cyrano de bergerac

[Puckrox]

So, how many of you have actually seen it or know the plot?

I'm seeing it at the end of August (in Ashland), and I've read it several times. It's a really awesome play and I can't wait till I get to see it!

[OrigamiEmu]

This doesn't exactly qualify as a reply, but this thread seems like a good place to put a summary of Cyrano de Bergerac.

So for those of you who don't know the show:
It takes place in 19th century France. Cyrano is a gallant poet/soldier who just happens to have an enormous nose. He's in love with his beautiful cousin Roxanne, who has also attracted the attentions of a good-looking but dumb soldier named Christian. Christian asks Cyrano for help wooing Roxanne, and Cyrano consents. He writes love poems and letters to Roxanne, signing them with Christian's name, and Roxanne falls madly in love with Christian. When Cyrano and Christian are called away to battle, Christian is killed, and Roxanne goes into mourning, believing that the profound, intellectual poet who wrote her all those beautiful letters has died. She's so upset that she actually winds up cloistering herself in a convent with a bunch of nuns, where the loving Cyrano visits her daily. However, Cyrano has made many powerful enemies by writing satire, and one day one of these enemies attempts to kill him. With a terrible head injury, he goes to visit Roxanne as usual. He is dying, and in the last moments of his life he reveals his secret to Roxanne, who realizes that he was the one she was in love with all along. And then he dies.

The end.

Whew! I hope I got that all right... It's been a while since I read the play.

[Chai Latte]

Bridget, you forgot a part of Cyrano. You know, the part after he dies where everyone with a soul bursts into tears.

I love Cyrano de Bergerac and moreso, oddly enough, than what Shakespeare I've seen/read. As You Like It came very close, probably because of Jacques and Touchstone. It's a pity I haven't read it again since freshman year, even though I bought a copy. Reading Fade to Black has reminded me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday that I really should reread it.

Out of curiousity, has anyone seen the movie with Gerard Depardeaux? (I probably murdered his last name.) It's in French, and I forget if the subtitles are literal or an English translation that maintains the meter. Literal translations really bother me, especially of Cyrano's last words. Just leave it "panache"!

If you've read it, who's your favorite character?

[WeeDeadGirl]

Oh, I love the Gerard Depardieu version! Christian is so adorable, and Roxane is just lovely. I think it's not a literal translation, because I definitely remember the subtitles rhyming in appropriate places.

Edit: Favorite character! Hmm... (wow, this is a late addition. shhh) I love Cyrano, obviously, and I have a special place in my heart for Christian, too. Poor little guy, he's trying to do the right thing. My secret (really random) favorite, though, is Ragueneau's wife, Lise.