Cyrano (The New Group)

See it if u want to see a stirring, witty perf by Dinklage (who's no singer!) in an otherwise lackluster & unnecessarily musicalized version of Cyrano

Don't see it if u expect a high-energy, swashbuckling version of Rostand's play or Cyrano's prominent proboscis; u hope to discover a memorable new score.

See it if you are a Dinklage fan, love the story and don't expect too much from the direction or production.

Don't see it if you're counting on a nose, great music/lyrics, memorable songs, great direction. Repetitive music uses mostly five notes per boring song.

Also Dinklage is the heart of the play but his singing voice is poor. If casting wanted his acting chops why make him sing, why not just use his best qualities as an actor?The music is less than tuneful and does not use Jones' voice to the best of her ability. The direction of the last scene is done well but the rest is talented high school quality.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a Peter Dinklage fan and appreciate the Cyrano story in any form. Some exceptional staging but mostly I was bored.

Don't see it if you want to see a real love story with real, not cardboard, characters.

See it if You are a fan of The National. You enjoy plays with music more than traditional book-musicals.

Don't see it if You are a Cyrano purist and would not like to see large amounts of cuts in the source material.

Also "Never tell the one you love that you do
Save it for the deathbed." -The National

The quote above is from the song Cardinal Sins off of The National's 2003 album, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers. So it seems that at least the subject matter of Cyrano has been swimming, consciously or subconicosuly, in Matt Beringer's mind for quite some time.

I'm a fan of The National's music. It's the kind of atmospheric music I enjoy putting on when I'm feeling morose and just want to lean into it a little. Unfortunately the kind of drawn out speech patterns that are infused in their melodies are completely counterproductive when trying to portray the witty genius that is Cyrano. In speech he is quick and agile but in song he, and everyone else, is constrained to the sleepy lull of the score.

There are some memorable tunes, notably the songs at the siege, but they are few and far between.

The production's fatal flaw is that Cyrano, as written, rarely gets to show off his "panache."... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see Peter Dinklage and his great performance.

Don't see it if you want memorable, good music.

See it if you really like Dinklage or Jenner - they're both great. The director continues to have a great visual vocabulary.

Don't see it if You're hoping for anything new or relevant in Cyrano. The music doesn't add anything other than time.

See it if You would really like to see Peter Dinklage on stage in a singing role. It is a musical (surprisingly).

Don't see it if Need more than a few pop-like songs and are looking for a play. Nothing groundbreaking is happening.

Also I walked in expecting a play. My mistake. Peter is a great actor and there are a few zingers that are funny in Act 1. The piece is decent but there's nothing that particularly stands out. Not the music. Not the staging. Not costume design. Did I expect more from an off-broadway production? Maybe. I think there was a gem waiting to happen somewhere but it falls short overall. If you can catch it with lotto tickets it doesn't make for a bad night but I would not pay full price for the production or expect to be blown away.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Dinklage and Jones from their other projects. Very cool to see them up close doing their thing

Don't see it if you like discomfortable seating and a slow show at times. Great acting, but slow

See it if You really need to see Peter Dinklage.

Don't see it if You want good music/lyrics. They were trite. Overall, very disappointing.

See it if You like Peter Dinklage. You like a more intimate, original (musical) take on a classic play. Overall decent performances.

Don't see it if You dislike the torturous, tragic story. The weak lyrics/music detract from the story's believability, as does Dinklage's passable singing.

See it if you must see Dinklage's powerful performance, or if you must hear anything by the National, whether it helps the show or not (It does not!)

Don't see it if you mind that the score is banal and repetitive and diminishes the play, or if you care that the setting is at times modern, but mostly not.

See it if The cast, as a whole, is great, and it was a treat to see Peter Dinklage. When they weren't singing, I was into it.

Don't see it if I love the National as a band. Their style does not translate to the theatre. Even with solid to great singers, it was just turgid.

Also I would love to see this cast do the play Cyrano. They rallied after every song with terrible lyrics. In the final scene (you know it if you know the story), I started to get choked up, and then the song started, which spoiled the whole emotional effect.

Every song had the same tempo, the same repetitive rhythm, the same few notes.

There was also cool staging throughout.

Honestly, take out the songs, and you'd have a great night of theatre.... Read more Read less

See it if The only reason to see is to see Peter Dinklage live. The basic plot of Cyrano without much heightened language, or love of language.

Don't see it if the music and lyrics don't suit the original script and they dumb down the show. It is language that wins our heart. This version doesn't.

Also I thought it was interesting that Cyrano's "nose" was used as a euphemism for Dinklage's height. Dinklage gives a strong performance and has a warm baritone voice although a little pitchy. But because of him not having a big nose, all of the nose banter was cut. The strongest vocalist is Blake Jenner, but they have him playing an anachronistic valley dude "Wait..What!?" And Jasmine Caphas has a lovely and unique voice, but one that I don't see for this show.

I would have preferred a traditional take on the Cyrano script. Putting some of the original poetry to music and leaning towards more period or period neutral music. The music didn't have the spirit of the original script, so they lowered the quality of the script instead of giving us music with more heart and the joie de vivre that Cyrano lived with. I would skip it unless you think seeing Peter Dinklage live onstage is worth sitting through a dull show. I would have loved to see Dinklage in the original version w/o music.... Read more Read less

See it if you're a fan of The National; you want to see a stellar cast doing its best with challenging material

Don't see it if you want songs that sound like they're from musicals; you want a show that knows what story it's telling; you want a lead that can sing

Also Ok, so this was the first preview, so maybe they'll work out some of the issues. But the issues are many!

