The Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) at the Kennedy Center

From the hallowed halls of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, three intrepid RSCPN sports reporters, Austin Tichenor, Matt Rippy and Reed Martin dare to achieve what no fool has attempted afore in this or any other lifetime...they attempt to condense in four short quarters, two halves, nay, the play heard 'round the world, The Complete World of Sports (abridged).

The Thespian has had the privilege of being exposed to the Reduced Shakespeare Company's brilliant repartee and has seen many of their previous madcap abridgments, including The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),The Complete History of America (Abridged), The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged), All the Great Books (Abridged) and Completely Hollywood (Abridged).   The Thespian viewed their newest work, The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) this past fall in Richmond, Virginia.   At that time, the show was in an emerging work. The dialogue, gags, and vignettes were in place, but there were moments that needed the repetition of performance in front of many different audiences to hone and shape this two hours traffic upon the stage.

So, has The Complete World of Sports (abridged) improved.    Is it a home run, gooooal, touchdown, unhorsing (that's joust talk), perfect 10, or any of a number of sports cliches?   The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) is at its heart, a fun, high-energy marathon through the ages.   While not a linear journey through the history of sports the show is broken down into categories and continents and divided amongst the four quarters of the evening.   Our intrepid RSCPN reporters  bring laughter, groans, cheers, winces and smiles as they charge through an incredible array of sporting events. If you think of an obscure sport they probably cover it in the show, or a close cousin of the sport.   They even cover cheese wheel rolling, a proud English sport with a very violent history.

Without giving too much of the evening's entertainment away, highlights include the invention of sports from the dawn of mankind, golf, insane sports mostly invented in the British Isles, women's sports history, the Olympics and a marvelous mad dash finale that will leave the audience breathless and in need of a hit from Reed Martin's ever present inhaler. 

The persevering performers sweat, strain and literally risk life and limbs to entertain their audience.   Austin Tichenor brings his razor sharp wit and charm as he fences his way to victory. Reed Martin uses all of the skills he learned as a graduate of The Bill Kinnamon School of Professional Umpire Training and Ringling Bros. Clown College as he plows through a defense that crumbles in front of his Heisman worthy offense.   And Matt Rippy, not only is he the heartthrob, he has no right to be that graceful in rhythmic gymnastics.    All three easily deliver gold medal performances.

Being that The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) is quite literally a brand-new show, there are some growing pains to get through as the "Bad Boys of Abridgment" (quoted from the program) polish and perfect this athletic gem.    A few of the transitions, mostly in the first half of the show seem a bit abrupt. The use of blackouts for endings of scenes is less abrupt than it was in Richmond, yet still occasionally appear too abrupt. Despite these minor quibbles, The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) is clearly on par with the many quality shows this company has reduced since 1981.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through July 24, 2011.  They will continue to perform The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) in many venues in the fall of 2011.   Please visit their website www.reducedshakespeare.com for performance dates and locations.    

Clybourne Park, revived at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

The power of words.   Talking, yet not communicating.  Fear of change.  Fear of the different.   Bruce Norris' revelatory play, Clybourne Park, is a thought-provoking examination of class, race, gentrification, resistance to change and the use of language to invoke your point-of-view.   Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin In The Sun, Clybourne Park takes as its setting the home, located at 406 Clybourne Street, that the Younger family of  Raisin has put a down payment on in white suburbia, and in act one, examines the story from the point of view of the family that is selling said home. In act two, the same home, and its neighborhood face another turning point that will change it forever.

As a starting point, Mr. Norris has taken the role of Karl Lindner, the only white character from Raisin and greatly expanded upon it. Karl Linder represents the Clybourne Park Neighborhood Association and in A Raisin In The Sun, he visited the Younger family to offer to buy back the house in order to prevent them becoming the first black family to live there.  Karl Linder is defter in his persuasions to the Younger family than he is in Clybourne Park.  Here, perhaps because he is more comfortable amongst people he feels are like-minded, Mr. Linder can become a force of nature against what he perceives is as a threat to his natural order of the world.  Mr. Linder is the focus of the diatribes of the changes in society.  It is to Mr. Norris' credit that Clybourne Park focuses on Russ and Bev, the middle-aged white couple selling the home and the harrowing reason that the home is being sold.

