Cyrano de Bergerac
Written by Edmond Rostand
Translated and Adapted by Anthony Burgess
Directed by Penny Metropulos
Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier (map)
thru Nov 10 | tickets: $58-$78 | more info
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Harry Groener’s glorious turn as Cyrano makes this a winner
Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents
Cyrano de Bergerac
Review by Catey Sullivan
Is there anything more exquisitely painful than unrequited love? Perhaps, but for the life of me, I don’t know what. And for classic tales of that mercilessly sorrowful state of affairs, it’s tough to top Cyrano de Bergerac, author Edmond Rostand‘s swashbuckling story of true love, requited too late. With Anthony Burgess‘ translation of the ultimate rom-com tear-jerker, Chicago Shakespeare mounts a sumptuous love story on a scale as monumental as the unfortunate snout of it titular hero.
But – and this is a massive qualifier – Harry Groener‘s emotionally epic performance as Cyrano is, quite simply, extraordinary. It all but atones for the weaknesses inherent in Burgess’ sometimes meandering script. As the linguistically gifted Gascony nobleman whose life is defined by a razor wit and a soul-deep, utterly selfless love for a gorgeous cousin, the life and times of Cyrano de Bergerac is cause for both heart-break and unbridled joy. In a bravura turn that feels so real it will leave you drained, Groener personifies the spectrum of that most indelible of human emotions: Longing. At its best, the dialog is in turns so sharp it could slice fluttering silk, and so raw it feels like a stab wound straight to the gut. It takes a master craftsman to do this incredible language justice. Groener is just that.
Still, Metropulos’ ensemble takes a while to coalesce. Before the man with the nose makes his entrance, there is a lumbering, unfocussed opening scene involving a play-within-the-play, featuring a ham sandwich of an actor whose grandiose bloviating and cringing mediocrity have incurred the wrath of Cyrano. There’s a great deal of milling about and random snippets of music as the (on-stage) audience prepares to take in a bit of sheer rubbish. Midway through the star’s puffed up soliloquy, Cyrano appears, and takes aim with the sort of withering, perfectly pitched epigrammatic putdowns that speak to a stratospheric IQ and a cultural acumen to match. It’s not until the onset of his verbal evisceration that the play really takes off.
 
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The plot is a familiar one: Cyrano is in love with Roxane. Roxanne, in turn, is in love with a golden-curled pretty boy, Christian. Christian is in love with Roxane, but his dunderheaded, stumbling inability to express himself in anything but the most mundane and oafish terms has stymied his courtship. So Christian turns to the silver-tongued Cyrano to speak for him. Thus does the youthful Roxane rapturously agree to marry a man with the face of an angel and, she believes, the eloquence of the music of the spheres. Wars are fought, decades pass, lovers die and Cyrano keeps his abiding passion a secret unto his very deathbed and a final scene that will leave you shattered.
Throughout, the language dazzles as Groener depicts a contradictory hero who is at once vain and self-loathing, selfless and thoroughly self-involved. Also winning is Rick Sordelet‘s lightning-graceful fight choreography, which includes a first act duel that will take your breath away. Jesse Klug‘s lighting design is painterly, creating stage pictures that seem to glow from within.
There is also superior work from Ross Lehman as a cuckolded baker/poet who (hilariously) delivers a recipe for almond tarts in the form of a sonnet. As the duplicitous, vainglorious Compte de Guiche, Aloysius Gigl is a dastardly hoot while Wendy Robie deliciously enriches a small role with a wealth of personality as Roxane’s pastry-loving companion. Where the performances falter is in generating the all-important chemistry that should exist between Roxane (Julie Jesneck) and Christian (Nick Dillenburg) and, ultimately, between Roxane and Cyrano.
Cyrano has panache in abundance, but just what he sees in the callow, clueless Roxane remains a tepid mystery. Jesneck plays Roxane as a shallow starlet, a generically pretty young thing of little substance. It’s never believable that Cyrano, a man of extraordinary intelligence and fathoms-deep sensibilities, would fall for such a Miss Muffett. The reason to see Cyrano is not for the supposed love story it tells, but to revel in Groener’s glorious delivery of Burgess’ dexterous poetry.
Rating: ★★★
Cyrano de Bergerac continues through November 10th at Chicago Shakespeare Theater Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand (map), with performances Tuesdays at 7:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays/Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 3pm and 8pm, Sundays 2pm. Tickets are $58-$78, and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at ChicagoShakes.com. (Running time: 2 hours 55 minutes, includes an intermission)
Photos by Liz Lauren
artists
cast
Richard Baird (Montfleury), Dave Belden (Musician, Poet), Ryan Borque (Viscount Valvert, Cadet), Ray Chapman (Ligniere), Kevin Cox (Pickpocket, Poet, Cadet), Elliott Delman (Musician, Poet), William Dick (Theater Patron, Capuchin), Nick Dillenburg (Christian), Michael Doonan (Jodelet, Cadet), Sean Fortunato (Henri Le Bret), Aloysius Gigl (Count de Guiche), Sara Griffin (Precieuse, Lise, Sister Marthe), Harry Groener (Cyrano de Bergerac), Erika Haaland (Rose, Sister Claire), Ryan Hallahan (Musketeer, Cadet), Julie Jesneck (Roxanne), Ross Lehman (Ragueneau), Regina Leslie (Musician, Poet), Brendan Marshall-Rashid (Marquis, Cadet), Terrence Mosley (Culgy), Tyler Rich (Cadet), Wendy Robie (The Duenna, Mother Marguerite)
behind the scenes
Penny Metropulos (director), Kevin Depinet (set design), Susan E. Mickey (costume design), Jesse Klug (lighting design), James Savage (sound design), Alaric Jans (composer), Melissa Veal (wig and make-up design), Rick Sordelet (fight director), Liz Lauren (photos)
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