Cyrano - Industry Night House Theatre of Chicago

$10  Industry Night - More info 773.769.3832

 

Hottest ticket - "..fun, freewheeling and often moving..." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 9/9/11

 

Recommended - ‘Cyrano’  a  winnnig  ‘hybrid’    "...Matt Hawkins, the show’s gifted and original adapter-director-fight choreographer, has devised a most ingenious and engaging hybrid that is at once old and new, classic and knowingly hip, heartfelt and playful..." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Suntimes 9/6/11.


Three Stars - "This 'Cyrano' cuts straight to the point"  - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 9/4/11


Recommended - "romantic swashbuckler hits the sweet spot--dumping the narrative puffery of the 1897 original without sacrificing the pathos and panache that make it so much fun" - Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader 9/7/11

 

Jeff Recommended


09/26/11 - 09/26/11

8p


Hottest ticket - " At the top of "Cyrano," Matt Hawkins' freewheeling House Theatre of Chicago deconstruction of Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac," the man himself enters, smiles, sits down at a piano and pulls a microphone toward his lips.  "Good evening," you half expect him to say. "My nose and I will be here all week. Actually, he sings of panache.  Making full use of the vital freedoms of the public domain, Hawkins has created a modestly scaled but consitently intriguing show with two sharp focuses.  One is the intensely acted love triangle at teh core of the play.  The other is the famous, flashy swordplay which suffes the script".  - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 9/9/11

 

Recommended - ‘Cyrano’ a winnnig ‘hybrid’ at House Theatre of Chicago - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Suntimes 9/6/11

"To be sure, The House Theatre of Chicago’s wonderfully offbeat “Cyrano” strays considerably from any straight-laced, traditional Comedie Francaise-style version of Edmond Rostand’s ever-popular 1897 play-in-verse. or is it an entirely modern retelling of “Cyrano de Bergerac” in the style of “Roxanne,” the 1987 film in which Steve Martin’s Cyrano-like character took the form of a fireman in the Pacific Northwest.

Rather, Matt Hawkins, the show’s gifted and original adapter-director-fight choreographer, has devised a most ingenious and engaging hybrid that is at once old and new, classic and knowingly hip, heartfelt and playful. Both an homage and a retuning, this new version remains true in many respects to the tragicomic story of the nobleman-soldier-poet whose inordinate panache could never quite compensate for the lack of self-esteem (and unrequited love) that results from his having an unusually large nose. But is also is fresh and fun".

True, purists will say that it takes a good deal of the poetic air out of Rostand’s souffle at times. (For example, Cyrano would never stoop to using such pedestrian slang as “dick.”) But it also blithely compensates for such gaffes by injecting the story with speed, immediacy, humor, memorable bursts of emotion, some truly spectacular swordplay and a beguiling piano score by composer-music director Kevin O’Donnell that at times allows the actors to be far more eloquent than if they were using words. Highflying language may be a casualty here, but overall it works.

Though dressed in 17th century finery (Jacqueline Firkins’ costumes are an inspired mix of period and now), and spectacularly skilled at dueling, this Cyrano (played by a fleet, droll, melancholic Shawn Pfautsch), is more melancholic, piano bar singer-songwriter than old-fashioned poet. In fact, the show begins with a winning ballad about the very meaning of “panache” that sets the tone for all that is to come.

Of course the crux of the story is that Cyrano is hopelessly in love with the beautiful Roxane (the naturally intense, darkly radiant Stacy Stoltz), who in turn is head-over-heels mad for the younger and far more handsome soldier, Christian (Glenn Stanton is absolutely right in the role). But like Cyrano, her intellectual soulmate and best friend, Roxane loves words and needs to be wooed with eloquence — something Christian cannot do. So, wanting to make Roxane happy, Cyrano becomes Christian’s ghostwriter, and selflessly helps him to please her and win her heart with the very words he wishes he could say to her himself.

Along the way, Mike Smith is winning goofy as Ligniere, the wannabe poet who idolizes Cyrano, and Shane Brady brings genuine depth and poignancy to Le Bret, Cyrano’s loyal and serious friend.

