EXECUTIVE BRIEFCASE
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Playing at South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, through June 27. Performances Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $19-$55, available at box office or www.scr.org. Contact: (714) 708-5555.
A classic treatment of Edmund Rostand’s masterpiece, made all the better by Mike Harelik’s winning Cyrano. The story: Ugly but charismatic Cyrano wants to woo lovely Roxanne, who loves doltish but hunky Christian de Neuvillette. It’s impossible to overemphasize the brilliance of the play’s dialogue, especially as Cyrano bids to win Roxanne’s heart for Christian. The play, which premiered in 1897, was adapted by Anthony Burgess and is directed here by SCR associate artist Mark Rucker. Cyrano is an outspoken individualist of rapier wit and jaunty courage,a rarity now and also then. (The play is set circa 1640 in Paris during the Thirty Years War.) The real Cyrano,he died at 36 after a deep depression,enjoyed sticking it to society’s stuffiest. The play features colorful costumes, an efficient set and more hair than a heavy metal band reunion. The drawbacks are an uneven supporting cast and the three-hours-plus running time (two intermissions). But don’t be dissuaded: This is a top-notch SCR presentation with a well-deserved standing O for Harelik.
,Mike Mason
RATING: FOUR BRIEFCASES (out of four)
