New Rep On Tour Presents 'Cyrano' to 20 Boston Schools

New Rep On Tour will close its eighth season with a three-player adaptation of Edmund Rostand's Masterpiece, Cyrano. Over five weeks, beginning March 4, 2008, the Tour will travel to over 20 Boston area schools and reach over 7,000 students.

"Cyrano, a witty, brave and image-conscious poet with a rather conspicuous nose, is in love with the beautiful Roxane. Through an unexpected chain of events, he is destined to help his rival, a handsome yet dumb soldier, win her heart. With word-play, sword-play, poignancy and humor, this three-character adaptation of Edmond Rostand's classic, Cyrano de Bergerac, tells the timeless tale of love, deception, honor, and a great big nose," describe press notes.

Cyrano will be directed by Doug Lockwood, and will feature Robert Kropf,  Paul Melendy, and Rebecca Zaretzky.

New Rep On Tour brings high quality professional productions of relevant plays from the dramatic and literary canon to area schools, in accordance with DOE Curriculum frameworks, onto the stages of local High Schools and Middle Schools in special 90-minute adaptations.  Following each performance, the artists lead a talkback session, allowing students to ask questions and discuss the important topics of the play.  Teachers have come to rely on the Tour as an annual event in their schools, and student testimonials describe the widespread enthusiasm for these productions.

Doug Lockwood (director) New Rep Credits: Twelfth Night, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and The Waverly Gallery. Doug teaches acting at The Boston Conservatory, where he has directed productions of Landscape of the Body, Two Gentlemen of Verona-The Musical, The Beckett Bash and Bent.  He is a founding member of Actors' Shakespeare Project, where he has appeared in the following shows: Henry V; Titus Andronicus; The Winter's Tale; King Lear; Measure for Measure; and Richard III.  Other local credits include: The Fever; A Midsummer Night's Dream at Commonwealth Shakespeare Company; Pericles at American Repertory Theatre; and Pippi Longstocking and Snow White at Wheelock Family Theatre. Regional credits include: Colorado Shakespeare Festival; Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre; Edinburgh Festival; and Consenting Adults Theatre Company in Washington DC. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of Washington, under the direction of Steve Pearson.

Robert Kropf (Cyrano) last appeared at New Repertory Theatre in White People. Other Credits: Astrov in Uncle Vanya (Theatre Company at Hubbard Hall), Beane in Love Song, Robert in On An Average Day, Peter in Bug, Lenny in The Homecoming, Man in Dark Yellow, Dan in Closer, Limping Man in Fuddy Meers, & Bill in Public Exposure (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre); Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Launce in The Two Gentleman of Verona (Illinois Shakespeare Festival); and Konstantin in The Seagull, Krugar in Warplay, and Lincoln in SLAM! (Yale School of Drama Cabaret). A graduate of the American Repertory Theatre's Institute at Harvard University, work at the A.R.T. includes: John Strasberg in Nobody Dies on Friday; Woyceck; as well as Elis in Strindberg's Easter.

Paul Melendy (Christian, et al.) Most recently, Paul has performed in: Commonwealth Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Flute/Thisbe); Actors' Shakespeare Project's Elliot Norton Award-winning Titus Andronicus (Lavinia); Commonwealth Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (Curtis/US Tranio); Publick Theatre's Design for Living (Matthew/Mr. Birbeck); and Shakespeare Now! Theatre Company's Julius Caesar (Octavius).  Other productions include: Summer at Salem's Taming of the Shrew (Hortensio and Tranio); I Hate Hamlet (Andrew Rally); and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Adam).

Rebecca Zaretzky (Roxane, et al.) A recent graduate of The Boston Conservatory musical theatre program, Becca has participated in numerous Conservatory performances including Roberta, Good Woman of Setzuan, Landscape of the Body, Beckett Bash, The Rue Garden, and A Little Night Music. Regionally, she has worked two seasons with the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and was a 2004 company member with the College Light Opera Company in Falmouth.  Most recently, Becca played Electra in Stoneham Theatre's Gypsy.

A public performance will be held Monday, March 17 at 7:30PM at Arsenal Center for the Arts (321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA)

Schools on the 2008 Spring Tour

Nativity Prep - March 4, 2008
Matignon High School - March 7, 2008
Central Catholic High School - March 10, 2008
Central Catholic High School - March 11, 2008
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School - March 12, 2008
Prospect Hill Academy - March 13, 2008
Newton Cultural Center – March 15, 2008, 1:00pm (public performance)
Arsenal Center for the Arts – March 17, 2008, 7:30 supports the Simon Scholarship Fund (public performance)
Rockport Middle School - March 20, 2008
Rockport High School - March 20, 2008
Tantasqua Regional Senior High School - March 31, 2008
Boston Arts Academy - April 3, 2008
The Waring School - April 4, 2008
The Wetherbee School - April 10, 2008
Brandeis University - April 13, 2008