Winner by a nose: James Ridge embodies the passion of 'Cyrano de Bergerac'

By Mike Fischer, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

July 5, 2017

Near the beginning of the thrilling production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” that opened recently in American Players Theatre’s outdoor Spring Green amphitheater, the infamously long-nosed one is challenged to a duel. 

The foolish fop (Casey Hoekstra) taking him on insults Cyrano’s plain appearance.  Cyrano “doesn’t even own a pair of gloves,” he sneers. “No ribbons to his dress, no lace!”

This doomed man might have lobbed the same accusation against director and adaptor James DeVita’s production of “Cyrano,” which opened on a relatively unadorned stage.

Simply dressed by scenic designer Nathan Stuber, DeVita’s production is as sharp as Cyrano’s nose and sword in making the point that even as APT settles into its new stage, it will retain its old values, offering work that focuses on text and story rather than frippery. Good as Matthew J. LeFebvre’s 17th-century costumes are, this is no costume romp. 

Bottom line: If you want to see a swashbuckling “The Three Musketeers” – or another iteration of “Pirates of the Caribbean” – you’ll need to look elsewhere. But if you choose instead to come here, you’ll witness something much better: the latest chapter in James Ridge’s amazing career – proving anew, in the guise of Cyrano, what a piece of work is a man, noble in reason and infinite in faculty.

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