Saturday, November 3, 2007

Cyrano

The Broadway revival of Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac, one of my favorite dramas, sounds wonderful. It stars Kevin Kline in the title role, with Jennifer Garner as Lady Roxane. According to The Washington Post:
Kline, we were sure, could hold it together on a stage. Garner, not so much. Known for her TV dramas ("Alias"), action movies ("Elektra") and husband (Ben Affleck), she seemed a sales-driven and potentially plastic choice for the role of a 17th-century Gallic damsel who falls wrongly and rightly for a man with a sword in his scabbard and a rhyme on his lips.

Well, vive la fleur-de-lis and whistle "La Marseillaise"! Garner is a poised, vivacious and plucky Roxane -- just the sort of woman to whom a lovesick poet might scribble quatrains. Playing off Kline's warmly embraceable idea of Cyrano as a hero of leonine forbearance, Garner adds her own grace notes -- as well as finely tuned antennae for comedy.

If a measure of relief seasons a theatergoer's appreciation of Garner, there is nothing but pure admiration for Kline, whose autumnal air is the dominant spirit of this appealing revival, which opened last night at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

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2 comments:

yellojkt said...

I saw it yesterday and reviewed it today on my blog today. I even got some autographs from the cast. The show was ultra-faithful to the play and had very high production values.

elena maria vidal said...

Thanks for the review! I would love to see it!