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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
NOTE: I read the version translated by Brian Hooker in the 1920s.
Me: my version is by brian hooker
with a forward by SOME DUDE named Clayton Hamilton
who is SO FUCKING PRETENTIOUS i cannot EVEN
he is SUCH A POMPOUS ASS
but I LOVE IT
like
he starts out all
"i asked my friend [actor] to put on Cyrano"
"which was going to cost fucktons of money"
"but gasp imagine all these people who are under thirty who have NEVER SEEN IT??? because it was performed in 1890-mumble and it is now 1920!"
"and my friend was like OH FINE"
"but i went around reading these english translations"
Erica: original was in french? I should get it in french
me:"because of course if it is to make money in NYC, it should be performed in English"
"of course, I only ever read or saw it in French because I am a pretentious bilingual fuck"
"anyway, all these english versions made me want to cry"
"so I went to my poet friend, Brian Hooker"
"and i was like 'clearly you must DROP EVERYTHING and go to the country for some months and translate this JUST FOR ME' because of course i have the wealth to command this sort of behavior"
"let me now detour, into my personal history with this play"
Erica: ahahahhaha
win
me: "which is to say, way back in 1890mumble, I heard that there was an epic theatre thing happening in Paris and I was ALL AFLUTTER because i couldn't go"
"so i ordered a copy of the script and i waited AND WAITED AND WAITED, SO PATIENTLY, HOW I WAITED"
"I THINK PROBABLY THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE PRINT RUN, THIS IS HOW PATIENT I WAS"
"but finally it came"
"and like some kind of 1900 hipster jackass I took my SHINY NEW script to this divey manhattan french bar where poor french expats hang"
"and i mean, i wanted to BE COOL, DADDYO so I made sure that the script was poking out of my pocket and flaunted that shit around"
Erica: I love your summaries of things
btw
me: aahaha HE IS SO GENIUS I CANNOT GET OVER IT
"anyway, once i was in the divey french place i was like GUYS GUYS THIS FRENCH PLAY"
"I LIKE IT BEFORE IT IS COOL HERE"
LET ME READ IT FOR YOU
"they all demanded that i read it aloud"
"in the original french"
Erica: ahahahahahaha
me: "let me now quote that french for you"
"even though the fact that you are reading an english translation probably means you don't speak french but fuck it, i speak french and I can't just let that slide"
I enjoyed the wit tremendously! Oh Cyrano, you're so funny. Also, I'm dying to use the line "It's as if we are in some den of evil!" in conversation.
C'est un classique qui fait peur par sa taille et son style. Il était dans ma pile à lire depuis longtemps car je lis très peu de théâtre (je préfère le voir). J'en connaissais cependant déjà les répliques célèbres, et j'ai découvert autour d'elles un texte riche et poétique, très drôle par moments. Si elle pose forcément des problèmes de mise en scène, la richesse des didascalies permet de se projeter dans un véritable décor mental qui rend la lecture plaisante.
Just hilarious. I absolutely loved Cyrano, he was witty and quick, but so romantic. The ending was just too sad though.
"Asociemos tu labios y mis frases."
Adoré esto con locura. Una historia que sigue siendo algo actual con sentimientos muy eternos, donde se explora la admiración, la prosa y la valentía con muchos infortunios y episodios chuscos. Me divertí y me ensentimente mucho.
Adoré esto con locura. Una historia que sigue siendo algo actual con sentimientos muy eternos, donde se explora la admiración, la prosa y la valentía con muchos infortunios y episodios chuscos. Me divertí y me ensentimente mucho.
A play with it all. Holds a special place in my heart.
My first encounter with Cyrano (even before watching the excellent film version with Gérard Depardieu) was while watching Wishbone at a very young age. Even then, I found something to love in the story, and in the witty, brusque, but also shy Cyrano. Then I read it in English. Then I read it in French. Every encounter was more rewarding than the last.
It could very well be that my fondness for Cyrano comes from having, at certain points in high school, nearly found myself in his position. It is a difficult place to be, and I handled it with considerably less panache.
Since then I have found myself identifying with different characters. But I always come back to Cyrano in the end. At times I have wished myself less like him, and other times more like him.
So even though I have read better plays, I have rarely come across a better character. If I could give this four and a half stars, I would.
It could very well be that my fondness for Cyrano comes from having, at certain points in high school, nearly found myself in his position. It is a difficult place to be, and I handled it with considerably less panache.
Since then I have found myself identifying with different characters. But I always come back to Cyrano in the end. At times I have wished myself less like him, and other times more like him.
So even though I have read better plays, I have rarely come across a better character. If I could give this four and a half stars, I would.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes