Backstage with Richard Ridge: Frank Wildhorn, Nan Knighton & Gabriel Barre Get Ready to Go Back Into the Fire with THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL!

On February 18, Manhattan Concert Productions will present a concert performance of Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton's musical comedy The Scarlet Pimpernel at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. Gabriel Barre (Stage Director) and Jason Howland (Music Director) reunite to lead the cast and creative team in this concert performance of The Scarlet Pimpernel. The performance will feature a chorus of over 200 singers from the across the United States, a professional cast and creative team, and the New York City Chamber Orchestra.

The cast will be led by Tony Yazbeck, as Percy Blakeney, with Laura Osnes (Marguerite), Norm Lewis (Chauvelin) Corey Cott (Armand), Dana Costello (Marie) and Drew Gehling (Prince of Wales/Robespierre).

With music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics and book by Nan Knighton, The Scarlet Pimpernel is based on Baroness Orczy's famous 20th-century novel of the same name, taking place at the peak of the French Revolution and the fight for liberty, equality and fraternity. Set in England and France, The Scarlet Pimpernel tells the story of an English nobleman Sir Percy Blakeney who adopts a secret identity, the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel, to battle the forces of evil during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel serves as a brilliant window to life in 18th-century England, and was a precursor to the spy fiction and superhero genres, featuring a hero hiding under an alias. The musical made its Broadway debut at the Minskoff Theatre on November 9, 1997 and ran through January 2000 in several theatres, has had numerous regional U.S. productions, and has been produced internationally in Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Malta, and Norway, among others.

Tickets, starting at $50, may be purchased by visiting www.mcp.us; visiting www.lincolncenter.org; calling CenterCharge (212) 721- 6500; or visiting the David Geffen Hall box office at 10 Lincoln Center Plaza (Columbus Avenue at 65th Street).

Below, watch as the creative team chats with Richard Ridge about what audiences can expect from this new incarnation of the show!