Played out on designer Collette Pollard’s two-story set, with its wraparound balcony and staircase, two moments in particular continue to reverberate. One is when Stoltz hears the news that the man she adores has been killed in battle, and she races downstairs saying nothing but a series of anguished “Nos” that tear at the heart. The other is when, in grief and broken-heartedness, Cyrano and Roxanne sit together at the keyboard and jointly pound out their separate but mutual anguish.



Cyrano - Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader 9/7/11 "As adapted and directed for the House Theatre by Matt Hawkins, Edmond Rostand's romantic swashbuckler hits the sweet spot--dumping the narrative puffery of the 1897 original without sacrificing the pathos and panache that make it so much fun. Shawn Pfautsch plays the poet-soldier as a wistful balladeer who can tickle the ivories and trounce the opposition with equal aplomb. In Pfautsch's performance, Cyrano is as psychically scarred by his nose as Shakespeare's Richard III is by his hump, and yet his underlying nobility wins out. Collette Pollard's inspired set, Hawkins's terrific fight sequences, and strong supporting work from Stacy Stoltz as Roxane and Mike Smith as Cyrano's budding acolyte, Ligniere, add to the pleasures of this revamped theatrical chestnut".


Cyrano -
Neal Ryan Shaw, NewCity Chicago 9/6/11. - "Most anyone is likely to be familiar with the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, even if they’ve never seen Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play. The Steve Martin adaptation “Roxanne” was a popular film, and the play’s balcony scene is rivaled only by the one from “Romeo and Juliet.” Ubiquity aside, however, Matt Hawkins’ new version strips the story down to its iconic bare essentials, making for a swashbuckling, irreverent evening of heroism and romance.

The poet and soldier Cyrano has oodles of panache but falters in love due to his large nose. When the object of his affection, Roxane, tells him that she loves the attractive Christian, Cyrano reluctantly agrees to befriend and protect him. And when Christian confesses his love for Roxane but doesn’t know how to woo, Cyrano and he conspire to give her the perfect man: the sum of Cyrano’s wit and Christian’s looks.

Naturally the complications increase from there, but Hawkins’ writing, which forsakes many of the original play’s subplots, always remains clear yet suspenseful. Only the songs, which push the show’s modern sensibilities a bit too far, feel extraneous. Shawn Pfautsch’s performance as Cyrano drives the show with nary a misstep, and Stacy Stoltz shines in her limited role as the damsel Roxane".


Must See Show - Cyrano - Lisa Findley, www.CenterStage.com - "The word, as with any version of Edmond Rostand’s "Cyrano de Bergerac," is "panache." Matt Hawkins' adaption is a House Theatre production, a company infinitely familiar with the flamboyant confidence and ambitious drive associated with the word, so it will come as no surprise that "Cyrano" has plenty of panache.

The story follows Cyrano (Shawn Pfautsch), poet, soldier, and large-nosed romantic, as he battles enemies with wit and sword; then woos his love, Roxane (Stacy Stoltz), on behalf of good-looking Christian (Glenn Stanton), who later dies in battle; and finally dies in Roxane's arms after one last impossible fight. Pfautsch plays the title character with more pathos than humor, which seems out of place in the first act but fitting in the second. He is well-matched by Stoltz as Roxane, whose raw expression of grief when she learns of Christian's death actually moved me to tears.

Cyrano's story is full of emotion and clever verse, of course, but the battle scenes are what can make a production stand out. And stand out this does. The fight scenes are terrific, including Christian's final stand. But the star scene is the showdown between Cyrano and 100 masked swordsmen (played by 14 actors). The black-clad fighters pour onstage from all sides, a ninja army swirling around Cyrano in a thrilling dance of swords and acrobatics that ranges from the piano up to the balcony and back down again. Pfautsch and the skilled fighters move with a beautiful agility, and when it's over we can almost understand Cyrano's self-destructive need to follow up all challenges with a swordfight. If it's this thrilling, why not fight all the time?

Cyrano wants to be "the best at everything," and while the tragedy is that he is the best at everything except expressing his feelings to his true love, the play itself succeeds in being one of the best productions in Chicago right now".


Cyrano -
www.ChicagoCritic.com - "PANACHE! Here’s a word that playwright Edmond Rostand introduced into the English language in his 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac.  Literally, this French word means a feathered plume – one displayed with great verve on the cap of a nobleman. Later, it came to identify qualities of the man himself: flamboyant and reckless. What a perfect word to weave into the opening song for the House Theater’s 10th anniversary season’s original adaptation of Cyrano.

