Albuquerque Little Theatre is updating a 17th-century French play.
"The music from that era is pretty dull," said Theresa Reid, director of "Cyrano de Bergerac." "I'm just not into harpsichord. I'm not into opera. Back in 17th-century France, they were just starting to experiment with opera, and it wasn't that impressive, so I did my sound design around my young cast."
She chose French pop music from the '60s, '70s and '80s.
"It drives the story along," she said. "It's reflective of the actors and their ages, and it's kind of funky. I think it works."
"Cyrano de Bergerac," a swashbuckling romance written by Edmond Rostand, tells the story of a successful and virtuous man whose big nose cripples him with self-doubt.
"He's a professional soldier, a Gascon, and the Gascons were kind of the Special Forces of the French army during the 30-year war between France, Spain and Austria," Reid said. "They were quite feared. They were like the Navy Seals. This is the reign of Louis XIII, so we're talking about 1640s France."
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Reid had a professional fight choreographer assist in the battle scenes and sword fights.
Cyrano was a real man - a poet and a professional soldier, she said.
"And he did have, reports say, a rather large nose, but probably not as big as the Cyrano in the play," Reid said. "The real Cyrano lived a full life. The Cyrano in the play is more of a tragic character. He has incredible virtues: He's proud and artistic and honest and courageous and honorable and all these virtues that would attract people to him, but the thing that he believes stands between him and the rest of the world is his nose."
As a child, Cyrano falls in love with his cousin Roxane, but he can't profess his love to her because he's certain she'll reject him for his ugliness.
"He could probably have Roxane if he wanted her," said Tawni Waters, who plays her. "He just has too much self-doubt. The man who plays Cyrano is a really good-looking man, anyway."
So, she gets involved with a handsome soldier named Christian, but he lacks the wit to express himself through words.
"Back in that era, it was considered a virtue if a man could write well and romance a woman through the written word," Reid said. "That's about as far as Christian can get in professing his love for Roxane, is saying, 'I love you,' and that's not enough for her. So, he and Cyrano team up, and Cyrano agrees to write Christian's love letters for him. So, Cyrano gets to express his own personal love for Roxane with the pretense they are actually Christian's letters."
Although the music and actors give the play an updated feel, the costumes are true to the time period.
"They're very traditional," Waters said. "Theresa researched very carefully the dress from that period. They're very accurate, whether I like it or not. I just think I look enormous in my costume. It's a beautiful costume - I'm just being a girl."
"Cyrano de Bergerac"
Tonight
8 p.m.
Albuquerque Little Theatre
224 San Pasquale Ave. S.W.
Through Feb. 17
Friday-Saturday
8 p.m.
Sunday
2 p.m.
$10-$22
