Inside the All-Star Revivals of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ and ‘American Buffalo’
‘Cyrano de Bergerac’
Much is said, many times airlessly, about taking a classic text and rendering it anew. The latest adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac at BAM (to May 22), written by Martin Crimp and directed by Jamie Lloyd, is the real deal, and one of those beg-borrow-steal moments to acquire a ticket.
James McAvoy, sans big honker, plays the title role in modern dress on a starkly contemporary set, in which locations like bookshop and battlefield are left to us to summon in our imaginations, which we do thanks to the tabula rasa designed by Soutra Gilmour, who also does the costumes, and lit by Jon Clark, who does many magical things, most stunning of all conveying a battlefield using hundreds of lightbulbs.