The stage is bare, dominated by a baby grand piano. Cyrano (Shawn Pfautsch) enters, and sits down to play and sing about the panache which will define both him and the entire evening’s experience – witty, passionate and filled with vitality.  

Cyrano has been performed in a variety of venues since its first inception: drama, musical, opera, ballet, book, film, and TV production. In each, a strong male lead is essential. In fact, Cyrano provides one of the great male leading roles and Pfautsch is masterful in his depiction. Cyrano must be strong yet tender, clever yet insightful, bold yet introspective. He must be more than he seems – a man with the visage of a caricature and the heart and soul of a poet. (Can a man with a grotesque nose ever be loved by a desirable damsel?) Pfautsch’s performance is skillfully controlled, compelling the audience to focus on him and his palpable pain.

Homely but verbally adept Cyrano is contrasted to his fellow officer, handsome but limited, tongue-tied Christian (Glenn Stanton). Both men adore the beautiful and brilliant Roxanne (Stacy Stolz).  Together, they comprise the perfect beau – beautiful both inside and out.

And so, the well-known story of the how the two men woo Roxanne unfolds until the final, sad resolution when she learns the truth about which has truly merited her love.

Adapter/director Hawkins has modernized the language, streamlined the plot, eliminating extraneous characters, and he, Kevin O’Donnell and Pfautsch have added several musical numbers at key moments. While they are interesting in and of themselves, at times they undercut and weaken the drama, interrupting the pace.

More integral are the great battle scenes which swiftly move from main stage up staircases to balconies and back down again. Warning: the first row of seats is not for the timorous as swords go flashing by. Kudos to the versatile Hawkins who also acted as choreographer and fight director.

Praise also to Shane Brady and Mike Smith as Le Bret and Ligniere, Cyrano’s boon companions. Smith was quite comically effective as a lesser, struggling poet who takes Cyrano as his role model.

The House adaptation is somewhat a face-lift of the original play –offering much enjoyment, presenting sympathetic characters displaying genuine motions as they struggle with their relationships. You might say that Hawkins’ nose job succeeds in spite of a loss of some of the brilliant, rapier like interchanges of the original poetry. Certainly, the excellent cast easily transcends the lack of sets and props to capture the magic of theater".


Highly Recommended - Cyrano - Katy Walsh, www.ChicagoTheaterBeat.com - "‘My enemies are coward, compromise and vanity.’  Why wouldn’t a guy reveal his romantic feelings to his gal pal? Could it be as plain as the nose on his face?  The House Theatre of Chicago presents an original adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Cyrano is the classic tale of a poet-swordsman and his big old schnoz.  Cyrano and Roxanne are friends.  He loves-loves-loves her.  She is oblivious.  Roxanne sees Christian.  It’s love at first sight!  But is he just a pretty face?  Yep!  So, Cyrano steps in to help him seduce Roxanne.  She falls for him.  But who ‘him’? This Cyrano doesn’t need to worry… love is certain!

‘My enemies are coward, compromise and vanity.’  Why wouldn’t a guy reveal his romantic feelings to his gal pal? Could it be as plain as the nose on his face?  The House Theatre of Chicago presents an original adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Cyrano is the classic tale of a poet-swordsman and his big old schnoz.  Cyrano and Roxanne are friends.  He loves-loves-loves her.  She is oblivious.  Roxanne sees Christian.  It’s love at first sight!  But is he just a pretty face?  Yep!  So, Cyrano steps in to help him seduce Roxanne.  She falls for him.  But who ‘him’? This Cyrano doesn’t need to worry… love is certain!

