![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screen-Shot-2024-09-10-at-9.04.39-PM.png\")
<\/a>(L-R) Will Hochman, Rosa Salazar, and Chukwudi Iwuji. Photo by Jeff Lorch, as is the one at the top of the page.<\/p><\/div>\n
However, I didn\u2019t love<\/em> this very modern re-telling of the 1897 story as much as appreciate<\/em> it. I\u2019m not a fan of revamps, but when it finally got going for me, once they got into the love triangle, (which is the tale\u2019s raison d’\u00eatre,) 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<\/em> be somewhat different from the norm, but I wanted to see it anyways because Will Hochman, who plays the unexpected grandson on television\u2019s Blue Bloods<\/em>, is in it. And it was actually oddly comforting to see someone I\u2019m so familiar with on stage, especially since I had never even heard of any of the other actors.)<\/p>\n Even having never seen Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em> before, it seemed like there was a plethora of superfluous content in this version. The program tell us that this presentation is \u201cFreely Adapted\u201d by Martin Crimp from Edmond Rostand\u2019s original hundred-and-twenty-seven-year-old script, (which is based on the real<\/em> Cyrano de Bergerac who lived in the 1600s,) and it seems like \u201cfreely\u201d is the operative word here. It\u2019s a bit weird that the script keeps the setting in the1600s, but has everyone dress in contemporary attire, and talks about \u201cgender fluidity,\u201d which is a recent concept in public<\/em>.<\/p>\n Will Hochman and Chukwudi Iwuji. Photo by Jeff Lorch.<\/p><\/div>\n 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 *\u201cspoken word.\u201d (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<\/em>-rhyming words are spoken as well. So all<\/em> speaking is literally<\/em> \u201cspoken word!\u201d Just sayin\u2019.]<\/p>\n 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<\/em> 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\u2014I 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<\/em> fame,) all day, saying anything<\/em>. 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\u2019t realize it. So the show really<\/em> picks-up when he comes on.<\/p>\n Jose Ferrer in the 1950 film, Cyrano de Bergerac. What was the design person thinking???<\/p><\/div>\n But it was a tad odd to have an attractive man play the part without adding a fake nose! Cyrano\u2019s humongous proboscis is the major impetus behind the story! The characters keep talking about it, and it\u2019s implied that it\u2019s the reason he\u2019s never able to get the girl. (You have got<\/em> to see the one on Jose Ferrer in the 1950 movie! OMG!)<\/p>\n On the other hand, it would be weird to cast an un<\/em>attractive actor based on his obvious bad<\/em> looks. Perhaps that\u2019s why this play is rarely done\u2014you can\u2019t insult someone like that.<\/p>\n One of the happy surprises of this<\/em> version of Cyrano<\/em> is that there are a lot of laughs, especially provided by Michael Nathanson as the creepy De Guiche.<\/p>\n I assume the purpose behind all the new additions to the narrative is to get today\u2019s 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<\/em> the way to go in this day and age. The portion before intermission, (which the program tells us consists of three acts<\/em>, not scenes<\/em>,) is crazy<\/em> 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<\/em> Head Judge, always put it, there is way too much \u201cmucking about\u201d in the beginning. It\u2019s all sooo not necessary.)<\/p>\n 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n Even though the curtains were closed in this pre-show pic, this was basically the set. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n 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, \u201c\u201dThey finally found a set!” It didn\u2019t really bother me<\/em>, 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<\/em>!)<\/p>\n Now here\u2019s the best<\/em> 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<\/em> had to start taking my clothes off! (But no worries\u2014even 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.)<\/p>\n On opening night of Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em>, (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.<\/p>\n The outside portion of the Opening NIght party. Note the tiny icy water bottles on the bar on the very left. Yum! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n 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<\/em> do, because this production of Cyrano<\/em> gave me a wonderful one. Because of seeing it, as I said earlier, I then watched the old movie<\/em> 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<\/em> 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 \u201cwonderful work!\u201d Whew. I would have never thought of that happy memory right now were it not for seeing Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n Cyrano de Bergerac<\/em> running through September 29, 2024<\/strong> CYRANO DE BERGERAC It feels like I\u2019ve known about Cyrano de Bergerac, the character, for my entire life. Perhaps that\u2019s 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\u2019ve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena<\/strong>
\n 626-356-7529 www.pasadenaplayhouse.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"