Cyrano de Bergerac

Christian (Nick Mead) woos the fair Roxane (Frances Devanbu) as
Cyrano (Antonio de Loera-Brust) looks on,
heartbroken, in the Acme Theatre Company production of "Cyrano,"
(It is unfortunate that Acme's photos appear to have all
been taken before Cyrano's nose was made!!!)

In her notes to the new Acme production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, director Emily Henderson writes, “This play has a lot of words.” She said a mouthful.

It is unfortunate, then, that so many of those words were unheard by the audience. A perennial problem with Acme is the inability of actors in lesser roles to speak clearly and to project, which seems such a shame since they have obviously worked so hard at learning lines and creating characters.

This is, fortunately, not a problem for the actors in the principal roles, though it does leave gaps in plot points when you can’t hear the set-up lines.

This adaptation of the Rostand classic, by Barry Kornhauser, written entirely in verse, lends itself to a lot of slapstick comedy, terrible (meaning “wonderful”) puns, and plenty of swashbuckling, all blended with great nobility and a tragic love story.

The play is fictionalized account, based on a real 17th century French writer and playwright notorious for his many duels and escapades as well as a famous nose.

Antonio de Loera-Brust, in the title role, is dashing and funny and romantic and poignant all at once, a man who can take on any man in a fight, a wit as sharp as his sword, but who is too ashamed of his physical appearance to confess his love for Roxanne. It’s a wonderful performance, deserving of the standing ovation he received at the end.

If I have any negative comment at all, it is not for the actor, but for whoever did his make-up. Please, a little more color on the tip of his nose which, in the performance, glowed white in the stage lights and is a distraction from his acting.

While Cyrano hides his love for the beautiful Roxane (Frances Devanbu), she has her sights set on Christian de Neuvilette (Nick Mead), handsome and earnest, but verbally challenged — he cannot find the words to express his feelings. He turns to his friend Cyrano, who provides the words which win Roxane’s heart and thus becomes a principal player in perhaps the most famous love triangle in literary history.

Devanbu is a lovely Roxane, as sincere in her love of Christian as she is later as she realizes the true identity of the man who won her heart so many years ago, with his beautiful words.

Mead is the perfect clueless jock, a hero among his fellow Cadets of Gascony, but unable to understand the heart of a woman. His early demise is fortunate for it certainly would have been a tremendous let-down for Roxane to realize that he never had the words of a poet.

Alex Clubb is effectively menacing as the Comte de Guiche, determined to marry Roxane and duped by the wiley Cyrano until the bride’s marriage to Christian has taken place.

Raphael Gorga is particularly noteworthy as Ragueneau, the baker. He has a knack for physical comedy and puts it to good use in this role.

Miki Benson plays several roles (as do many others in the cast) and I very much appreciated her clarity of tone without appearing forced. No matter what her role, she could always be understood and she did an excellent job in each role.

Mead was the set designer for this production, a rather utilitarian multi-level set that left lots of room for swordplay, and the fighting, choreographed by Dan Renkin, was excellent. One thing about Acme is that its young actors really have mastered swordplay, since so many of the company’s productions use it!

Costumes were designed by Henderson, with hair design by Hannah Nielson.

“Cyrano de Bergerac” is a fun evening of theater, with plenty of action to entertain younger members of the audience, and a solid story to satisfy the adults. If the actors in the minor roles could crank their volume up a bit, this really would be quite an extraordinary production.

Cyrano de Bergerac

At the risk of pandering to an obvious pun, Sacramento Theatre Company's current production of Edmund Rostand's “Cyrano de Bergerac” hits it right on the nose.

Sandford Robbins, the founder and director of the Professional Training Program (PTTP), one of the top ten dramatic education programs in the country, and "Cyrano" director Peggy Shannon adapted Rostand's classic especially for Sacramento Theatre Company. The result is a romantic tale of a 17th Century French cavalier poet, a master swordsman as skillful with the pen as with the sword, in love with a beautiful lady, but afraid that his protuberant proboscis will get in the way of his search for true love.

John Pribyl brings dignity, humor, and panache to the role of Cyrano, a man who covers up a lot of his insecurities by laughing at his own physical oddity, while inside pining away for the love of the beautiful Roxanne (Jackie Vanderbeck). Pribyl's diction is impeccable, as he delivers long discourses, equally eloquent on subject of love, or on put-downs of his own prosthetically enhanced nose.

Instead of embarrassing himself by declaring his love for Roxanne, Cyrano becomes the mouthpiece for the handsome, dashing, but somewhat inarticulate cavalier Christian (Brett Williams), helping him woo and win the hand of Roxanne by putting words in his mouth and in his pen, the words that Roxanne longs for and that ultimately help her fall in love.

Williams does a fine job as Christian. Most roles in this play are subordinate to Cyrano and Williams does not stand out.

Vanderbeck is a lovely Roxanne, swept away by the eloquence of Cyrano's words, which she feels are coming from Christian, only to realize, much too late, that the man with whom she has been in love for so many years is really Cyrano.

Matt K. Miller, who has become a master at playing the snide villain undergoing some sort of ultimate noble transformation does not disappoint as the Comte DeGuiche, with his own designs on Roxanne, outwitted at the last moment by Cyrano, who arranges a hasty marriage before Christian is sent off to war.

(Times were apparently different in the 1600s and it appears that even cads respected the bond of marriage.)

Others in lesser roles all performed well. Adrian Roberts is a commanding presence on the stage as Cyrano's lifelong friend LeBret.