As a triple threat, adaptor, director and fight choreographer Matt Hawkins slays the audience with this action rom-com. Hawkins strips down the story.  He even uses a two level, stark stage with just a piano to keep it simple.  Without a lot of flowery oration, it’s just a guy singing the blues.  And this guy, Shawn Pfautsch (Cyrano), has panache!  Pfautsch is outstanding as the clever-talking poet, arrogant swashbuckler, and love-sick romantic.  He mesmerizes in fantastic feats of swordsmanship.  (The electrifying fight scenes are worth the price of admission alone).  Later, he is adorably bashful trying to hide his nose behind a plume.  The object of HIS affection, Stacy Stoltz (Roxanne) bounces around the stage like a giddy schoolgirl.  Stoltz illuminates the innocence of new love.  Her repartee with a devoted Pfautsch charms for its awwwwwww-quality.  The object of HER affection, Glenn Stanton (Christian) plays dumb stud perfectly.  Stanton’s dialogue is limited but when he talks it’s hilarious.  Hawkins keeps the script tight with well-chosen words to convey meaning and humor.  Mike Smith (Ligniere) arrives in a scene with a hysterically nonchalant, ‘How’s war?‘  Paring everyone else’s conversation down, Hawkins showcases Pfautsch’s wit… and it’s winning by a nose.

Onto the naked stage, Costume Designer Jacqueline Firkins fills the space with vibrant visuals.  Nobility is dressed in exquisite, satin finery.  Each of the ensemble is colorfully individual.  In contrast, Firkins later dresses the ensemble in ninja-fighter outfits.  During the spectacular brandishing fight scenes, the indistinct sea of black adds to the urgency and thrill of the spectacle.  And it is a wondrous spectacle!  This Cyrano “nose” he is a winner!  Who cares about Roxanne?  The audiences will adore him!"


House Theatre's tenth season opens stabbing and slashing its way into your funny bone and heart -
Elaine Coorens, www.OurUrbanTimes.com - "Cyrano opened House Theatre's tenth season on Sept. 4 with swords flying, humor jabbing and the centuries old tale of unrequited love tugging at your heart strings. It is delightful and should not be missed. You have through Oct. 16 to see it at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division in Chicago's Wicker Park.

The show opens with Cyrano, a French soldier, sitting at the piano. He sings, tickles the ivories and whistles, engaging the audience around the word "panache." What is panache? As Cyrano puts it "...it's French, it's this white feather in my cap, it's the way I walk,  it's the way I talk, it's the way I sing, it's how I do everything. It's how I swing the sword and fight. It's how I write with a mind that's coiled tight...It's what I stand for, what I fight for. It's how I stand for what I'm fighting for."

Quickly the rhetoric, humor and swashbuckling pick up. Cyrano, played by Shawn Pfautsch, has an encounter with French nobleman Valvert (Jason Peregoy) and his entourage. The subject of the verbal discourse is Cyrano's face, specifically his nose.

With obvious displeasure with his own lonnnggg nose, Cyrano lashes and sometimes slashes out at those who comment on its size. He is a remarkable duelist, musician and joyfully gifted poet who loves to write and speak in rhyme. But, when it comes to romance, he believes that no woman, especially the beautiful Roxane (Stacy Stoltz) who he loves, could possibly love him.

Having summoned the courage to profess his feelings, he is about to reveal the truth to the beautiful Roxane when she tells him that she has found her true love. It is a soldier with whom she has not spoken, but she is sure that he is the one. To be certain, she wants Cyrano to make sure that he writes to her. She, like Cyrano, adores conversation and the expression of feelings in words.

Cyrano realizes that though the soldier, named Christian (Glenn Stanton), is an awesome physical specimen of manhood, he is lacking in mental attributes and ability to express affection. Thus, he takes on the task of writing letters to Roxane which Christian delivers as his own. The tale continues amid battles, romantic longing and of course tragedy.The story was first told in an 1897 play by French dramatist and poet Edmond Rostand. The tale spun by Rostand did not resemble the real Cyrano de Bergerac's life. The tale, however, has fascinated many who have produced different types of productions from plays and movies to musical compositions.

The House's Matt Hawkins' fun, enjoyable adaptation and direction is topped off by his amazing fight choreography. Kevin O'Donnell has once again produced wonderful original music with lyrics by Shawn Pfautsch and Matt Hawkins.

For an extra sense of excitement, I suggest that you sit in the front row. You will feel as though you are part of the cast, but swordless!"





 

Three Stars - "This 'Cyrano' cuts straight to the point" - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune 9/4/11

"At the top of "Cyrano," Matt Hawkins' freewheeling House Theatre of Chicago deconstruction of Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac," the man himself enters, smiles, sits down at a piano and pulls a microphone toward his lips.

"Good evening," you half expect him to say. "My nose and I will be here all week."

