All the world may be a stage, but in cramped Hoboken, the space for art seems smaller than ever. Yet, one professional theater company has found a cozy part of town to keep hosting its productions.
As it raises the funding needed to renovate its new home at The Artisan at 1408 Clinton St., Hoboken’s leading professional theater company finds itself in an intimate space across the street in the Edge Lofts at 14th and Clinton streets, donated graciously by the building’s owner Larry Bijou.
How lucky, then, that Mile Square Theatre has found a perfect play to fill this shortened space – “Cyrano,” Jo Roets’ 1996 adaptation of the classic Edmond Rostand tale. Though they are packed in, the three actors that fill all of the play’s roles are far from buttoned up.
The play tells the tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, a swashbuckling nobleman of 1600s Paris whose rapier is as sharp as his tongue. Cyrano loves his distant cousin Roxane but will never confess it, believing he could never be loved thanks to his elephantine nose.
Instead, Cyrano lends his words to the object of Roxane’s affection, Christian de Neuvillette, a handsome but vapid newcomer to his army regiment.
Doing away with the illusion
Director Mark Cirnigliaro relies heavily on the art of suggestion to create a bygone world of duels and chivalry. Cyrano and Roxane are played by Lenard Petit and Meeya Davis respectively, but every other role is filled by Will Hardyman, who must continuously run off stage to change costumes.
A battlefield is evoked by a pile of strewn chairs, placed by the actors. Two shoes slapped together become a galloping horse. When Cyrano single-handedly fights off 100 cutthroats, he does so behind a curtain while his playmates yell and bang swords together. “We chose to give away the illusion,” said Petit.
The kids “let you know right away whether you’re good or not.” – Lenard Petit
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An equally important component of the play’s success is the quality of its leading man. Petit played Cyrano in the inaugural production of Mile Square Theatre in 2004, and the intervening decade can only have deepened his appreciation for the nuances of the wizened wordmaster.
What stands out about Petit’s Cyrano is not the massive nose but the weary wrinkles around his eyes. Petit graces Cyrano’s bombast with an undercurrent of anguish, an inner recognition that no amount of fine words can ever make him the man Roxane will love. This effect is enhanced by the fact that Petit is much older than his co-stars, both of whom were his students in Rutgers’ theater arts program.
Working in close quarters
Perhaps in recognition of their small venue and rustic set, the actors and director do not invest heavily in a fourth wall. From the very beginning of the play, the performers do not hide that they are performing, talking to the audience, making eye contact and gauging reactions.
“The intimacy of the theater provides something for the audience so they’re not removed from the production, they’re not passively sitting and watching, which we’re not interested in at all,” said Cirnigliaro. “We want an active dialogue with the audience and the actors.”
Engaging the audience is of particular importance because “Cyrano” is MST’s 2014 Young Audience production, geared towards igniting a love for theater in children.
“I think giving up the illusion was an invitation for [the children] to really join our world instead of sit here and watch us be in our own world,” said Davis.
At a Wednesday performance for third graders from the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School, one of several school groups that will see the play, that mission seemed to be succeeding. The children responded readily to the large gestures and broad physical comedy of the cast, hooting and laughing along, though their disgusted reaction to Christian’s consummative kiss with Roxane belied Cyrano’s gaze of aching desire.
All three actors said they loved performing for children. “They let you know right away whether you’re good or not,” said Petit.
Connecting with the kids, it seemed, went both ways for the actors. For Hardyman, performing on a small stage with imagined battlefields, over-the-top accents and frilly costumes was like childhood play all over again.
“When they built the set and we came in,” said Hardyman, “for me it was like ‘Oh my gosh! This is a little fort! We can do whatever our imagination comes up with.’”
“Cyrano” runs from Oct. 11 to Oct. 26, Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. On Oct. 26 at 5 p.m., the troupe will perform an adjusted performance for children with special needs and their loved ones, sponsored by The Kessler Foundation.
Tickets are $22 for adults and $12 for students/seniors and can be purchased at milesquaretheate.org, or at the door. Reservations are strongly recommended.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.