Given the race relations of the 1950's it is important to show the reasons that a home in a neighborhood such as Clybourne Park would be sold to a black family.  It is clear that the home has enough darkness enveloping it and the family within to prevent it from being sold to anyone else.   Mr. Norris leisurely envelops the audience in the chilly marriage of Russ and Bev, the artificial friendship between Bev and the family housekeeper, Francine, and the subtly hostile relationship particularly between Russ and Karl and even, Jim, a local pastor.   Thrown into this charged atmosphere are Francine's husband, Albert and Karl's wife, Betsy.   

The act simmers to a slow boil, as Russ, in particular has no patience for his concerned white neighbors.  Clybourne Park has failed his family when they needed the support of their neighbors.   Russ has no patience for the neighborhood's alarm that this home has been sold to a black family.    Yet, Karl Linder pushes his views, more harshly than the character did in his original incarnation in Raisin, and the other characters, at first with reticence and the constraints of polite society contribute their  views until they threaten to boil.  In the end, no one has their views changed, and we are left with Russ and Bev, heartbroken, struggling to bury their painful past and move away from Clybourne Park to an uncertain future. 

Act two takes us fifty years into the future.  It is 2009, once again the little house has been sold, yet the situation has reversed.   406 Clybourne Street has become a decayed shell.  Now located in a majority black neighborhood, the conflict revolves around the young white couple who have purchased the home and plan to demolish it to build a substantially larger structure.  We have entered the world of gentrification.  This time it is the black residents, Kevin and Lena, who represent the neighborhood's concerns, fighting to keep the architectural character of what they perceive as an historic black neighborhood from being superseded by the proposed, for lack of a better term, McMansion, which, like the conflict of the first act, will change the neighborhood forever.  

There are more diatribes in act two, yet, the sentiments and points of view expressed echo the concerns of the 1959 house.   Again, the audience is left with no clear resolution.  No one's viewpoint is changed, many hurt feelings occur, and the dark secret of this doomed property looms over the proceedings.   Clybourne Park ends with only questions that the audience must take, digest, and ponder.

This production is a remount of Woolly Mammoth's 2010 Helen Hayes Award-winning production and the cast has returned intact.  The ensemble is a perfect unit and the performances are uniformly excellent.   Most of the cast portrays dual roles.  Chris Dinolfo is the exception, and he brings pathos to his small role of Kenneth.  Michael Glenn traverses his well-meaning Jim and reasonable Tom.  Jefferson A. Russell navigates the strictures of the 1950's Albert, and the charmingly forceful Kevin.  Dawn Ursula walks the same tightrope as the 1950's Francine and the passionate, outspoken Lena. Kimberly Gilbert is fascinating as the sheltered because she is deaf Betsy and the equally determined Lindsay bewildered and defensive that anyone would object to her dream home.

Mitchell Hebert is in turns, closed off, distant, and justifiably angry as Russ, a father and husband who allows his emotionless facade to shatter in the faces of the neighbors he sees as the catalyst for the destruction of his family.   Jennifer Mendenhall is heartbreaking as Bev a wife and grieving woman who fights to maintain the stoic dignity that society is determined she must present to the world.  Both actors do well in the act two minor roles of Tom, a workman, and Kathy, a lawyer.

Cody Nickell takes two deeply unlikeable characters, Karl and the young husband, Steve, and turns them both into fascinating studies of men who care little for the niceties of discussing precarious subjects as long as their viewpoint prevails.   Both Karl and Steve steamroll the other characters, yet similar to the blowhards on talk radio, Mr. Nickell makes the audience unable to turn away in disgust.  The audience is instead mesmerized into wondering how far these will go to prevail in their respective arguments, and will anyone on stage commit violence towards them if Karl and Steve don't see the need to back down and shut up.  It is a wonderful performance.

