Theater: Cyrano De Bergerac

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In Edmond Rostand's bittersweet comedy, Cyrano De Bergerac, the characters experience emotions on a heroic scale. Cyrano, the play's hero is is cursed with an enormous, bulbous, blossoming beak of a nose. He is a magnificent wit whose pride veils a deep insecurity about his appearance. It is because of his compelling love Roxanne that leads to the motivational force behind all the action in the play. In order to compensate the fact that no woman would ever love him, he made himself renown in Paris for his personal bravery and charm of his verse. Roxane, is very much sought after and after a spectacular duel with a man who constantly annoys her, Cyrano receives an urgent message from her. He is encouraged to believe that she may actually love him. He however finds to his disappointment that she imagines herself in love with handsome Christian de Neuvillette.

Putting apart his own love, Cyrano offers his powers of expression to Christian to assist in winning Roxane. Christian's company is ordered away to the siege of Arras. Although their company is outnumbered, starving, and facing almost certain death, Roxane daily receives a letter signed with Christian's name. She with utter determination dares to drive through the enemies lines to meet Christian. When Christian realizes the power of another's letters on Roxane he suddenly realized that it was Cyrano and not himself whom she really loved. He insists Cyrano to divulge the secret but even before he could Christian is mortally wounded. Cyrano whispers in his ear: "I have told her; it is you she loves" and he happily dies.

Following Christian's death Roxane lives in a convent. Cyrano called her each Saturday afternoon on the stroke of three for fifteen years. Once while proceeding to call, an enemy pushed a log from a window that fell onto his head and broke his skull. When Cyrano reads the last letter unfalteringly it was then that Roxane realized that he was the writer whom she had been in love with.

The director and actors have captured the beautiful spirit of Rostand's work. She shows much emotion in her love for Christian. She is intellectual and sophisticated but was just reciting the lines. Marc Singer does an excellent job of playing Christian whom Roxanne falls in love with. This staged version is more faithful to the original play than the Ferrer version was. Roxanne is usually portrayed as a lightweight ingenue. Her wit, grace and style matches Cyrano's own. This aspect of the play makes it more credible.