Holiday Auto-Post: Review Flashback to 2007

Hello there!  I'm currently on a plane, winging towards my family's holiday celebration, so I thought I'd do some auto-posting while I'm gone.  I always find it interesting to look back at my reviews - I hope you do, too!  And if you're winging your way anywhere, safe travels!!

12/17/07:  Hi!  Unexpected review!  A good friend from grad school gave me my Christmas present early and took me to see Cyrano de Bergerac!  Woo hoo!  I wouldn’t have gotten to see it otherwise, so I feel very fortunate.  I enjoyed the evening, didn’t adore it.  It’s certainly not the definitive version of Cyrano.  I remember enjoying the production with Frank Langella a few years ago too, so I imagine I’m predisposed to enjoy the play.  I do so love my VHS of Derek Jacobi in the role…

(timely update:  a friend with Tony tickets just called to invite me to see the show with him tomorrow night!  Hooray!  Because later in this review, I will probably note my sadness at being so far away from the stage!  So maybe you’ll get an amended review!  Or not.)

photo credit: Carol Rosegg

This production has been briskly directed, and the nearly three hours pretty much flew by.  It is supremely entertaining, thanks to Mr. Kevin Kline.  He finds all of the humor in the script, though perhaps to the detriment of the final scene.  I found him very panache-ful, though I understand that opinion is not shared by everyone.  Yes, he was not flamboyant, he was relatively restrained, but yet the way he presented his world view and self-deprecation was with flair.  To me, that spells panache.  You can’t take your eyes off Cyrano, because he has such intelligent vitality.  I will quibble with his choices in the scene with Roxane in the bakery—I would’ve liked to see exactly where he realizes she’s not talking about him.  I didn’t get that, but it could be because I was in the last row, far left.  It was hard for me to get any character detail from there, frankly.  I just couldn’t see.  I think I need to get my glasses’ prescription renewed.

I will say that the show could’ve been much better with a stronger Roxane and Christian.  I think Jennifer Garner is a lovely girl and a good actress, but this part was perhaps beyond her, as a Broadway debut.  To her credit, however, she made bold choices and played them fully.  That can be hard for a stage novice, so a tip of the hat on that.  The fact that I don’t agree with those bold choices is beside the point (sort of).  ;)   And Sunjata, though very handsome, is just too flat and modern in his delivery to be effective.  And he seemed to rush his final scene, which robbed me of some of Kline’s pathos.

You know what—I think I will wait until after I see the show again for definitive judgments.  I saw big picture from where I was Friday night, but now I’m ready to see some details.  I’ll fill you in later.  Besides, I’ve got ‘I think I’m coming down with a cold’ fuzzy head, so thinking is becoming difficult. 


12/19/07:  So, I enjoyed Cyrano again last night and reveled in the small details that I missed last week!  Kevin Kline is even more astounding up close—he was just on fire last night.  I cried with him twice and had my heart broken by him in the final scene.  Thumbs way up for him.  Though he still didn’t give me what I was looking for in the bakery scene.  Perhaps that’s my fault more than his.  But shouldn’t we see when he realizes Roxane isn’t talking about him?  I think so, but maybe I’m asking too much.  Perhaps my working on that scene in acting class lo those many years ago have clouded my judgment.  I found him to be exquisite, though, otherwise.

Being closer also allowed me to see the gorgeous lighting design more fully and to appreciate the set design.  It’s really lovely—too bad you can’t really tell from the last row.  The bad thing about being closer is that it magnified Daniel Sunjata’s problems as Christian (for me).  He really is flat.  Nothing is happening on that handsome face.  I realize Christian is supposed to be ‘comely and dumb,’ but the actor doesn’t have to be as well.  And his mugging during the balcony scene turned me off.  I was being transported by Kline, while Sunjata was doing some schtick.  Granted, I can understand we don’t want to forget about Christian during this scene, but pulling focus with mugging so that the audience’s laughter muffles the glorious words Kline is speaking is not the right idea.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

Oddly enough, I found Garner more appealing last night.  I’m not sure if it’s because I knew going in about her limitations, but I found her to be a little more relaxed and acting WITH instead of AT the other actors.  Having said that, she still isn’t really ready to play Roxane, but I found her work more positive last night than Friday.  I hope she comes back soon and tries a contemporary play next time.  I know I would’ve enjoyed her a great deal more than Amanda Peet in Barefoot in the Park.

The other actors are fine—I enjoyed the baker and I always love Euan Morton (though his English accent is a distraction).  Chris Sarandon is always lovely, though I found him a little contemporary.  I’m just not sure he would manhandle Roxane quite so much, especially in that first scene.  Maybe later, when he’s trying to press his advantage, but…perhaps he was just trying to make something out of his character.  I’m thinking De Guiche may have lost a little something in this adaptation.

All in all, I enjoyed myself.  Again.  It’s just a lovely play that nearly always plays well and Kevin Kline is a treat.  Plus, it's grand to spend time with my handsome Tony-voter friend.  And, on a fun celebrity note, we were one row in front of Lauren Bacall (who looked great!) and four rows in front of Steve Martin (yay!  Cyranos everywhere!).  Lauren Bacall’s companion practically knocked me over so they could get backstage, but oh well.  I’m just glad I got to see the show again from a much better seat - I mean, if you're near Lauren Bacall and Steve Martin, you're doing pretty ok for yourself!  :)