriously did. Her jaw was on the floor and she just wanted to touch it.

SP: Because she knew how rare that book is.

KH: Yeah. She really loved the book. That endeared me to her. She really loved the story and I loved that about her. I love the story, I love the people - just like all of you have said. When I bring someone to see it, I really, really want them to like it. I really want this show to succeed. I want it to come back to New York and have it get great reviews, and have it run forever. I don't want people to think of it as a fluke. I don't want people to think of it as the "Energizer Bunny" that's still running and it shouldn't still be here, but it is by some fluke of nature. I want it to be here because everybody thinks it should be.

SP: Did you see the most fabulous line that was in the Dallas paper review of the show? "For sheer escapist entertainment, only The Lion King has topped The Scarlet Pimpernel over the last three Broadway seasons."

KH: It's so underrated. I don't think you have to go to the theater and always see an "event show" like Cabaret. Yeah, Cabaret was great - I loved it, but not everything has to be a big event, and not everything has to be "important" and it doesn't have to be about the one person who's in it. If you go and you have a good time, what's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with it.

NR: Hmm, why am I still here? My reasons evolved. In the beginning, I liked the music and I thought it was a fun show. It kind of haunted me. I really wanted to go back and see if it was as good as I thought it was. Actually the third time I saw it was the first night that Douglas hit Terry Mann with that "all that black" line, and I know it was the first time because Terry jumped out of his skin and there was no way he could have faked that reaction. I watched Douglas play with that scene. Terry let him, even though he had a lot more Broadway stage experience than Douglas had, and I watched Terry let him play with it. When Douglas was done "playing," he "gave the ball back" to Terry and Terry went on. That just amazed me. At the time, the show wasn't going to stay open very long, so I decided that I was seeing a very unique performer do a very unique role. I don't know if he'll ever be this good again and I don't know if he's ever been this good before, but in this role, he was this good. I wanted to continue to see that because as far as I was concerned, it might never happen again. Keep in mind that the show was going to close very soon, so I thought I would see it a couple more times.

KH: Oh, I know. How surprised were we when we were sitting in the Minskoff after Labor Day of `98 watching The Scarlet Pimpernel!

NR: That's right. It kept running and I got to know people in the League. Then that became the reason. Then the interviews became a reason because I was meeting so many fascinating people, and the group of people that I met grew bigger and bigger, and the experiences grew bigger and bigger. I found that the whole experience is bigger than any of those one things. Douglas is now gone but I'm still interested in the show. Many of the people that I've gotten to know are now gone, but I'm still interested in the show, and I'm also interested in whatever they're doing, so my whole sphere has grown, unbelievably.

KH: And we're not saving any money yet.

NR: No, we're not. We thought we'd save money in the summer but we're seeing other people in other productions. But, the experience has been absolutely mind-boggling. I don't think I could explain it if I sat here and talked for an hour, and I can't imagine not doing it. It's just so much fun.

SP: I wish I had been able to see the show more often or participate in the person-to-person League events that I just wasn't able to be there for. I wish I could have met the cast. I just couldn't do that sort of thing. I did everything basically on the Internet, and it's been such a wonderful experience. It's really special how the cast has embraced the League.

KH: It's all Wildhorn shows - it's Jekyll & Hyde, it's Pimpernel, it was Civil War when it was here. I don't know of any other show with a fan group where the cast would come and hang out with the fans, where we could plan something and have them all come.