Lynn Baker is Roxanne's Duena, and later in the play dons the habit for a role as a nun in the abby where Roxanne retires following Christian's death.

Michael RJ Campbell is resplendent in pink as Cyrano's enemy, the actor Monfleury.

Doug Kester is Ragueneau, a pastry chef with a particular love of poetry.

John Dalmon is the poet Ligniere, whose life Cyrano saves by single-handedly battling 100 men.

Incidental music is provided by Moises Rodriguez, softly playing the guitar at one side of the stage, occasionally as accompaniment for on-stage choral singing, or solos by Erik Smith, who has a pleasant, if not memorable voice.

Chris Uchman-Douglas, playing the role of the Vicomte Valvert is also credited with fight choreography and has done a masterful job of creating the feel of a band of cavaliers for whom swordplay comes as second nature.

Kudos to Todd Roehermann for his magnificent costume design. The costumes, particularly of the cavaliers gave a wonderful richness to the look of the show.

Arthur Roch's scenic design was utilitarian, though nothing spectacular, primarily dictated by the number of people needed to be on stage in several scenes. The abby scene, however, was especitally lovely. I took particular offense, however, to his "man in the moon" rising across the nighttime sky. As this production seems to have been designed more for realism than for fantasy, a big yellow moon with the face of a man on it seemed jarringly out of place.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" is a classic with a contemporary feel. Director Peggy Shannon's production is wonderfully accessible and with a tragic triangular love story and all the swash-buckling battles that take place on the stage, it should have broad appeal across the spectrum of audience members.

Cyrano de Bergerac

A cast of thousands (or so it seemed), a monumental set, enough on-stage food to feed Davis Community Meals for at least one night, wonderfully directed swordplay, and one very long nose.

This pretty well sums up Acme Theatre's opening night performance of Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac." "Acme's summer show is always a big production," writes director Dave Burmester. "It is a long-standing tradition that all those who audition for the summer production are cast."

Therein lies the strength--and the weakness--of this production. To dispose of the weaknesses quickly, with a cast this large (there are 50+ members in the cast and among them, they play120 different roles), the difference between the "seasoned performers" and the less experienced is quite apparent in a production where it seems everyone has lines to say.

This is a very wordy play, and it's a pity that far too many of the lines were rushed and/or spoken too softly to make it past the third row, if that far.

That said, let's concentrate on the strengths. For starters, Nick Herbert, in the title role, will leave you slack-jawed in amazement. It's not enough that this actor has a veritable encyclopedia of lines to memorize and delivers them flawlessly (at least to those without a script in hand--if he had any flubs, they were not apparent), but he acted the heck out of the part and brought tears by his death in the end. He well deserved the standing ovation he received.

The play is fictionalized account, based on a real 17th century French writer and playwright notorious for his many duels and escapades as well as a famous nose. There are duels aplenty in this production, and Burmester credits the expertise of one of Acme's newest members, Nick Bettencourt, for helping to choreograph the swordplay.

There is no opening curtain, so as the audience arrives, they are witness to characters wandering around on the enormous stage, designed by Steven Schmidt. "It is more impressive by the fact that six days before the show opened, the structure was a jumble of elements waiting on the scene dock for the stage to become available," says Burmester. A multi-level set, with the addition of tables or drapes or arches, it easily becomes a Paresian hotel, a pastry shop, a home, or even a convent. This is Schmidt's last year with Acme and he will be missed.

A play is about to begin at the Hotel de Borgone. The players are awaiting the arrival of the playwright, Cyrano. On the stage, pageboys are playing pranks, important people are looking important, musketeers play fight, while waiting for the entertainment to begin. We also meet the tavern-keeper, Ragueneau (a strong, sparkling performance to retiring Acme stalwart Chris Schmidt).

The lovely Roxanne is beautifully portrayed by Kathie German. Roxanne is the love interest of Christian (Brian Oglesby), a handsome young baron, come to Paris to join the army.

Unbeknownst to all save his confidante LeBret (Steven Schmidt), Cyrano is also hiding a secret love for Roxanne (his cousin), but his insecurities, and concern about his appearance, prevent him from speaking words of love to her.

When Roxanne confesses to Cyrano, her attraction for Christian and asks him to become the protector of the younger man, Cyrano agrees, out of his own unspoken love for Roxanne.

The meeting of the two prompts one of the more delightful moments of the script, where they trade quips about Cyrano's most prominent feature. However, Cyrano befriends the young man and, realizing that Christian is not gifted with words, agrees to help the young suitor court Roxanne.

In one of the most famous scenes from the play, Cyrano first whispers the words for Christian to speak to Roxanne, on her balcony, and then steps in and replaces the young man, standing in the shadows, to speak his own words of love for the girl, in Christian's name. The scene is both funny and touching, as Cyrano, having expressed with passion his own love and feelings, is left in the shadows while Christian, by force of Cyrano's words, wins the love of Roxanne. Cyrano then arranges for the couple to be married and in doing so annoys his other rival De Guiche (Jake Stoebel).

Immediately after the wedding, the regiment is sent to war against the Spaniards. Cyrano promises Roxanne that he will be certain that Christian writes to her from the front and, of course, he himself pens the letters, risking his life twice a day to post them to her.

When Christian is killed in battle, he dies with a farewell note to Roxanne in his pocket. The young widow enters a convent, where she spends the next two decades of her life, visited daily by Cyrano who never reveals to her the real author of the words she loved so much.

This is a monumental production, effectively staged by the ever-solid Acme Theatre Company. It is not without minor flaws, but the whole definitely outweighs any shortcomings.