Before a single one of its duels (physical or verbal) has been fought, and before a single one of its songs (by members of the great indie rock band The National) has been sung, the musical “Cyrano” has already made history at Goodspeed Musicals.
“Cyrano” set box office records when tickets first went on sale in May. The run was recently extended by a week.
The show, based on the classic adventure/romance “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, is receiving a workshop production Aug. 3 through Sept. 9 at the Goodspeed’s intimate Norma Terris Theatre, 33 N. Main St., Chester.
This premiere production is notable for its star power. “Cyrano” stars Peter Dinklage of the film “The Station Agent” and TV’s “Game of Thrones,” and is directed by Erica Schmidt, who also wrote the show’s book. Dinklage and Schmidt are married; their previous stage collaboration was a revival of Turgenev’s “A Month in the Country” for New York’s Classic Stage Company in 2015.
The music and lyrics are by three members of the internationally successful indie rock band The National — Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner — plus the band’s longtime collaborator Carin Besser. (Berninger and Besser are another married couple associated with “Cyrano.” They’ve been co-lyricists on The National albums for over a decade. He also co-produced, and she co-produced and edited, the 2014 documentary about the band “Mistaken for Strangers.”)
Besides Dinklage, the “Cyrano” cast includes Haley Bennett from the movie “The Girl on the Train” as Roxanne (the object of Cyrano’s affections), Blake Jenner from TV’s “Glee” as Christian (whom Cyrano helps woo Roxanne), Tom Riis Farrell and Damon J. Gillespie (both of the recent TV drama “Rise”), Broadway veterans Patrick Kerr and Gayle Samuels, off-Broadway regular Claire Saunders, Trinity Rep company member Charlie Thurston and Laith Nakli.
Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac play has been adapted numerous times, including as the Steve Martin comedy “Roxanne” and a previous musical in 1993 by novelist Anthony Burgess and film composer Michael J. Lewis. Goodspeed Musicals Executive Director Michael Gennaro has said that Schmidt’s version is set in an indistinct historical period “between 1500 and 1880,” and that the score is played live onstage by a rock band, though the musicians will not be members of The National.
Performances are Wednesday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $70. 860-873-8668; goodspeed.org.
