CYRANO DE BERGERAC

It feels like I’ve known about Cyrano de Bergerac, the character, for my entire life. Perhaps that’s because my English and Speech teacher parents brought so much culture into our lives, or maybe because I also have a slightly larger schnozz myself.

But I had never seen the play, (even though I’ve basically been *Cyrano-ing for my friends since I was a teen!,) until the opening at the Pasadena Playhouse the other night. (And I had actually forgotten that I had seen the Peter Dinklage movie, just three years ago, until about halfway through this show!) So I thank the almost-hundred-year-old Playhouse for bringing this classic tale to us Southern Californians. And I wish them a very Happy Centennial next year! *(I coined “Cyrano-ing” to mean that I’ve been giving pals the words to woo the objects of their affection, but in my case, I, of course, have no interest in them myself.)

However, I didn’t love this very modern re-telling of the 1897 story as much as appreciate it. I’m not a fan of revamps, but when it finally got going for me, once they got into the love triangle, (which is the tale’s raison d’être,) I was with them. I just took it as it is, and enjoyed what was being offered. (By the way, I had a feeling this production would be somewhat different from the norm, but I wanted to see it anyways because Will Hochman, who plays the unexpected grandson on television’s Blue Bloods, is in it. And it was actually oddly comforting to see someone I’m so familiar with on stage, especially since I had never even heard of any of the other actors.)

Even having never seen Cyrano de Bergerac before, it seemed like there was a plethora of superfluous content in this version. The program tell us that this presentation is “Freely Adapted” by Martin Crimp from Edmond Rostand’s original hundred-and-twenty-seven-year-old script, (which is based on the real Cyrano de Bergerac who lived in the 1600s,) and it seems like “freely” is the operative word here. It’s a bit weird that the script keeps the setting in the1600s, but has everyone dress in contemporary attire, and talks about “gender fluidity,” which is a recent concept in public.

But I am impressed that this rendition still has all-rhyming dialogue, (like the original,) which is actually kind of hip nowadays since people have become enamored with the art of *“spoken word.” (My late mother, an oft-published poet, would be so proud of just how accepted poetry is now.) *[Note: I never understand that moniker because non-rhyming words are spoken as well. So all speaking is literally “spoken word!” Just sayin’.]

As you may already know, I love an entertainment that makes me thirst to learn more. So not only did I spend the entire overnight researching Cyrano de Bergerac when I returned home from the opening, but I put my TV on the next morning to see if I could find the 1950 film starring Jose Ferrer, (who won an Oscar for it.) And lo and behold—I had already recorded it three weeks prior! I knew I was going to this opening, so I thought ahead to record the movie to be able to see it after the show. And I must say that I enjoyed the Pasadena Playhouse presentation much more! Especially the main dude. I could have just listened to the lead actor, Chukwudi Iwuji, (of Guardians of the Galaxy fame,) all day, saying anything. Between his low-key British accent and his lovely speech and beautiful voice, I also could have fallen in love with him sight unseen, as Roxane does with Cyrano, although she doesn’t realize it. So the show really picks-up when he comes on.

But it was a tad odd to have an attractive man play the part without adding a fake nose! Cyrano’s humongous proboscis is the major impetus behind the story! The characters keep talking about it, and it’s implied that it’s the reason he’s never able to get the girl. (You have got to see the one on Jose Ferrer in the 1950 movie! OMG!)

On the other hand, it would be weird to cast an unattractive actor based on his obvious bad looks. Perhaps that’s why this play is rarely done—you can’t insult someone like that.

One of the happy surprises of this version of Cyrano is that there are a lot of laughs, especially provided by Michael Nathanson as the creepy De Guiche.

I assume the purpose behind all the new additions to the narrative is to get today’s younger, perhaps less traditional audiences more into the show. But, with our attention spans getting shorter and shorter, I feel that having a play run for almost three hours is not the way to go in this day and age. The portion before intermission, (which the program tells us consists of three acts, not scenes,) is crazy long. They could have cut at least twenty minutes from the front end and another ten from the back. (As Len Goodman, the late classy British Dancing With The Stars Head Judge, always put it, there is way too much “mucking about” in the beginning. It’s all sooo not necessary.)

The people around me seemed to differ on what to do during a lot of the show, though; some dozed a bit, while others guffawed. But at the after-party, (which was lovely, by the way,) just about everyone I either spoke with or eavesdropped on were complaining about the length. The show took way too long to get going, and the core love story of Cyrano telling his love rival the words to say to woo the woman they both love, (which I believe is what we all look forward to in this play,) took forever to get to.

As far as the visuals go, the no-real-set-other-than-the-bare-stage really bothered my friend. When the second half opened with a bunch of cots up there, she jokingly exclaimed, “”They finally found a set!” It didn’t really bother me, though, perhaps because the floor of it was an inviting shade of green the entire time. (But we all could have lived without the occasional giant bright lights flashing right in our eyes, even all the way in the back!)

Now here’s the best news for the audiences of this very limited run: the Pasadena Playhouse now has perfect air-conditioning! It used to be so hot in there that I literally had to start taking my clothes off! (But no worries—even the people sitting next to me, including Mr. X, had no idea when I was down to my underwear. And why would they? Everyone’s attention should be riveted to the stage when you’re seeing a show.)

On opening night of Cyrano de Bergerac, (when the temperature in Pasadena was 107 degrees!,) the theatre even very thoughtfully provided little icy bottles of water in big barrels in several spots on the patio. You have no idea how my heatstroke-prone self appreciated that kindness.

I have to close by sharing a little sidebar to my entire experience with this show, for those of you who love a full-circle moment as much as I do, because this production of Cyrano gave me a wonderful one. Because of seeing it, as I said earlier, I then watched the old movie the next day. I noticed that the director was none other than Michael Gordon, who was sort-of my very first director in Los Angeles! As a teen-ager, I had been in LA (from Brooklyn) for just three days, when I found myself backstage on closing night of a production in town, which Michael Gordon had also directed. A few of the nice actresses I had just met told me to put on a costume and come on stage in a funeral scene, which, of course I did! (Have you met me?) When the show was over, I saw Mr. Gordon walking up to me really fast, and assumed the police would be there in a minute to arrest me for interloping. (Is there even such a thing?) Instead, he took my hand and thanked me for my “wonderful work!” Whew. I would have never thought of that happy memory right now were it not for seeing Cyrano de Bergerac at the Pasadena Playhouse. So this show truly gave me a full circle moment. And personal experiences are a big part of what makes theatre so wonderful.

Cyrano de Bergerac running through September 29, 2024
Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena
626-356-7529 www.pasadenaplayhouse.org