The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 16, 1994 - 9 Lavish 'C By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO Forget "Romeo and Juliet." For-; get "Beauty and the Beast." This sea- son the Stratford Festival has defined the greatest love story of all time (and it's not "Miss Saigon"). Their pro- duction of "Cyrano de Bergerac" will stand in greatness for all time, for its decor, its wit and its panache.+ Edmund Rostand's "Cyrano de; yrano' plays riously consider keeping Cyrano around for next season as well, thus creating opportunities for other ac- tors and giving the Festival a chance to make some money.) The cast of 34 plays the numerous roles with great ease; they often ap- pear to number well over 50. Derek Goldby deserves much credit for ma- neuvering everyone about the stage so smoothly. John Stead has choreo- graphed perhaps the largest and most well executed battle scene ever to be done on the Festival stage. The production is a spetacle in the true sense of the word, but in no way is the visual pomp meant to shadow the performances. Martha Burns is a lovely Roxanne, fortunatlely lacking the conceit that so often makes Roxanne unappealing to the audience. But the production belongs, as it should, to Colm Feore as Cyrano. We have seen Feore in many great major roles, including Hamlet, Rich- ard III and Romeo. However, Cyrano is the culmination of 13 stellar sea- sons with the Festival, a grand ending to an even grander Stratford stint. Feore endows him with all the requisite charm, passion, heart, soul and wit. He wrings from Rostand's poetry every last bit of emotion, and his death scene is heartwrenching. Feore's performance is everything Cyrano stands for, and he departs from Stratford with panache. with panache Bergerac" is not a great play. It is highly lyrical, sometimes wordy, and often plays clumsily. However, a de- lightful new translation/adaptation by Anthony Burgess brings out the inner beauty of Rostand's poetry, giving this production an extra punch. The story of Cyrano is a heartful one. Hercule-Sacinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (Colm Feore) is the em- bodiment of the lunatic, the lover and the poet: he is passionate, spirited and witty; he has a poem for any occasion and a willful defiance for everyone. But his physical appearance dampens on that resilient spirit: his nose is the most grotesque nose ever to exist. He loves a lady, the beautiful Roxanne (Martha Burns), but she loves another, the handsome young Christian (Ben Bass). Christian is beautiful of face but at a permanent loss for words, so Cyrano promises to help Christian woo Roxanne. Writing letters and romantic speeches, at least Cyrano can show his love for her, even if it is through Christian's body. Roxanne and Christian are mar- ried secretely, but Christian is imme- diately sent off to battle. Cyrano goes as well, keeping an eye on Christian and writing letters daily to Roxanne. Christian doesn't make it out of the battle, and Roxanne retires to a nun- nery. So 15 years, many letters and one elaborate battle scene later, Roxanne discovers the truth. It is too late for Cyrano and her, but Cyrano can go to his grave secure in her love. The beauty of the story is eclipsed perhaps only by the grandeur of this production. Tim Goodchild has de- signed a lavish production from top to bottom; from the wigs and the hats to the satins and brocades - not to men- tion the realistic pastry shop props - no expense has been spared. One daren't estimate the dent this produc- tion must have put in the Festival's budget. (Richard Monette should se- CYRAN( DE BERGERAC plays through November 12 at the Festival Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. For tickets, accommoda- tions, or information about this or other productions, call the Festival Box Office at (519) 273-1600. Cyrano (Colm Feore) pours his heart out in a letter to his beloved Roxanne. EMMAUS FELLOWSHIP 10 minutes south of 1-94 and US-23 ANN ARBOR YPSILANTI1 S194 N.a I-. S a. CARPENTER EXIT cc URD Ke sn amo HURO mw 424 HURD MILAN 973-6910 439-2400 Christ-Centered Contemporary Music Sunday School & Nursery L zl lwlnwv crnv#.rr 4.1% w &. I m SLM1RUI UI 3RL&A r EU W1 W.'A I I JP& INV 1%.L IA 0 - A!. ,G i'- , Gi le: r K :,iz-- }+ (, A x -1 'a biiies . -9 0 WordPerfgct 0iatrPp5 SPECIAL LIMITED-TIME OFFER: WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows, Quattro Pro 5.0 for Windows, and Random House Webster's Electronic Dictionary and Thesaurus, College Edition. 'Now The most powerful DOS application ever! i t , ..t ! Cpv vnrir Aural rmmnuc rv.cvllpr fnr