The title character of The Scarlet Pimpernel is played by Broadway newcomer Douglas Sills. His is a classic Broadway story.

Trained at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. "It's a tremendous asset that I draw on moment after moment," he said), Sills has paid his legit dues at some of the West Coast's top resident theatres, including South Coast Rep and California Shakespeare Theatre. He's a co-founder of Antaeus Theatre, and remains a proud member. And now, he's making his Broadway debut as the star of this major new musical.

"I've heard him [the Pimpernel] compared to Zorro, to Superman, to the Lone Ranger," Sills said. "I tell everyone: he was the first of the mild mannered heroes."

Sills said, "I love that he was written by a woman [both the original novel by Baroness Orczy and the musical's Knighton] and that he has a basis in literature. There are so many layers to play. I love the juxtaposition of the comedy and the life-and-death aspects."

Sills and Mann literally cross swords in the show's climactic battle, for which Sills took some formal training. "You use it every minute you're playing the character," Sills said. "Even when you're pulling on a pair of gloves, it all has the same life to it, so you use it even when you're not swashbuckling."