Jaystarr's 10/10 Report on Cyrano de Bergerac (on critics' matinee & with s

E13


Cyrano de Bergerac
Richard Rodgers Theater
Play Revival
2 hours & 50 mins with 1 intermission (act 1= 1:45/ act 2=:50)
10/27 2 pm
Tix Price $ 21.50 + 10.15 fees/processing=$31.65 (REAR BALCONY)




"I need eloquence, and I have none!" ........by Christian from the play

I have seen four play revivals so far- Old Acquaintance, The Ritz, Pygmalion & Cyrano de Bergerac and I think that I have seen the Best Play Revival on a rainy & soggy day yesterday. This production is like watching a painting in my Rear Balcony seat at the Richard Rodgers Theater . Everything is in perfect harmony... the staging, the lighting, the sound design, the acting and the direction. It is indeed theater at its best!

..Yet there is something still that will always be mine, and when I go to God's presence, there I'll doff it and sweep the heavenly pavement with a gesture - something I'll take unstained out of this world...my "panache " (by Cyrano from the play)


SPOILERS BELOW : Do not read below... Just pass and proceed to photos.




9 Things I LIKE about the Play (out of 10)

1. The Staging : One of the best scenic design I have seen. The stage is basically composed of wooden floors , brick walls and a large stairs at the back. It serve so perfectly with the changing of the scenery.. the convent, the balcony with a huge moon , the battlefield and so on.. I love the silky curtain (blue ) at the the beginning that moves so gracefuly and flawlessly. They used the curtains to change scenery too...the curtains are somewhat see-thru , so every time they change the scenery, you can see what's going on.

Special mention :

a. balcony scene with huge moon ....end of act 1 when the moon goes down to the stage--beautifully executed.

b. theater scene with candles all over the place and a candlelit chandelier...
Note: they used REAL, LIVE candles- so when you come in the theater and see the stage, its somewhat "smoky" create that ambiance of Old French.. I just love it.. from begining.

c. battle scene- the tree dangling on the floor with curtain (landscape design) at the background of PARYS (Paris) , ladders, and beams going down on the stage.

d. convent scene with all the candles hanging. very serene and beautiful with the red fall leaves falling down.

2. Sound Design- beggining of Act 2. I got startled bec. when they started it . I was unprepared ... loud sounds of cannons & guns and blue silky curtain moves to Stage Left...

3. Kevin Kline's acting- superb ! and his sword fights are very well chreographed.

4. Jennifer Garner- suprisingly-she is EXCELLENT & very funny.

5. Daniel Sunjata- very good as Christian too specially the balcony scene with Roxanne & Cyrano, though I felt sometimes he is bit overacting.

6. Supporting Roles - Chris Sarandon as Comte de Guiche and Concetta Tomei as Roxanne's Duenna/Sister Marthe-though her role is small.

7. The Direction of David Leveax- he made this old play very visual and enjoyable.

8. My tix is $21.50 .. total of $ 31.65 ... I sat at the REAR Balcony .. I had no problems with hearing the dialogues.. seems like they were mic'd. The production photos does not do good justice.. its soo different when you see it onstage.. you see the whole picture... My ticket is cheap and worth every penny I paid.

9. Curtains. I have a special fascination with stage curtains . I know that this may be a part of the whole scenic design.. but definitely I will put it on my LIKE list for several reasons.

a. Dramatic Curtain/Parys landscape falling down as they discovered Christian wounded and being carried by soldiers going down stairs..very dramatic !

b. Curtain Call- One reason why I love theater so much is bec. of the Curtain Call, you dont get that in the movie.. Few of my favorite Curtain Call are Journey's End (raising of the curtain when all those who died are standing with all their names on a memorial ) The Ritz (The Last Dance by Donna Summer ) and of course this one...

Cyrano died in the arms of Roxanne (while she is weeping and seating down)

then

Red Silky Curtain fell down and covered the entire stage.

finally

Red Silky Curtain fell down again(on the floor) on its entirety to reveal all cast standing onstage to take a bow and whole curtain was pulled from stage right.

I just love it !!!


1 Things I DID NOT LIKE about the Play (out of 10)

1. I just have a minor complaint.. its just a little loooong..2 hours and 50 minutes.
It can be boring specially at the beginning, but it picks up after the sword fight, then the balcony scene.


