The Scarlet Pimpernel- Hopebox Theatre

The Scarlet Pimpernel tells the story of the French Revolution, where the English baronet Sir Percy Blakeney, under the guise of a foppish dandy, leads a secret league to rescue French aristocrats from the guillotine as the enigmatic "Scarlet Pimpernel." The show has music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics & book by Nan Knighton. It is 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.

Direction: 

The show was directed by Becca Rhodes and Spencer Bawden. The two of them tackled a difficult show and made it look effortless. They put together a cast of strong singers, dancers, and actors. The set they designed and painted helped tell the story in a clear way. They came up with some ingenious uses of the stage that helped tell the story in a way I had never seen done before. The two of them assembled a powerhouse of a production team that helped make their vision for the story a beautiful masterpiece.

The show was music directed by Logan Kelley. The ensemble vocals for "Storybook" were strong, together, and lovely. "Madame Guillotine" was powerful and clean. Percy singing "Prayer" was a highlight of the night. "Into the Fire" was my favorite vocals of the night. "Falcon in the Dive" was powerful and helped progress the story in a strong way. "When I Look At You" was gorgeous. "Where's The Girl" was clean and beautiful. "Creation of Men" was hilarious and delightful. "Riddle Party" was a strong vocal ending for Act 1. "She Was There" was strong and gorgeous. 

The show was choreographed by Wyatt Welch. "Storybook" was eye catching and fun to watch. "Madam Guillotine" was crisp and great to watch. "The Creation of Man" choreography was clean and funny. "The Riddle Party" was engaging and helped tell the story of the show. 

Performances: 

Sir Percy Blakeney was played by Spencer Ford. From the moment he started talking you could see that he was playing Percy as a pompous, lovable, flop. When he started to sing I was blown away by his voice. Ford's singing was crisp and clear, which made me love any song that he sung. When he played Grappin his character was unique enough that I missed that it was Ford at first in disguise.

(PC: Katie Plott)

Marguerite St. Just was played by Megan Derrick. From the moment she stepped on stage you could feel her stage presence. She commanded the stage. Derrick played Marguerite as passionate and refined. You could feel her loneliness and her distain for how Chauvelin treated her. Derrick's vocals were strong and lovely. Every song that she sang was a delight to listen to as a result.

(PC: Katie Plott)

Chauvelin was played by Braden Hull. From the moment Hull stepped on stage his presence was strong and clear. He exuded authority and someone that wanted power. Hull made Chavelin someone I would be terrified to cross paths with in real life. His vocals were an absolute delight where I loved every song that he was in.

(PC: Katie Plott)

Percy's Bounder's were played by Rylan Cheshire (Dewhurst), Andrew Stone (Ozzy), Jason Wadsworth (Elton), Nick Rhodes (Farleigh), Weston Harvey (Hal), and Mike Wheeler (Ben). The 6 of them together were a powerhouse. They all played off of each other to where each of them helped the others bring out so many splendid comedic moments. My favorite part of this group was their voices when they sang together. They were SO strong. It is rare so many men with this raw talent all together in one group. My favorite of the group was Wadsworth. All of his added details with the butterflies were quite delightful. 

Design:

The set was designed by Becca Rhodes & Spencer Bawden. The set was constructed by Jen Liddell, Brady Liddell, Curtis Dalton, Garion Jorgenson, Mike Wheeler and Spencer Bawden. The set was an ingenious use of the space. The Hopebox used a feature of their set to tell the story in a delightful way. (I was told I couldn't give the reader any spoilers to this amazing feature.) The creation of the boat on stage made my tech heart glow with how smooth and cool it was when it came together. The painting of the set was crisp, and helped tell the story. When you look at the wood floor from far away you couldn't tell that it was a painted floor. (Rhodes shared with me that it took her 10 hours just to paint the floor.) The scarlet pimpernel insignia being in the middle of the stage added so much to the set.

The costume designer was Libby Noorchester. All costumes fit within the period of the show. The ensemble females costumes fit perfectly together, while the males costumes did the same. All of Marguerite's costumes were showstoppers. (My favorite one of her's is from the masquerade.) 

The properties designer for the show was Ashly Hunter. All props used fit within the period of the show. No one item looked super modern. The half painted Percy painting was stunning. The head prop look eerily like the actor it was supposed to be. (As a result, I was impressed.)

The lightning designers for the show were Becca Rhodes and Jake Wood. There were some cool lighting feats that I've never seen on the Hopebox stage. There were backlights that were used effectively for many purposes. There was a scrim that was used for some cool artistic effects where shadows were projected in a way that progressed the story.

Wall of Hope Recipient:

The Hopebox Theatre's mission is, "Bringing Hope to Families Battling Cancer through the Performing Arts." Each show they pick a recipient that they donate a portion of their proceeds and all their donations to. For this show their recipient is Rachel Rounds. 

Here is her story from the Hopebox Theatre's website:

My kids are the best thing in my life. I have 4 kids. Bailey is 19 and has special needs. She attends Canyon View’s post-high school life program. She loves drawing and movies. Kyla just graduated from Bonneville High School. She wants to be a physical therapist and starts at Weber State in a couple of weeks. She played lacrosse for the school and has been doing community theater for 7 years, and loves it. Bright Star is her and my favorite show. Leah is 14 and starting 9th grade. She also plays lacrosse and has been doing theater for 7 years. Linkin is 12 and starting 7th grade at South Ogden Jr High. He loves sports and video games. 

I got divorced two years ago and have been trying to make it as a single mom. Their dad was diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago, in April, and then this year, exactly a year to the date, I was diagnosed with stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer, which is rare and aggressive. So my kids have been through a lot. 

My girls and I have donated our hair at least a dozen times for wigs for cancer patients, which now feels ironic.   I have been a registered nurse for 22 years. I work in the recovery room at a surgical center. I also spent 17 years doing pediatric home care for kids with chronic medical problems like trachs, g-tubes, on ventilators, etc. 

Cancer Journey Status: In April 2025, I was diagnosed with stage 3 inflammatory breast cancer that had metastasized to my axillary lymph nodes. In May, I started my 15 rounds of chemo infusions. I currently get a chemo infusion every Thursday until the beginning of September. It leaves me feeling run down pretty much 24/7. In October, I will get surgery to get a double mastectomy, and then I will do about 15 radiation treatments.

Support Rachel by purchasing tickets to The Scarlet Pimpernel and by donating to her directly through Venmo @givehopebox.

Final Impressions:

This was not my first time seeing The Scarlet Pimpernel. I was blown away with this production, to the point that I gave it a standing ovation during curtain call. (Those that know me know that I have to be EXTREMELY impressed to give a standing ovation.) I found myself forgetting to take notes because I was drawn into the production. With the teal cast being that excellent, I want to come back and see the silver cast.  As always, please donate to the Hopebox so you can help support Rachel in her cancer journey. Help the Hopebox continue to bring hope to families battling cancer through the performing arts.

Tickets