Kate Villanova, Dalton Gray and Gabriel Barre, foreground, rehearse for “Cyrano de Bergerac.” LARRY LEVANTI Good, old-fashioned romance is rhyming, swashbuckling and sword-fighting its way to the stage of the Philip J. Levin Theater.
The Rutgers Theater Co.’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” opens Nov. 15. New Jersey residents involved in the production include cast members Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid of Newark, Midori Iwama of Rumson, Jeffrey Sanchez of Jersey City and Kate Villanova of Montclair, along with set designer Ashley Cusack of Long Branch.
Passion and chivalry are alive and kicking, thanks to Cyrano de Bergerac. He’s poetic, charming, brave and protective — and he’s in hot pursuit of his smart and beautiful cousin Roxane. But those who mention his rather impressive nose will meet the sharp end of Cyrano’s sword.
“This is one of the best male roles out there,” said Gabriel Barre, the Tony Award–nominated director of the play who also stars in the title role. “It’s hard not to have a good time with it.” Of course, there must be unrequited love and character mix-ups in any good romantic tale: Cyrano has some competition in handsome but dim-witted Christian, who uses Cyrano as his ghostwriter of love letters to try to win Roxane’s heart.
Although Cyrano is set in 17thcentury France during the age of Louis XIII, Barre said the play’s “humble approach to storytelling” is both “poignant and timeless.”
Barre chose the Anthony Burgess translation of the 1897 French play for its clever and humorous rhymed verses and its “rich and beautiful imagery.” It became the basis for the 1990 film starring Gérard Depardieu.
The performance piles on the romance with a live musical score performed by actor-musicians, which adds a “beautiful layer,” according to Barre.
And what’s a good love story without a fight scene or two? Under the direction of award-winning Broadway fight director Rick Sordelet, Cyrano’s sword-fighting scenes keep things from getting too loveydovey. Tony Award-winning lighting designer Jeff Croiter joins the company to lead the design team.
“This is theater of the senses,” Barre said. “There’s so much for audiences to experience.”
Who will triumph in the end and win Roxane’s heart? Only the nose knows.
The show runs Nov. 15-24. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday .
Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20 for Rutgers alumni and employees and seniors, and $15 for students with valid ID.
The Philip J. Levin Theater is in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George St., on the Douglass Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
For more information about Mason Gross events, visit www.masongross.rutgers.edu or call the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center ticket office at 848-932-7511.