ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Montford Park Players continue their 53rd season, “A Season of Lunatics, Lovers, & Poets,” with “Cyrano de Bergerac,” written by Edmond Rostand, translated by Gladys Thomas and Mary F. Guillemard, and directed and adapted by Mandy Bean. “Cyrano” will run at 7:30 p.m., Friday to Saturday, Aug. 8-30, at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St.
“Cyrano de Bergerac” review
There are a couple of things you can always count on at a Montford Park Players show.
The costumes will always be spectacular.
In “Cyrano,” costume designers Bean and Charlotte Murphy, along with costume assistant Olivia Emery, brought 17th century France to life with gorgeous doublets, capes and ruffles. Much attention should also be paid to Cyrano’s fantastic nose prosthetic, worn with utter panache by a truly tremendous Travis Lowe.
The set design will always be thoughtful.
The decorations of “Cyrano” are less glitzy than other MPP shows this season, but the set is no less winning. One highlight in particular was Roxane’s bed chamber, pictured at the top of this story, ornamented with flowing curtains and garden accoutrement. The show’s outdoor staging lent an extra element of magic to the bedroom set when a strong breeze came through to ripple the curtains, a practical effect courtesy of Mother Nature herself.
The actors will all be committed.
There was no shortage of energy to the “Cyrano” cast, many of whom adorned fake mustaches and sustained multiple costume changes during the five act show. Most of the main cast was excellent, but Lowe was a powerhouse, bringing Cyrano to life onstage with effortless wit and graceful physicality. Kat Martinuzzi’s Christian, Cyrano’s romantic rival and confidant, was also a blast. Martinuzzi played Christian with a daffy confidence, replete with windmilling arms and twitchy swagger, which was a fantastic foil to Lowe’s calm and collected Cyrano.
However, despite the base level of MPP quality in this season’s fourth production, “Cyrano” does not quite reach the comedic highs of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or the heartfelt feeling of “The Book of Will.” This show bordered on overlong and, in places, overacted.
Part of the awkwardness is in the material.
“Cyrano” is a huge drag in its second half, particularly during the extended epilogue, which felt endless and statically staged, despite Lowe’s best efforts to drive the point home in his final monologue.
The rest was in the delivery. While Lowe and Martinuzzi were wonderful – as was Sonia D’Andrea’s Roxane when the script gave the actor something to work with – a few of the supporting cast performances veered on surreal performance art, distracting from the flow of a scene with ambitiously boisterous gags and accents. While those moments could be fun in a breezier comedy, “Cyrano” attempts to weave together romance, comedy and wartime drama in one coherent package. Gumming down those gears only made for a restless, stuffy final hour.
While “Cyrano de Bergerac” feels longer than its eponymous character’s nose, this production was beautifully mounted. Certainly see it for Cyrano himself: Lowe’s interpretation of Rostand’s words was a treat.
