Colorado Shakespeare Festival Explores The Passion And Panache Of CYRANO DE BERGERAC

Opening on July 6, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival's production of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac at the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre recalls its delightful retelling in the 1987 movie Roxanne, starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.

"Cyrano has it all," says CSF Producing Artistic Director Timothy Orr of the play that premiered in Paris in 1897. "It's witty, and it has a huge heart. And let's not forget that it gave us the word 'panache.'"

Indeed, the character Cyrano (played by Scott Coopwood, who last year thrilled CSF audiences as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and wowed as Brutus in Julius Caesar) is famed for his passion and panache.

But it's that same quality that seats him in the midst of an epic love triangle: Cyrano loves Roxane (played by Brynn Tucker in her CSF debut). Roxane loves the witless Christian (Marco Robinson). And, of course, Christian needs Cyrano's poetic prowess to help woo Roxane for himself. What ensues is a comedy complete with elaborate swordplay, gorgeous language and a timeless romance.

It's the perfect time to introduce fresh audiences to the infamous Cyrano, says Director Christopher DuVal. "We've become starved for examples of cultural, political and personal fortitude-of panache ... We're reminded of our own ability to achieve collective virtuousness and deeply held honor-even in the face of all odds."

Cyrano de Bergerac runs through August 11. Tickets start at $20.