Production:  Cyrano de Bergerac

Company:  Arts Club Theatre Company

Writer:  Edmond Rostand

Translated, Adapted, Directed by:  James Fagan Tait

Actors:  David Mackay, Melissa Poll, Kevin MacDonald, Scott Bellis, Carmen Aguirre, Patti Allen, Simon Bradbury, Craig Erickson, John Murphy, Tom Pickett, Marco Soriano, Andrew Wheeler

Theatre:  Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre

Run:  October 23 – November 23

Reviewed by Melanie Shim (Vancouver Correspondent)

First impressions are typically physical; that first look at a person can leave you with a smile on your face or a look of disbelief.  Even if the cliché preaches us to “never judge a book by its cover,” people cannot help but make judgements based solely on appearances.  And this year, the Arts Club Theatre Company reveals trickery at its finest by exploring themes in “love, deception and a very long nose” through a strange and unusual way with the classic, turn modern, Cyrano de Bergerac.

Triple-threat James Fagan Tait translated, adapted and directed this season’s Cyrano for the Arts Club.  Cyrano tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac, confident and arrogant with a heart full of adoration.  Incredibly charming as well, Cyrano could possibly have any woman he wanted, except for one small flaw – his remarkably large nose.  Deemed physically ugly, yet with a mind full of wit and poetry, Cyrano is in love his cousin Roxanne, who in turn is infatuated with the Baron Christian de Neuvillette, who is cursed with such beautiful features and the mind of a male bimbo.  So, Cyrano and Christian team up to seduce Roxanne together; and the combination of Cyrano’s beautiful words with Christian’s beautiful face, they are set to deceive the one they both love.

One of the most obvious observations with the play was the contemporary twist in the script.  There are many 21^st century colloquialisms in this new, updated version of the play, but the setting is still 17^th century Paris.  The entire effect is jarring and a bit muddled, but is still somewhat amusing, producing a dichotomy between the script and setting.  In some ways, the irony further infused in the play is humorous and sometimes clever, while other times, I found that there are some really sad moments that should not be funny at all.  Perhaps I watched the play much too literally; yet, I really felt a bit sick when I heard laughter during the play’s melancholic moments.

Although the humour was misinterpreted of the tone at times, the actors are quite good.  David Mackay’s Cyrano is great; portraying the right amount of confidence and vulnerability, Mackay further encourages sympathy from the audience for a character that must constantly overcome his shortcomings.  Melissa Poll as Roxanne is also a good fit.  Recently having seen her in King Lear at this year’s Bard on the Beach, I think that Poll plays the role of an innocent, but knowledgeable woman with grace and charm.  And as the loveable, yet completely hopeless Christian, Kevin MacDonald plays the character with sincerity and kindness, despite his lack of wit.

There are also some musical interludes, which are actually quite humorous.  Bard’s King Lear had similar musical breaks in the script, but I find that they work much better in Cyrano.  Keeping up with its comedic feel, these short numbers are quite amusing and a different way of updating the classic play.

In the end, Cyrano was fun, but I was not blown away; I was never sure whether the play was being earnest, or over the top.  Sometimes clever, this new take on traditional theatre is interesting, but somehow lacking.  The flow of the play is strange and there seems to be some awkward moments where I did not know whether I should be laughing or crying.  Although the idea is quite clever, the execution – unfortunately – left something to be desired.