Actually, Sean Pfautsch's Cyrano starts singing about panache, a quality with which his famous literary character is amply blessed, along with wit, intelligence and the capacity for loving Roxanne (Stacy Stoltz), the object of his affections.

But that big sniffer makes Mr. C. different. As they sing in "A Chorus Line," different ain't pretty, and the different figure that one out fast but deal with it slow.

Alas, those kind, interesting folks prefer high cheekbones for their love action — even Taylor Swift knows that cheerleaders trump the sensitive souls in the bleachers. Thus Roxanne prefers Cyrano's young military colleague, Christian, played here by the exceedingly handsome Glenn Stanton. She doesn't understand until it's too late that looks really don't matter. And she hardly is alone in that timeless error.

Hawkins, who has cut away most of the talky stuff in the play — notably, the scenes about pastry chefs, bad actors and political rivalries — and, making full use of the vital freedoms of the public domain, has created a modestly scaled but consistently intriguing and enjoyable show with two sharp focuses.

One is the aforementioned love triangle at the core of the play and the number that does on Cyrano's psyche (Pfautsch's version of Cyrano is more John Cusack than Kevin Kline, if you know what I mean). The other is the famous swordplay which suffuses the script.

Along with adding a few numbers at the piano — which are what they are — Hawkins has the famous scenes in which Cyrano puts his words of love in a prettier mouth alternating with sudden bursts of stage combat. The House company includes more than a dozen fine young swordsmen and swordswomen who show up in red waves, filling the walkways of Colette Pollard's practical setting with their flashing blades. Along with adapting and directing, Hawkins also choreographs these exciting scenes, which feel fresh, creative and well-executed.

There is a price to pay for doing "Cyrano" in one hour and 45 minutes, including intermission. You don't get the full emotional scale of the story, nor do you fully see what Cyrano does for Christian, or, more significantly, why Cyrano has made so many enemies. And the unusual combination of a kind of minimalist hypernaturalism in the romantic scenes (you can see that Hawkins has been hanging around the director David Cromer) with fully costumed battles sometimes feels a bit like two different conceits, glued together, just because. You sometimes feel like you're watching "Cyrano: The Good Bits."

That said, Hawkins and his unusually cast actors (Stoltz plays Roaxanne far more like an intense and insecure character created by Tennessee Williams or William Inge than the typically poised romantic belle) surely focus your attention on the most important themes of the work. Stanton is eye-poppingly perfect for the role of Christian (his combat skills are impressive indeed); there's good, honest work from Shane Brady as Le Bret and Mike Smith as Ligniere; and, most important, Pfautsch grows on you all night.

Most every other Cyrano you've seen has been a swashbuckling hero who just happens to have a fatally big schnozzle. Instead, Pfautsch and Hawkins shrewdly use a central sadness and ordinariness as the driver for the character's love of action.

It makes you think of the role in a whole new way, and it provides a crucial anchor for this show.

If you've got someone at home studying this particular classic of French lit, the House "Cyrano" will surely fire up their interest. Will it change their likelihood of going though life sniffing behind the nose? The fight against short shorts always needs help".


 

 

 



Author
Edmond Rostand

Director
Matt Hawkins

Performers
Shawn Pfautsch, Stacy Stoltz, Glenn Stanton, Shane Brady, Mike Smith, Jason Peregoy, Justin Verstraete, Meredith Lyons, Jon Beal, Marty Dubin, Megan Schemmel, Jennifer Betancourt, Jack Miggins, Aaron Kirby

Production
Scenic Design - Collette Pollard; Asst Scenic Design - Sally Weiss; Light Design - Lee Keenan; Asst Light Design - Clare Roche; Costume Design - Jacqueline Firkins; Sound Design - Michael Griggs; Asst Fight Choreographer - Justin Verstraete; Prosthetics - Ora Jewell-Busche; Stage Management - Amanda Frechette; Asst Stage Management - Brae Singleton; Production Manager - Jeremy Wilson; Technical Direction - Left Wing Scenic; Audio Engineer - Zack Harper; Master Electrician - Will Dean; Props - Jesse Gaffney; Asst Props - Mell Gill; Costume Manager - Mieka Van der Ploeg; Wardrobe Supervisor - Amy Hilber

Tags: Theater, American, 2011