Nip, Tuck, Declaim!

GEORGE SCHIAVONE

Clement, as versatile and talented as they come, but no Cyrano.

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More About

• Mark Hayes
• Edmond Rostand
• Cyrano de Bergerac
• Michaela Cronan
• Matthew Chapman

Maybe so, but if that's the case, then we might as well call this production a workshop and pray the thing goes back to the drawing board.

One occurrence near the end of Cyrano most clearly indicates the kind of thing that needs to be stricken from this piece. Early in the play, we are introduced to the owner/barkeep of an establishment called the Ancient Mariner. This is apparently where Cyrano, and most of the folks who work at his hospital, retire for after-work cocktails. Cyrano and the barkeep have what appears to be a standard-issue bartender/valued customer rapport. But when Cyrano and company meet with trouble in Ecuador while doing their charity work, the head of the hospital shows up with this bartender, who says he came "to be with his friends." Unfortunately, we never had a sense that they were friends, and his sudden presence is a total surprise. We don't get the feeling he's there out of loyalty; we get the feeling he's there because Hayes needed him to further his plot. That seems to be the justification for just about everything in this directionless, deeply inorganic drama.