The direction of Howard Shalwitz is deftly handled particularly with the added challenge that some audience is seated behind the set.  James Kronzer's set design is remarkable and The Thespian recommends watching the intermission transformation from the tidy home of 1959 to the decaying shell of 2009. 

Woolly Mammoth is to be commended for giving the audiences ample opportunity to discuss the issues raised in Clybourne Park.   Audience dialogues are being held following all  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening performances.  Town hall  Mammoth Forum discussions will be held at 5:15 p.m. On Sundays July 31, August 7 and August 14.  .  Artistic forums will be held at 5:15 p.m. On Saturdays August 6 and 13.  You do not need to see the matinee performance to attend the forums.   For information on specific speakers as well as Woolly Mammoth podcasts please visit their website.

Clybourne Park will be performed at Woolly Mammoth through August 14, 2011. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.woollymammoth.net.

I Was There When It Passed the New York State Legislature

I am not from New York.  (Warning: this post will be emotional, therefore The Thespian has reverted to first person narrative).

Yet, I rejoice tonight.    I cannot think of a better place to hear the wonderful news that the New York State Legislature passed the gay marriage bill than during the curtain call of The Normal Heart.  

I believe we are all human beings.   I believe that we are all equal.  I believe that we are what our DNA constructs us to be.   Just because your DNA makes you love a person of the same sex does not make you a second class citizen anymore than the color of your skin makes it reprehensible that you might fall in love with a person of a different skin color, or religion, or national origin.  

I do not believe that HIV/AIDS is a plaque sent to purge us of our sins.   It is a hideous disease that has struck too many for too long.  Yes, I am old enough to remember when it began and I admit that I  sobbed uncontrollably as I relived the events preserved by the courageous Larry Kramer in his groundbreaking take no prisoners play, The Normal Heart.  And, yes, I have lost too many colleagues, mentors and friends, including one of my best friends.

Yet, I celebrate the New York triumph tonight.   I celebrate when I hear a female friend and colleague share the joy of falling in love at first sight with her wife.   I celebrate when Neil Patrick Harris tweets to his followers how much he'd love to marry the other father of his children.  I dream of a day when the state that I live in, the Commonwealth of Virginia, will someday come out of the 19th century and embrace common human decency instead of now when the Attorney General tells the commonwealth's state colleges and universities that they can't provide the same constitutional protections to someone simply because they are homosexual.

I dream of a day when we don't read of bullying someone because they are different, or see on the internet stories of teenagers and young adults driven to suicide because they feel they that it won't get better.   I dream when it stops being okay to mock someone by telling them "that's so gay".   I dream of a day when we stop making excuses for our families and friends who tell us, "I don't have anything against gay people" and then proceed to explain in the next breath exactly why they do.   It's wrong and I swear that I will never hold my tongue and let it slide anymore.

Being a theatrical professional I have had the privilege of working with persons of all stripes.   It has opened my eyes to all the world has had to offer whether good experiences or bad, friendships with persons of all races, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientation.   One thing we all have in common.   We are all human with our strengths and weaknesses, yet we all deserve the same rights and privileges.

Therefore, I embrace the step that the New York State Legislature has taken tonight.   It was an honor to celebrate with the audience, cast and crew of The Normal Heart on Broadway.

The Thespian now returns you to your regular blog which will include a review of The Normal Heart coming tomorrow.

Wicked National Tour at the Kennedy Center

It is a joyous crowd which embraces the National Tour of Wicked, making its second visit to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House in Washington, DC. A talented and exuberant cast enthusiastically brings this extremely popular musical to life. It is easy to see why Wicked continues to play to sold out crowds on Broadway and in productions around the world.