IN SUMMARY : I really enjoyed this play and definitely its a MUST SEE , specially it will only be playing for 10 weeks. I guess . I will end this with one of the universal theme of the play which we probably seen it several times in a movie bec. it was recycled so many times. Cyrano's extremely large nose which symbolizes his doubts in himself. All of us have doubts in ourselves & insecurities which someday we must overcome.

and Cyrano replies "I'll lend you mine! Lend me your conquering physical charm, and together we'll form a romantic hero!" - and that is the hardest temptation.

Score: 9/1- I LIKE IT !


J*

The Richard Rodgers Theater












THE CRITICS' MATINEE

Can you spot Mr. Ben Brantley ?




The Richard Rodgers Gallery (downstairs)








PRODUCTION PHOTOS : (courtesy of Playbill.com)











THE PLAYBILL :









STAGE DOOR PHOTOS:



Jennifer Garner










Daniel Sunjata







Euan Morton



Later









Time to go home



My Autographed Playbill by Jennifer Gardner, Daniel Sunjata & Euan Moton


Check out other Cyrano De Bergerac's review by Yankeefan:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=946650&dt=28

(this November)

My 10/10 Reports on :

1. The Seafarer- 11/5
2. August : Osage County-11/12
3. The Little Mermaid -10/19

Updated On: 5/14/08 at 02:50 PM

As much as I hate this play, I thought this production was quite beautiful. Unfortunately my seat was in the second row on the right and the side lights from the stage were in my face the ENTIRE show. I literally had to cover half my face for most of the performance.

I was quite suprised at how well Jennifer Garner handled herself. Not the revelation that Danes was, but certainly a capable actress.

Thanks Jaystarr. I always love your pictures and enthusiasm. I really love the falling leaves...nice touch in the show and a nice touch in your post!

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Thanks for the review and pics Jaystarr. I'm looking forward to seeing this myself hopefully next weekend. Couple of questions:

1. When did you buy your $20 ticket? Was it recently or a while ago? And did you buy it at the box office or online?

2. Is Jennifer Garner still taking pictures at the stage door with people?

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Nice photo of Ben Brantley...

I went to today's performance. What an absolutely splendid show!

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Thanks! I'm not going or anything, I was just curious. I couldn't tell when I saw "Tarzan" back in July, there were people everywhere (I saw it the day before it closed).

I'd go if I could, but I'm in Pennsylvania

Just wanted to make sure! Great review, jaystarr!

Updated On: 10/28/07 at 07:50 PM

Oh.. Is that you? I thought you were with Euan?

So there's two Euan's fans there, huh? Yeah we were talking about Taboo and Showbussiness DVD. He is such a cutie ! too bad .. no one but us recognize him ?
except us.

So whatcha think about that mob scene at the stage door last Saturday?

BTW- Thanks for taking my pic with him

J*

Updated On: 10/28/07 at 08:04 PM

I LOVVVVVVED this play. The lights, the acting, the staging...simply incredible. It was raining too hard on the day I went to wait for autographs at the stage door, but I must say that I was bowled over by Daniel Sunjata's stage presence and acting chops. I have been a fan of Rescue Me for years now, and also saw him in Take Me out, but seeing him command the stage with such grace and authority in a classical piece just solidified him in my mind as the real deal. I never knew he had it in him to demonstrate such range. I'll definitely go back for a second viewing IF I can score tix again. Of course Kline was amazing, and Garner definitely did not disappoint, but considering he has the smallest of the three roles, I really thought Mr. Sunjata made the most of every second he spent on the stage. He was funny, sexy, wildly charming, and oh so intense when the play came to a climax in the second act. See this play if its the only ticket you buy this season; SOOOO WORTH IT!!

C55

Thanks for the review, jaystarr.

I agree with almost everything you stated above. The lights, sets, and costumes were just beautiful. Everything seemed entirely appropriate, especially with having the tree being an almost metaphorical anchor.

I went into it not sure what to expect, since it didn't seem like the type of play I'd ordinarily like, but it didn't disappoint. Garner really surprised me, although I did find her a little campy in certain spots where it didn't seem to work. I liked Sunjata, too, but agree that he may have overacted a bit, but I think that almost goes with the part of Christian. Defintely a must see this season.

ahh, Euan!

And you caught Big Ben on camera - nice work! Thanks for all the pictures and review!

is it just me, or does Daniel Sunjata look like Captain Jack Sparrow in that costume?

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Updated On: 10/29/07 at 04:51 PM

^^ I found two pictures from NY Times of different scenes from Cyrano de Bergerac.

Balcony Scene:


Act II Scenes I-VI
Ragueneau’s bakery- background curtain depicting the countryside

Updated On: 11/4/07 at 02:34 PM

Why not post photos, as well?

Jennifer Garner:


Ben Affleck: