Cyrano de Bergerac a hit

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks introduced Malta to Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac," last Thursday on the South lawn of the Phillips County Courthouse.

The tale was written by Rostand in the late 1890's however the play was set in France during the Franco-Spanish War in the 1640's.

The play featured Cyrano de Bergerac, a charming and witty French Soldier who was quite the swordsman and poet.

Bergerac was portrayed by Danny Junod, who played the part perfectly.

"It's really empowering," Junod told the PCN. "The sword fighting and the language is a bonus because the character himself is a man who loves greatly, a man who feels a lot, he's a man who's interested in the finer things."

Though Cyrano could see all the beauty of the world around him, because of the huge flaw in between his eyes, he failed to see the beauty in himself.

"It's an interesting dichotomy of struggle," Junod said. "That's why his life ends the way it does."

Bergerac's main squeeze was his cousin Roxanne; however the story's hero would eventually lead Christian de Neuvillette to marry her.

Christian was as handsome as Cyrano was poetic, so Cyrano spoke through Christian to Roxanne. Roxanne fell in love with Cyrano's worlds, which were presented by Christian. Christian and Roxanne would eventually marry.

The union wouldn't last long as both Cyrano and Christian were sent to war by Count De Guiche who also had deep emotions for Roxanne.

Christian would be killed in the war.

It wouldn't be until 15 years later that Roxanne would learn that the love language that was expressed through Christian was actually from that of Cyrano.

By then it would be too late as Cyrano would die from a fatal wound after expressing his love for his beloved Roxanne.

"Being in love with his cousin is an out of date sort or a thing," Junod said. "We can all still understand that quality of love. That's what so relatable."

Roxanne, who was caught in a love "rectangle," was played by Sarah Dunnavant who shared some insight.

"Sometimes you want what you want as a person," Dunnavant said. "I think she's very single-minded about what she wants and so she sets everything else aside."

Dunnavant's acting was spot on, not giving away a single hint of what would happen at any given part of the play. She was taught this early in her career.

"Something that directors always say is that you can't really play the end of a scene at the beginning," Dunnavant said. "You have to go in as an actor hoping for the best as your character. Today, Roxanna hopes that she and Christian will be married and they will go off and live together forever. Of course that's not what happens, but if she doesn't believe that's whats going to happen then the scene completely changes."

The sword fighting choreography for the play was impressive and though Junod had never faught with a sword until this summer, he impressed.

"We have three and a half weeks of rehearsals, where we rehearse two plays," Junod said noting that he had roughly around a week and a half to learn the craft.

He said that all of the actors and actresses come in with different skill levels but they work and work until things come together.

"Lines are somewhat easier but sword fighting definitely takes a lot of time," Junod said. "It's a lot of work and it's exhausting."

After a period of rehearsals, the journey doesn't get easier for the Shakespeare actors and actresses.

"We go 6,500 miles in two and a half months," Junod said. "We do a show almost everyday, with the exception of three days. We're always on the go."

The cast is also their own setup and tear down crew, setting their impressive stage up for every performance.

"Right now it takes us about two hours to setup and two to tear down," Dunnavant said. "By the end of tour, hopefully we can setup in an hour and a half and tear down in an hour."

The actors and actresses with Shakespeare in the Parks are professionals from all over the country. The team and play is sponsored by Montana State University.