Based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the musical adaptation, book by Winnie Holzman, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, tells the story of how Elphaba and Galinda grew up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Elphaba is born with green skin after her mother is seduced by a mysterious stranger who plies her with a green elixir. Shunned by her father she is sent to Shiz University along with her younger sister, the wheelchair-bound Nessarose. Forced to room with the irritating and perky Galinda, the two young women despise each other. When Galinda inadvertently shows a kindness to Nessarose the beginnings of friendship develop. The friendship blossoms when a bullying prank Galinda leads against Elphaba backfires.

Meanwhile all is not as it seems in the land of Oz. Talking animals are being persecuted and losing the ability to speak. Madame Morrible seeks to develop Elphaba'sstalents for magic and reluctantly accepts Galinda as a pupil on Elphaba's insistence. When Dr. Dillamond, the only talking animal professor is fired, Galinda decides to change her name to reflect how he mispronounced it, Glinda. Summoned to meet the all powerful Wizard of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda hope that their dreams of a better world will come true. It is that crucial moment in the Emerald City that sets both women on the paths to destiny.

Mr. Maguire's novel was extremely complicated and dense. The musical makes several changes to the narrative,yet creates a satisfying story for the stage. There are enough nods to the original Wizard of Oz story to bring knowing smiles to the audience without being glaringly obvious about it. The set designed by Eugene Lee, lighting designed by Kenneth Posner, and costumes designed by Susan Hilferty with wigs and hair designed by Tom Watson, evoke the original illustrations from the L. Frank Baum stories. The direction by Joe Montello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento keeps a steady tempo while permitting the emotional core of the tale to unfold without being overwhelmed by the stagecraft.

The cast is clearly enjoying performing this wonderful musical and the ensemble is lively. The supporting roles are well cast. Paul Slade Smith is poignant as the persecuted Dr. Dillamond. Stefanie Brown layers her character's sad arc from cherished, yet pitied young woman to the bitter creature who evolves into the Wicked Witch of the East. Justin Brill has a boyish enthusiasm as the Munchkin, Boq, and handles his transition to the cold, literally heartless Tin Man well. Colin Hanlon's Fiyero is handsome, shallow and heroic all at the same time a suitable leading man for both our leading ladies. Randy Danson is hissable as the corrupt with power Madame Morrible. Mark Jacoby is deliciously enigmatic as the Wizard, at once warm, befuddled and paternalistic with a hint of menace beneath his charming facade.
Amanda Jane Cooper's Glinda just makes you want to slap her upside the head, she is so bubbly and perky and everything you ever hated in that popular girl in school. Yet, she deftly handles the strong interior beneath and navigates what, at first glance is a very unlikeable character, grasping for the limelight Glinda feels she deserves. Yet, Ms. Cooper finds Glinda's hidden good qualities that help the audience realize that she is one of the strongest characters in the play. In the end her Glinda is Glinda the Good.

The strongest character is our girl, Elphaba. A deceptively quiet performance, at first, Dee Roscioli builds her Elphaba into a moral tour de force. By the time, Ms. Roscioli soars, literally, in the climatic act one finale "Defying Gravity," she has grasped ahold of the audience and she takes them swirling through the storm clouds of the rest of Elphaba's journey. It is a masterful performance.

Wicked will be performed in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House through August 21, 2011. For tickets and other performance information please visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Follies at The Kennedy Center

How does one review a play that has so much mythos attached to its original production?   Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's 1971 Follies has so much expectation thrust upon any attempt to mount it that The Thespian feels that no matter what she writes, those who have seen numerous versions or the "Holy Grail", the 1971 original Broadway production, will be sure to inform her that she missed a nuance, or doesn't get it.     Perhaps it is useful that this is the very first production of Follies that The Thespian has seen, although she is extremely familiar with the musical score and the basics of the story.    The solution?  Just dive into it and take the consequences.

Follies is a musical about longing, regret, betrayal, fear, and, most importantly a wistful nostalgia for the past.    Set in  the decaying Weismann Theater,  the showgirls of Weismann's Follies reunite for one last time the night before the theater is scheduled to be demolished to become a parking lot.    Haunted throughout the evening by the ghosts of the past, whether the shadowy figures of the showgirls they used to be, or by the naivete of their younger selves, they relive their glory days.   Into this come two couples, Sally and Buddy and Ben and Phyllis, once best of friends, now deep into troubled marriages.   At the end of the evening will their marriages be demolished as well?

