Review by Neal Newman
October 6, 2024
The Quintessence Theatre Group has reached its 15th season, which is amazing for a classical theater in this society. Improvements are on the way to the old Sedgwick Theatre, which opened in 1928 and is now owned by the Quintessence Theatre Group. Bravo to all.
Classical theatre lovers have their favorites, and it is fitting that this season should open with CYRANO DE BERGERAC, one of the most beloved plays and one that is extremely difficult to produce. As my Carnegie Mellon costume teacher warned us: “Directors must resist the desire to produce CYRANO. The costumes are opulent, expensive, and can never be used for another play. CYRANO stands alone.”
As expected, the Quintessence group cannot rival the spectacle of various Broadway and British outings, but this one holds its own due to fine performances, design, and direction.
First, it must be noted that this is not the play by Edmund Rostand, as indicated in the program. It is a new play by Martin Crimp. It is billed as “Freely adapted by Martin Crimp,” and boy, are they not kidding. The basic plot and themes are there, but much has been “freely adapted.” This is a rewrite for today’s audiences. It is too often noted that theater audiences are getting older and older. But young people flock to HAMILTON. Something must be done to bring today’s audiences out of the TV room and into the classical theatre. This production may do just that.
Sydney Dufka’s costume designs suggest some of the elaborateness of 1640 France but remain modern. They retain the wonderful knee-high boots and smaller versions of the hats and plumes so beloved of 17th-century soldiers. We expect Cyrano will end the play by declaring his pride for “ma Panache” or “my white plume.” But no, he will not. Roxane enters to disco music in an appropriate outfit, while the act four soldiers wear modern camouflage shirts. It works well because the upper-class characters are performed by actors who can suggest elegance.
The setting, designed by Alex Burns, the director and sound designer, retains the red show curtain beloved by all old Cyrano lovers, while the simple set pieces allow rapid scene changes. The backdrop is a metal reflecting sheet that, when appropriately lit, elegantly mirrors the downstage scene. John Burkland’s lighting gives us moonlight when called for and disco flashes when needed.
The themes of any CYRANO are two: “Beauty is only skin deep” and “Language is everything.” Cyrano is the world-famous possessor of the mightiest rapier, the keenest wit, elegant poesy, and a big nose. But he suffers from unrequited love for his beautiful cousin Roxane, who is, in turn, infatuated with the handsome soldier Christian, whom she has not met but loves at first sight; Cyrano’s noble attempt to assist this romance as a go-between only increases his misery. He believes she will never notice him because he is ugly.
Director Burns has assembled a cast of 10, which makes this the smallest CYRANO I have ever seen. Those hundred extras are not missed. The leading performers are outstanding. Any CYRANO will rise and fall with the leading character, and J Hernandez has everything. He is noble, witty, firm when needed, gentle when required, and most importantly, he suffers nobly. The audience’s heart goes out to him from his first entrance. Hernandes dominates the stage as any great classical actor must. He is spectacular.
Roxane (Erica Lynn Bridge) and Christian (Daniel Chase Miller) are generally considered pale characters next to Cyrano. Not so here. This Roxane is a disco-party/gossip girl who creates an unexpected turn of humor with her spoiled Nepo-Baby upper East Side gestures and speeches. Christian lacks the elegance of the leading players and comes off as the high school football hero, complete with toxic masculine gestures and frequent exclamations of “I am a man!” Both are memorable. Also turning in sterling support are Kelechi Udenkwo, the loyal Le Bret, and Tim Dugan, the conniving De Guiche. Janis Dardaris scores as the baker/poet Rageneau. Gone is the flour-covered would-be poet. This Rageneau gives versification lessons to her staff and adds a highlight with a fourth-act poem of lost love.
Director Burns guides this skillfully and adds a touch of spectacle to the usually unseen battle of the one hundred men and the final war scene.
Now for the “adaptation”: it is filled with terms beloved by today’s youth: “Elephant in the room,” “My shopping cart,” and “Whateverrrrr.” The cast handles some rhyming verse admirably, and the opening duel scene is more of a rap battle. Here are a couple of whoppers:
“They say when he came through his mother’s vagina,
The nose poked out first as a painful reminder.”
“This must be the man with the nose/ And the acres of highbrow wet-dream prose.”
Montfleury quotes HAMLET to a sock puppet, and the final moments include a “two men walk into a bar” joke. I am not the audience for this edition. After over sixty years of avid theatergoing and at least a dozen live CYRANOS, I cannot warm to this. But I must admit I enjoyed it as much as the audience did because of the depth of the characterizations and skillful direction and design. And J Hernandez was spectacular! It will be a hit.
RUNNING TIME: Two hours and forty-five minutes with intermission.
CYRANO DE BERGERAC plays through October 20, at the Sedgwick Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave. Mount Airy, PA Tickets can be obtained at https://www.quintessencetheatre.org/cyrano.