The Scarlet Pimpernel

About the show

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a musical with music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics & book by Nan Knighton, based on the 1905 novel of the same name by Baroness Orczy. The show is set in England and France during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the spy fiction and the superhero genres, where a hero hides under a mild-mannered alias. The musical ran on Broadway from October 1997 to May 1999 at the Minskoff Theatre, closed, toured, and reopened from September 1999 to January 2000 at the Neil Simon Theatre, in several versions. It also had a US National tour, and regional and international productions followed.