Follies does not have a strong narrative structure, the true story, that of the two central couples, is constantly interrupted by performances by the other women (and a few of the men).   Throughout this the younger ghostly versions of the girls mostly slink in the background, occasionally joining in some of the numbers.   This is not an easy musical to appreciate.   The music is stunning, some of director Eric Schaeffer's staging is superb and other directoral choices maddening.   Gregg Barne's costumes are beautiful, especially the elaborate chorus girl costumes.   The set design by Derek McLane evokes the neglected theaters of the late 1960's and 70's.    The casting contains some true gems and others that are just not quite right for the roles.    This production of Follies is inconsistent, yet contains utter flashes of brilliance showing that it is on the right track to do this difficult show justice.

There are several standout performances amongst the Weismann "girls" (and guys).   What is delightful about Follies is that this musical rightly gives the seasoned  performers the chance to prove that they still have that It factor.     Michael Hayes has a clear tenor and is reminiscent of Dick Powell in his rendition of "Beautiful Girls."  Rosalind Elias captures the featured operetta star perfectly and sings with a clear and crisp tone "One More Kiss" in a poignant duet with her younger counterpart, Leah Horowitz.    As the hoofers, The Whitmans, Susan Watson and Terrance Currier, tear up the floorboards, clearly loving and delighting in performing together.     The amazing Terri White stops the show with "Who's That Woman?" a pull out the stops number that tasks all of the younger and older Weismann girls to dance their hearts out.

Solange as Regine does not quite feel at ease in the role, yet she has a presence that makes you accept that what you are seeing is what you are going to get.   Linda Lavin as Hattie is brassy singing "Broadway Baby" but the number seems to be lacking the vaudeville punch.   Elaine Page as Carlotta is clearly enjoying herself.   "I'm Still Here" is an anthem that can be performed with cynicism, but Ms. Page takes it as a badge of honor enjoying the devoted attention of her chorus boys.

As our leading couples and their younger counterparts we are given both brilliant performances and others that seem to ring false.    The younger ones, Lora Lee Gayer, Kirsten Scott, Christian Delcroix and Nick Verina have quality and heart and do make the audience believe in the hopes and dreams and the origins of the fatal problems in both marriages.     As for our star leads...

Ron Raines as Ben makes it difficult to see what either Sally or Phyllis desire in him.    His Ben is brusk and missing the charm that would make the audience believe that Sally's willingness to leave her husband for him is not simply delusional.    Jan Maxwell's Phyllis is a cool drink of water.   Her regrets of the choices she made are clear as a bell.   Ms. Maxwell's scathing "Could I Leave You?" is emotional singing at its best.   Mr. Sondheim is frequently noted as an actor's composer and Ms. Maxwell is the embodiment of that.

Bernadette Peters as Sally has been referred to by other reviews as too glamorous for the role.   Yet, when Sally mentions that she's fat or old, any woman can see that as a universal answer for all women who are uncomfortable with physical praise.    It would be interesting to see another actress not as spectacularly gorgeous as Ms. Peters tackle this role, but that is not to diminish Ms. Peters talents.    Her delivery of "Losing My Mind" is heartbreaking and her denial of the the reality of the fantasy she has created for herself and Ben is equally poignant.    The only criticism The Thespian heard was that audience members in the balcony had difficulty hearing Ms. Peters, which is the fault of the sound technician.  

Danny Burnstein as the steadfast, yet unfaithful, Buddy gives a complex and devastating performance.   "The Right Girl" is emotionally satisfying and "Buddy's Blues" the perfect embodiment of pain and panache in the midst of the psychological Loveland sequence.

