Cyrano De Bergerac

        The story is familiar, and has been told in many forms for hundreds of years. The universal tale of unrequited love. There is so much more to Cyrano than what we think we may know. The recent Broadway Revival by the Roundabout Theater Company has a fresh translation of the original Edmond Rostand text by Ranjit Bolt. The new translation is bold, energetic, and breathes new life into a familiar tale.

        Cyrano has been seen on Broadway in many incarnations as both play and musical. The most recent was a revival that starred Kevin Kline in the title role and Jennifer Garner as Roxanne. Here we have Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge (La Cage Aux Folles)  Clemence Poesy (Fluer in the Harry Potter films) as the unhappy pair.

        Jamie Lloyd has given superb direction. There is never a dull moment, the action flows seamlessly and fluidly without giving the audience time to be bored. This is due in large part to the unit set designed by Soutra Gilmore (Into the Woods) which easily changes from one scene to the next in seconds.

       The supporting cast including Tony nominee Patrick Page (Spider man) as the villainish Comte de Guiche and Kyle Soller as the dashing though unintelligent Christian all shines quite brightly and delivers the play as it was originally intended to be, an energetic romantic comedy.

        The star of the show of course, is Douglas Hodge. He makes his entrance in the house, in ever corner of the house. He begins in the rear orchestra, and climbs his way up to the mezzanine, taunting those onstage as he does so. He finishes back in the orchestra before climbing up onto the stage (without stairs) and never seems to lose his breath. Nor does he through the entire play. Mr. Hodge goes instantaneously from being uproariously hysterical to quite and heart breaking at the drop of a hat. His performance is the stuff that all great actors aspire to. I said it when I saw the show, and now that the season is further along I'll say it again; he's going to win another Tony Award.

    Cyrano de Bergerac ends tragically of course, with Roxanne finding out the truth all too late to do anything about it. This particular Cyrano highlights the folly of youth, the fleetingness of outer appearances, and the importance of the human soul in matters of the heart. It's a beautiful play and a wonderful production.  It closed out it's limited engagement at The American Airlines Theater on November 25, 2012 after 52 performances.