The Promethean Theater opened a new, localized adaptation of Edmond Rostand's French classic of 1897, Cyrano de Bergerac - changing the sword-wielding poet/soldier to a modern day Miami-based plastic surgeon - on the weekend of Bastille Day, but the result lacks the sharpness of sword or scalpel.
It's a promising premise: Instead of Rostand's nose-y Cyrano of the 1600s, in Cyrano, an Adaptation, we get a portly physician more interested in the altruistic work of reconstructive surgery than in the more lucrative practice of cosmetic surgery. And the play starts well, with its opening moments set at a medical conference where we're introduced to lots of characters and, as surrogate attendees, are shown vivid, projected photos of patients. And then, as he does in the original, Cyrano gets into a playful duel of words over his defining physical trait, in this case weight over nose, with umbrella rather than sword.
This Cyrano is played by the reliable Ken Clement, who comes close to saving the production, but even he can't manage it. Written by Mark E. Hayes -- a local freelance writer, teacher of literature and ex-host of a radio jazz program -- this version broadly follows Rostand's poetic bounces between playfulness and poignancy. This Roxane is a colleague named Dr. Roxane Rostand. And rather than being sent into a war with Spain, this Cyrano and companions are off to a medical outpost in the mountains of Ecuador, too near the violence of Peru. Edmond Rostand's baker of meats and pastries is transformed into the barkeep at a Miami watering hole called the Ancient Mariner; this is good for a bit of fun, but a little startling when, as in the original, he shows up at the end in the war zone.