It is the Loveland sequence that is the most revelatory and satisfactory part of Mr. Schaffer's direction.   The most maddening is the inconsistency of the use of the ghostly chorus girls.    At times they are perfect shadows, at others distractions at moments when they should not take focus.    Conceptually this Follies has its moments, but the distractions at others take away from this becoming a grand evening of theater.

Follies music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Goldman will be performed in the Eisenhower Theater at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts through June 19, 2011.  For tickets and other performance information please visit www.kennedy-center.org.

Art at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia

Art is in the eye of the beholder.  To the proud mother, the sketches on the refrigerator gallery are as priceless as the Van Gogh sold for millions.  It is not so much what makes an object art as the absurdity of its value that is the central conflict of Yasmina Reza's award-winning play, Art.   A biting comedy in a brisk 80 minutes, Art is a tale of three friends and their battle for the validation of their viewpoint and to make their friendship survive Art.

The artwork at the center of the conflict is a large painting.  This painting is  five feet by four, painted white with thin white diagonal lines incorporated into it.  A man, Serge (John Lescault), has purchased this painting, by a famous artist for the sum of 200,000 francs.   Serge carries the viewpoint of the modern art lover.  Only Serge can inherently see the greatest of this painting.   His friend, Marc (Mitchell Hebert) represents those to whom it would be perfectly clear that simply slapping white paint on a white canvas does not automatically qualify it to be worth more than the sum of its parts and the labor necessary to execute the work.  Thrust into the middle of this intellectual exercise is the meek Yvan (Michael Russotto) who represents that friend we all know who takes the viewpoint of whomever is nearby hoping to bridge the chasm of his friends and be the peacemaker. 

The witty translation by Christopher Hampton is deftly handled by all three actors, veterans of many DC area stages.   Each actor well-embodies his role gaining and losing the audience's sympathy along the way.   The sleekly modern set design by James Kronzer is well complimented by the lighting design of Mark Lanks.  The costumes by Kathleen Geldard are functional, yet compliment the personalities of the characters.   Director Matthew Gardiner steers the play along its absurdist course with a sure hand.

Art by Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton was performed in Signature Theatre's Arc performance space from March 29 through May 22, 2011.  For information on upcoming performances at Signature Theater please visit www.signature-theatre.org

Cyrano at the Folger Theatre

The poignant romantic play, Cyrano de Bergerac was written by Edmond Rostand in 1897.  It is a work on a grand scale, a five act drama peopled with colorful characters.  Originally composed in French using Alexandrine couplets, a poetic form of rhyming couplets using lines of six feet or twelve syllables, the play has been translated numerous times in both verse and prose forms.   In his new translation, simply called Cyrano, Michael Hollinger has chosen to use non-rhyming tetrameter, or four feet per line, avoiding end rhymes except in the few instances of actual poetry recited or sung within the work.   The adaptation by Mr. Hollinger and the director, Aaron Posner, eliminates the crush of supporting characters and crowds presenting the play with a spare ensemble of nine actors, eight men and one woman in a belief that doing so "invites compression and theatricality" and "allows for the imaginative and self-conscious use of the theater and the audience." The resultant production in the Elizabethan Theatre at the Folger Shakespeare Library is uneven, and for theater-goers familiar with other productions of the play an unsatisfactory evening of theater.

The loss of minor secondary characters is not the problem here.  It is fine to hear about the romantic baker Ragueneau's unsympathetic wife, Lise, rather than see her torment her put-upon husband.  Likewise it is equally fine to have the captain of the Gascon cadets, Le Bret, narrate the setting of the scenes, which is particularly effective in the beginning of the play to immerse the audience in the chaotic atmosphere of the 17th century theater that comprises Rostand's act one and Hollinger and Posner's scene one.  What is not acceptable is to fundamentally make changes to Rostand's narrative, making major changes to the story and the impact of the tragic romance that unfolds.

