Performing Arts Department Presents “The Cyrano Project”

Later this month, the SOU Department of Performing Arts will be showcasing, “The Cyrano Project”. This production is adapted by Jo Roet from original playwright Edmund Rostland, with Hilary Tate bringing in additional material.

The original tale of Cyrano (a real-life dramatist and duelist) was written in 1897, and the Performing Arts Department hopes to breathe new life into it. This classic play features fencing, comedy, heroism, and romance. The story takes place in Paris, in the year 1640. A poet and swashbuckler named Cyrano de Bergerac falls in love with the sophisticated and beautiful Roxanne, but he lacks the confidence to confront her due to his unseemingly large nose. Scott Key plays Cyrano, Sazi Bhakti plays Roxanne, and Michael Hays plays Christian, the third member of the story’s love triangle.

“It applies to young people because it’s a play about a person against society and against themselves,” said guest director James Edmondson, an Associate Artist at the Oregon Shakespeare festival. He has been an actor and director for over 37 seasons. “Cyrano is a complicated guy. He has plenty of friends who stick by him. Even in this short, stylized version, the audience will experience tolerance and learning to value people beyond the packaging. It tells about coming to grips with how we look and coming to know our deeper self.” This is Edmondson’s seventh directing production for SOU. In the past he has directed “All my Sons”, “King Lear”, and next summer he will be directing “Henry V”.

Professor Deborah Rosenburg, costume designer, said “We will be employing imagination and whimsy to tell the story, rather than using ornate sets. In particular, I’m most looking forward to the pastry scene, the sword fight, the parasol with letters, and the costume for De Ligniere.”

“The Cyrano Project” will be playing at the Center Square Theatre, on the SOU campus. Showtimes are at 7pm on February 22nd and 23d, as well as on March 1st, 2nd, 8th, and 9th. There will be 2pm showings on February 23d, March 2nd, and March 9th.

Tickets for “Cyrano” are $21 regular, $18 senior, and $6 students. Tickets can be purchased from the Performing Arts Box Office in (located in the Theatre Arts Building lobby) between 10am-5pm, Monday through Friday. (Tickets may also be purchased during the two hours before each performance.)  Tickets are also available to purchase at 541-552-6348, or at sou.edu/performingarts

For more information about tickets and “The Cyrano Project”, please visit sou.edu/theatre

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