House Theatre's tenth season opens stabbing and slashing its way into your funny bone and heart

Cyrano fights with one hand and writes with the other

Cyrano opened House Theatre's tenth season on Sept. 4 with swords flying, humor jabbing and the centuries old tale of unrequited love tugging at your heart strings. It is delightful and should not be missed. You have through Oct. 16 to see it at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division in Chicago's Wicker Park.

The show opens with Cyrano, a French soldier, sitting at the piano. He sings, tickles the ivories and whistles, engaging the audience around the word "panache." What is panache? As Cyrano puts it "...it's French, it's this white feather in my cap, it's the way I walk,  it's the way I talk, it's the way I sing, it's how I do everything. It's how I swing the sword and fight. It's how I write with a mind that's coiled tight...It's what I stand for, what I fight for. It's how I stand for what I'm fighting for."

Quickly the rhetoric, humor and swashbuckling pick up. Cyrano, played by Shawn Pfautsch, has an encounter with French nobleman Valvert (Jason Peregoy) and his entourage. The subject of the verbal discourse is Cyrano's face, specifically his nose.

With obvious displeasure with his own lonnnggg nose, Cyrano lashes and sometimes slashes out at those who comment on its size. He is a remarkable duelist, musician and joyfully gifted poet who loves to write and speak in rhyme. But, when it comes to romance, he believes that no woman, especially the beautiful Roxane (Stacy Stoltz) who he loves, could possibly love him.

Roxane tells Cyrano about her true love

Having summoned the courage to profess his feelings, he is about to reveal the truth to the beautiful Roxane when she tells him that she has found her true love. It is a soldier with whom she has not spoken, but she is sure that he is the one. To be certain, she wants Cyrano to make sure that he writes to her. She, like Cyrano, adores conversation and the expression of feelings in words.

Cyrano realizes that though the soldier, named Christian (Glenn Stanton), is an awesome physical specimen of manhood, he is lacking in mental attributes and ability to express affection. Thus, he takes on the task of writing letters to Roxane which Christian delivers as his own. The tale continues amid battles, romantic longing and of course tragedy.The story was first told in an 1897 play by French dramatist and poet Edmond Rostand. The tale spun by Rostand did not resemble the real Cyrano de Bergerac's life. The tale, however, has fascinated many who have produced different types of productions from plays and movies to musical compositions.

The House's Matt Hawkins' fun, enjoyable adaptation and direction is topped off by his amazing fight choreography. Kevin O'Donnell has once again produced wonderful original music with lyrics by Shawn Pfautsch and Matt Hawkins.

For an extra sense of excitement, I suggest that you sit in the front row. You will feel as though you are part of the cast, but swordless!

Show times are Thursdays thru Saturdays and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available on the web or by phone at 773.769.3832. Price: $25, students $10.

Photos courtesy of: Michael Brosilow

For more information: Nutracker 2010, Odradek