For those unfamiliar with Rostand's story, it is the tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, an expert swordsman of the Gascon cadets and a brilliant poet, who is deeply sensitive about the physical deformity of his large nose.  Secretly in love with his cousin,Roxane, he never dares to declare his feelings as he is certain his ugliness prevents Roxane from returning his love.  Roxane, in turn falls in love at first sight with the newest member of the cadets, Christian de Neuvilette, who has the opposite problem.  Christian is stunningly beautiful, but has not the wit to woo Roxane intellectually.  To make Roxane happy, Cyrano becomes the poetic voice of Christian helping his rival win Roxane's love.

Into this triangle comes the Comte de Guiche, a married nobleman who seeks Roxane as his mistress.   When he discovers the lovers he dispatches the cadets on a dangerous mission at the siege of Arras.   There the tragedy reaches its peak, leading to a quiet ending fifteen years later, full of reconciliation, confession and regret as the loss of love is revisited for a second time. 

The reduction of the play to a spare ensemble does focus the play upon the main five characters of Rostand's original piece, Cyrano, Christian, Roxane, de Guiche and Le Bret.  What is lost is the dramatic impact in certain key moments.   In the original play, Roxane gives encouragement to de Guiche in order to convince him to keep Cyrano and Christian's cadets away from the battlefield.  De Guiche sends an illiterate Capuchin monk with a letter in order to arrange a sham marriage for Roxane and take her as his mistress.  Roxane convinces the monk that he is to wed her to Christian and he does so.  When de Guiche arrives he is so infuriated that he orders the cadets to war immediately thus preventing Roxane and Christian from consummating their marriage.   Here they simply announce they are affianced and are caught in the midst of "making out."  This seems to go against Roxane's character and lessens the impact of the tragedy of Roxane and Christian-married yet never fully together.

The other major change to the story takes place at the siege of Arras.  This scene is the most trimmed of any in this adaptation.  There is a great deal of buildup in previous scenes and then so much is cut from Rostand's work that the resultant battle scene becomes anticlimactic.   Two plot points are changed or dropped.  In Rostand's original work, de Guiche, performs a potentially traitorous act.  He has used a spy to send word to the enemy that on de Guiche's signal they are to attack the position of the Gascon cadets assuring their annihilation and his revenge.  Here the betrayal is simply gone, giving nothing for de Guiche to have to make amends.

The other major change is the arrival of Roxane to the battlefield.  In Rostand's original she sweet talks her way through enemy lines arriving in a fine gown, in a carriage and with a great deal of food which she gives to the starving cadets.   Here she arrives dressed as a man and calling for a sword so that she can fight along side her man.  Why can't we accept a 17th century woman being allowed to keep her feminity?  That was part of the charm of Rostand.  Roxane becomes an angel of hope on the battlefield  giving courage to the doomed troops.

The impact of the death of Christian is also lessened in this staging as he dies offstage instead of in Roxane's arms.  By not having a visual death for Christian it makes Cyrano's decision to not reveal that he is the author of all of Christian's love letters harm the heart of the tragic tale.

Despite these grievous flaws there are some good performances upon the Folger Theatre stage.   Bobby Moreno gives nice depth to the handsome Christian and is well matched by Brenda Withers Roxane.  Steve Hendrickson provides excellent support as Cyrano's confident and commander Le Bret.  

Craig Wallace's de Guiche is a force of nature.  With his clear command of the language he takes control whenever he appears on the stage.  It is a shame that part of the villainy of the character has been cut from the script, but he still carries well the arc from spurned suitor to penitent.

As Cyrano, Eric Hissom gives an erratic performance.  His slight build and disheveled appearance are appropriate to a man who pointedly admits to not caring about his appearance.  Yet in a world of larger than life performances for this role, Mr. Hissom fails to command the stage.   While his performance improves over the course of the evening he simply lacks the charisma necessary to the role.  Without a memorable Cyrano there is a gaping hole at the center of the play. 

Cyrano translated by Michael Hollinger and adapted by Michael Hollinger and Aaron Posner will be performed on the Elizabethan stage at the Folger Shakespeare Library through June 12, 2011.  For tickets and other performance information please visit www.Folger.edu/theatre.