Inner beauty

By Catherine Capellaro, The Isthmus

July 13, 2017

Cyrano de Bergerac fears nothing — or so it appears at the top of Edmond Rostand’s play when the gallant poet/philosopher/soldier leaps about the stage, crafting a verse while decimating, physically and intellectually, a man who insults him. Not long after, he single-handedly vanquishes 100 men in defense of a friend.

Yet Cyrano paces and trembles when his lovely cousin Roxane (the coquettish Laura Rook) requests a private meeting. Does he dare to hope that she will reciprocate his love?

Cyrano de Bergerac, playing at American Players Theatre through October 6, is a romance that rivals Romeo and Juliet. The play, written in 1897, captured my heart at age 14, and I am happy to report that my love for the story and its titular character has not diminished with age. I was captured by the great tragedy of a person’s outward appearance not matching his beautiful soul. As an awkward (blemished) teen, I yearned to be seen for who I really was. We all do, which is why Cyrano is an easy play to love. James DeVita’s adaptation of the French translation sparkles, hitting all the right notes, both comedic and tragic.

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