PRESS RELEASE
for immediate release
MANHATTAN CONCERT PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES LAURA OSNES, NORM LEWIS, COREY COTT, DANA COSTELLO AND DREW GEHLING
AS PRINCIPALS IN ‘THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL’
AT DAVID GEFFEN HALL, LINCOLN CENTER, FEBRUARY 18, 2019
New York, NY, November 21, 2018 – Manhattan Concert Productions (MCP) is pleased to announce initial casting and leadership for their concert performance of Frank Wildhorn and Nan Knighton’s musical comedy The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Starring as Marguerite, Laura Osnes (Bandstand, Cinderella) returns to MCP’s Broadway Series opposite Tony nominee and Broadway favorite Norm Lewis (Les Misérables, Porgy and Bess) as the cunning and evil Chauvelin. Also featured will be Bandstand and Newsies star Corey Cott in the role of Armand and Dana Costello (Finding Neverland, Jekyll and Hyde) as Marie. The cast also boasts Jersey Boys and Waitress leading-man Drew Gehling as Prince of Wales/Robespierre.
But who is The Scarlet Pimpernel?
Manhattan Concert Productions is soon to unveil the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel and invites you to participate in the unmasking. Stay tuned for clues to the identity of this hero on MCP’s social media pages leading up to the reveal. Send your guess to whoisthescarletpimpernel@mcp.us for the chance to win two (2) Premium Orchestra-Level tickets.*
*Correct guesses will be entered into a ticket raffle and the winner will be announced upon the casting release.
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. Barre has acted and directed TV, film, Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional productions, and in 2016, directed (with Howland) The Scarlet Pimpernel translated into Japanese and performed by Umeda Arts Theatre in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. Howland returns to conduct The Scarlet Pimpernel after serving as the music supervisor for the original Broadway production in 1997, and is currently serving as Music Director of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway.
The Scarlet Pimpernel marks the seventh year of Manhattan Concert Productions’ critically-acclaimed Broadway Series, following the success of Broadway Classics (2018), Crazy For You (2017), The Secret Garden (2016), Parade (2015), Titanic (2014), The Hunchback of Notre Dame workshop (2014), Broadway Classics in Concert (2013), and Ragtime (2013). 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.
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, the first to feature 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, Japan, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Malta, and Norway, among others.
Tickets, starting at $50 are on sale now, and 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).
ABOUT MANHATTAN CONCERT PRODUCTIONS
Manhattan Concert Productions is an esteemed production company in its 20th season. MCP has provided opportunity to thousands of musicians in choirs, bands, and orchestras that have performed at famous venues throughout the United States and many countries abroad. Additionally, MCP regularly features the work of professional singers, actors, instrumentalists, conductors and composers. The guest musicians of The Scarlet Pimpernel chorus will spend five days in New York City rehearsing and performing side-by-side with the professional principal cast and crew as part of Manhattan Concert Productions’ continuing mission of student and professional collaboration. Visit www.mcp.us to learn more.
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