New, Swashbuckling Adaptation of CYRANO to Play TheatreWorks This Spring

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2015/2016 season with the Regional Premiere of the dazzling romance, CYRANO, a new sprightly adaptation by Michael Hollinger (Opus) and Aaron Posner (My Name is Asher Lev, The Chosen) of Edmond Rostand's classic Cyrano de Bergerac.

Alive with swashbuckling swordplay, witty wordplay, and irresistible romance, this classic tale of unrequited passion and panache flows from the rollicking theatres of 17th century Paris to distant battlements long besieged.

This production will be directed by Robert Kelley with performances April 6 - May 1 (press opening: April 9) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street (at Mercy). For tickets ($19-$80) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Here literature's greatest love triangle evolves in a modern, intimate, and good-humored adaptation that entangles the enchanting heiress Roxane, handsome cadet Christian, and nose-challenged swordsman CYRANO in the love affair of a lifetime. To make the play more accessible, adapters Michael Hollinger and Aaron Posner created a whirlwind production in which actors play multiple roles. The result is hilarious and at times wonderfully intimate.

TheatreWorks has assembled a stellar cast for this production of CYRANO, including J. Anthony Crane, Darren Bridgett, Michael Gene Sullivan, Chad Deverman, Sharon Rietkerk, Stephen Muterspaugh, Christopher Reber, Peter James Meyers, Kit Wilder, and Monica Cappuccini.

J. Anthony Crane makes his TheatreWorks debut as the swashbuckling lead of CYRANO. In the Bay Area, he was recently seen in Ayad Ahktar's Disgraced at Berkeley Repertory Theater. His Broadway credits include The Country House, Sight?Unseen, Butley, and The Winslow Boy, with Roger Rees, while Off-Broadway and regionally, he has appeared in Modern Orthodox, directed by James Lapine; The Music Man at Theater Under The Stars; Disgraced at the Goodman and Seattle Repertory Theaters; Sight Unseen at The Old Globe, and in the First National Tour of The Lion King, as Scar.

TheatreWorks favorite Darren Bridgett returns in the roles of Ligniere and Montfleury (the poetic drunkard, and the disgraced actor who was banished by CYRANO) and other parts. He has appeared previously with TheatreWorks in Peter and the Starcatcher, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Twelfth Night, Once in a Lifetime, Psychopathia Sexualis, The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue, Book of Days, and Nickel and Dimed. He has also appeared in productions at Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, Aurora Theatre Company, Center REPertory Company, and Laguna Playhouse, among others.

Another TheatreWorks veteran, Michael Gene Sullivan, joins the cast as Le Bret, Captain of the Gascony Guard and other roles. He will be recognized by TheatreWorks audiences for his many roles in Peter and the Starcatcher, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Twelfth Night, 33 Variations, Twentieth Century, Violet, Once on This Island, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. He has also appeared with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and Magic Theatre. He is a longtime member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, serving as their resident playwright.

Chad Deverman will play Christian, Roxane's handsome but shy young suitor, as well as other roles. He has been seen on stages across the country including with Playwrights Horizons and Stella Adler Company in New York, as well as locally with San Jose Repertory Theatre, SF Playhouse, California Shakespeare Theatre, Shotgun Players, and Aurora Theatre among others. At TheatreWorks he appeared in 33 Variations, Of Mice and Men, and The Sisters Rosensweig.

Sharon Rietkerk returns to TheatreWorks to play the beautiful Roxane. She has starred in theatre productions across the Bay Area including Little Me (42nd Street Moon), The Sound of Music (Berkeley Playhouse), A Minister's Wife (San Jose Rep), Rumors (Center REPertory), and many others. TheatreWorks' audiences will remember her from Triangle, Marry Me a Little, Little Women, and The Secret Garden.

Stephen Muterspaugh will play the role of Bellerose, the owner of the theatre, and other parts. He has appeared on Bay Area stages with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Marin Shakespeare Company, Jewel Theatre in Santa Cruz, and Livermore Shakespeare Festival. He was most recently seen at TheatreWorks as Elliot Cooper in The Country House.

Christopher Reber returns to TheatreWorks as Ragueneau, the poetry loving pastry-chef, and other roles. He has performed in the Bay Area with San Jose Repertory Theatre, SF Playhouse, and Jewel Theatre, in Colorado with Denver Center Theatre in the Park and Arvada Center, as well as in many other productions across the country. At TheatreWorks he appeared in Peter and the Starcatcher.

Peter James Meyers will play the power hungry aristocrat De Guiche who sets his sights on Roxane, as well as other parts. He has been seen in TheatreWorks' productions of Old Money, The Old Boy, The Heidi Chronicles, as well as in productions at Marin Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater, Marin Shakespeare Company, Magic Theatre, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre among several others. Meyers was also featured in several episodes of Nash Bridges on television and in the feature film About Last Night.

Kit Wilder will play De Valvert, the stylish but vain expert swordsman and sidekick to De Guiche, in addition to other roles. No stranger to TheatreWorks, Wilder has consulted on stage combat and other mayhem for several recent productions, and appeared as John Wilkes Booth in A Civil War Christmas. He has been seen often with Santa Cruz Shakespeare and currently serves as the Associate Artistic Director for City Lights Theatre of San Jose.

Monica Cappuccini makes her TheatreWorks debut as Desiree, Roxane's old nurse and chaperone, and other roles. She has been seen with Center REPertory Company, Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Shotgun Players, Pear Theatre, Hillbarn Theatre, and Palo Alto Players among several others.

Robert Kelley (Director) is TheatreWorks' Founder and Artistic Director and has served as artistic head of the company since its inception in 1970. He has directed more than 170 TheatreWorks productions, including many world and regional premieres. In 2003 he was honored with the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Paine Knickerbocker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He received BATCC Awards for Outstanding Direction for his productions of Into the Woods, Pacific Overtures, Rags, Sweeney Todd, Another Midsummer Night, Sunday in the Park with George, Jane Eyre, and Caroline, or Change. He recently directed the record-setting production of Jane Austen's EMMA, as well as The Country House, Fallen Angels, Sweeney Todd, and Marry Me a Little.

With some 100,000 patrons per year, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has captured a national reputation for artistic innovation and integrity, often presenting Bay Area theatregoers with their first look at acclaimed musicals, comedies, and dramas, directed by award-winning local and guest directors, and performed by professional actors cast locally and from across the country. A home for artists developing new works, it was at TheatreWorks that Memphis, the 2010 Tony Award-winning musical that played on Broadway for three years before embarking on a 19 month national tour, was first workshopped and received its world premiere. It recently enjoyed an extended run on London's West End, where it recently captured two Olivier Awards.