Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac is one of the most well-known plays in the history of theater, being performed in nearly every country around the world. It’s lead character has been played by such actors as Kevin Kline, Christopher Plummer, Steve Martin and Gerard Depardieu, and the work has been directed by some of the biggest names in the world as well. With such a acclaimed and popular play on its hands, a company is under plenty of pressure to put on a great show, and therefore must be sure to keep to the spirit and heart of the piece, and must be sure to cast a lead with charisma and heart. Sadly, at this year’s Summer Acts Theater Festival, The Polish Thespian Project failed on both these counts, producing a presentation of Rostand’s work that lacked the nuance and liveliness that one expects from this fine work.
The first mistake the company made is also the most grievous: the cutting of the material. We all know it’s impossible to present the two-and-a-half hour Cyrano de Bergerac in an hour and a half, but they cut it down to under an hour. This makes the play move along at a jack rabbit’s pace, eliminating much of the beauty and subtlety of the language, making it feel more like a Cliff Notes version of the story. It also gives us less time to truly get to know the characters, nixing important character development, and taking away the raw emotional power from many of the characters’ tragic ends. The production succeeds in hitting most of the important moments of the play, but sadly takes away the heart of the piece, cutting short many of the most famous speeches and monologues, including the famous balcony scene, in favor of moving the story along at a harrowing clip.
This play in particular lives or dies on the strength of its lead, and sadly here the performer lacks the experience to tackle this complex character. He comes with plenty of brashness and anger, but he lacks sensitivity. Performing a successful Cyrano requires the subtlety of a scalpel, but most of the actor performers with the power of a butcher knife, lacking finesse, or, dare I say, “panache”.Many times he ends up being overshadowed by his supporting cast, especially the actor playing De Guiche, whose smarmy, conceited nobleman makes for one of the highlights of the production. A true villain, the actor does not shy away from making himself unlikeable, and thereby creates one of the few successful characters in the piece. The actor playing Christian is handsome enough, and seems to bring a certain charisma, but he is another victim of the company’s cutting. Many of his most important scenes fail to truly strike a chord with the audience due to the fact that his speeches are cut tragically short, leaving his character very little time to grow.
The woman playing Roxanne is beautiful, and seems to be able to stand toe-to-toe with Cyrano’s wit, but when it comes to seduction and sensuality, she struggles. To truly believe in the love triangle between Cyrano and Roxanne, we must fall in love with the heroine ourselves, but sadly the actress lacks enough charisma, making her scenes involving the seduction of De Guiche almost painful to watch. Her supporting females perform even less admirably, their portrayal wooden and, at times, barely audible, taking us out of the action numerous times throughout the production.
With such an important play on their hands, the Polish Thespian Project should have known to tread lightly, but thanks to a script that has been cut to ribbons, a complete lack of a budget, and performances that just didn’t gel, the whole things comes of as a misguided “Cyrano-lite”. We hope that in the future, this performance group will put more thought and money in their productions, and that they allow the text to speak for itself and stay away from wild alterations.
Comments