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Cyrano Good Fun with Little Heart
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Kerri Kanelos
May 21st 2006 |
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Cyrano de Bergerac is perhaps one of the most challenging and cumbersome plays of all time. Quite the collection of comedy, prose, sword fighting and tenderness, Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano is no easy undertaking for any cast. Still, Amanda Dehnert, acting Artistic Director, has chosen this piece for her final performance at Trinity Repertory Company before she leaves for a teaching position in Chicago.
While some of the scenes are rather pleasurable and most cast members attempt to creatively bring the story to life, Trinity Rep’s Cyrano fails to live up to caliber of acting and storytelling that most expect from this theatrical powerhouse.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Cyrano de Bergerac is an intelligent and quirky French soldier and poet with a bulbous nose who is in love with his cousin Roxane, who is in turn in love with the handsome solider Christian de Neuvillette. To make this love triangle even more interesting, Cyrano believes that he is too hideous to win over Roxane’s affections and instead decides to use his gifted words to assist Christian in wooing Roxane.
Mauro Hantman, in the demanding lead role as Cyrano, has a strong command of his lines and the ability to make the audience laugh during the more lighthearted scenes. He is quite a swashbuckler, fighting off ridicule with a flick of his tongue or sword. His comedic performance is crisp and stellar; however, he falls rather flat during the more dramatic moments of the play. Roxane is interested in Christian only because he uses Cyrano’s beautifully crafted words, but Hantman rarely shows more than a flat emotional response.
Trinity regular Angela Brazil embodies the beautiful and smitten Roxane. Unlike other cast members, Brazil illustrates her ability to deeply feel the variety of emotions that Roxane encounters throughout the performance.
Noah Brody, a Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium student, rounds out the main characters in the role of Christian. Besides a rather humorous and witty exchange with Cyrano over his nose, Brody does little to make this character shine.
Fred Sullivan Jr. is his usual over-the-top self as the role of Comte de Guiche—a particularly creepy individual who also has eyes for Roxane. He is exceptionally funny during a scene in the garden where he tries to seduce Roxane, who is completely uninterested in his advances. Finally, William Damkoehler is equally entertaining as Ragueneau—the local chef who often abandons his culinary talents for his interest in writing horrendous poems.
Unfortunately, besides the lack of serious emotion during the heavier parts of the performance, there were other problems with the cast and set design. The ensemble subjects the audience to a series of off key songs before each act that leaves much to be desired. Without giving away too much information, the end of Cyrano is a supposed to include emotionally loving and moving moments between characters but instead feels rather cold and mediocre.
Set designer Eugene Lee recreates France in the 1640s by completely transforming the theater for the first time this season. Battlefields, a Parisian bakery, and other settings are center stage, surrounded by various platforms. However, the set appeared rather unstable when cast members closed doors on stage that literally caused the walls to shake.
On a better note, Dehnert makes excellent use of this seasoned cast. Most ensemble players have at least five parts each throughout the performance. The timing and costume changes are seamless and give the appearance of a much larger cast. William Lane also designed marvelous period costumes that add much to the performance.
Cyrano De Bergerac runs now through June 11th. Contact the box office (401-351-4242) for tickets or visit www.trinityrep.com. |
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