The show doesn't know if it's a comedy or tragedy. The best scenes were when Peter Dinklage and Blake Jenner were playing off each other. But those were few and far between.

For a play that's about a woman falling in love with a man's words, we heard surprisingly few of them.

Peter Dinklage is not a singer. This weighed the show down.

The show was anachronistic in parts, but not consistently. It felt like it was going for a Spring Awakening vibe in parts, where the nonmusical scenes were period, and the songs were modern. But that didn't come through clearly....if that was the intent at all.

It is a crime to have Grace McLean in a show and not give her a number.

The National's music doesn't lend itself to a musical format.

They should lose the score that plays under the nonmusical scenes.

Peter Dinklage raps. It's not a high point.

I have so many more thoughts...... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a well-acted musical adaptation of the classic story of Cyrano de Bergerac.

Don't see it if you want a traditional musical with big production numbers and a leading actor who is a great singer.

See it if You want to hear a beautiful score by The National. Jasmine Cephas Jones is stunningly gorgeous & her voice is beautiful. Enjoy New Group.

Don't see it if You want a great adaptation. The staging was the = of walking through really thick mud. Would rather have heard Matt Berninger sing Cyrano.

See it if You want to see any of the cast live, regardless of material, if you like the band The National

Don't see it if You want poetry, or cohesion, or a leading man who can sing

Also Clearly a ton of money has been spent securing a top notch creative team to try and pull this sucker off, but for me, it just never happened. There was confetti and flour throwing and snow and falling leaves and sand choreography...you won't be bored.

Jasmine Cephas Jones as Roxane was wearing the most bizarre array of costumes, and at one point came out in a pink wig, I think solely for a line Cyrano delivers about her light hair. Why this moment needed to be literal, when there's nary a prosthetic nose in sight, I do not know.

Blake Jenner is the exact Ken doll with a lovely voice you need. I wasn't sure if Ritchie Coster was doing a "I'm a villain, therefore I have a British accent" affectation, but it turns out he really is English.

And Mr. Dinklage is charming and charismatic when he's not singing. I think my true disappointment is that I would watch this cast do the original text with pleasure, but the music and the choreography added no new insight or depth for me.... Read more Read less

See it if You really enjoy any of the wonderful actors in it, as they all do their best with the material; you prefer a show with only slow songs.

Don't see it if You prefer musicals that breathe new life into the source material, are bored easily, or expect the entire cast to sing well.

Also (Note: I saw this show in previews; it’s possible they’ll make improvements.)
Bottom line: The entire cast is wonderful and does what they can with the book and score they’re working with. Blake Jenner is especially great. However, despite his acerbic wit and great acting chops, Dinklage’s voice isn’t strong enough to carry half the songs of the show. Additionally, all the songs in the show are basically the same dreary, slow tempo, with equally lame lyrics. The only exception is the wonderful number when they’re off to war. The show doesn’t breathe any new life into Cyrano, and has a ridiculously abrupt ending to boot. I really wanted to love this show, but couldn’t.... Read more Read less

See it if You love Peter Dinklage and you absolutely have to see him on stage

Don't see it if Forgettable numbers, confusing direction, neither acting nor stage was great

See it if You love Peter Dinklage and Jasmine Cephas Jones who delivers some beautiful vocals.

Don't see it if You expect a compelling plot. Peter's singing leaves something to be desired but his acting is good, considering what he has to work with

See it if you like Peter Dinklage, who is the always worth seeing; you like the Nationals. The supporting cast was mostly very good with nice voices.

Don't see it if you want more chemistry between the leads and you think the lyrics of the songs should be more interesting, considering the plot.

See it if If you're a die-hard Peter Dinklage or The National fan.

Don't see it if If you truly love Rostand's version of Cyrano. If you're looking for a musical where the songs aren't one note and lack storytelling details

Also Huge missed opportunity. This Cyrano edited out some of the most famous scenes (including Cyrano's nose monologue) that added humor and provided deeper dimension for the characters. The songs were, well, songs that reiterated character's feelings without adding to the storyline and giving the actors anywhere to go emotionally. Peter is a great actor, but not the best singer; The lyrics didn't have a classic rhyme scheme, and were hard for Dinklage to deliver. The attempts at slow motion action were reminiscent of techniques from Hamilton but came off wooden.... Read more Read less

See it if You love Peter Dinklage and want to see great acting

Don't see it if Want an ending that is satisfying or songs/music that are interesting

See it if If you can get a discount ticket and like the composers type of music

Don't see it if Don’t see it if you are a Peter Dinklage fan because you will be very disappointed

Also I sat right next to the soundboard and was fascinated how the engineer controlled the different voices for their songs. It’s pitiful that trained actors need to me amplified in a theater 8 rows deep.
The production is confusing with characters wearing both period and contemporary costumes. Roxanne’s chaperone has an annoying voice and delivery. If it weren’t for Dinklage the audience would have fled at intermission... Read more Read less

See it if you're a big fan of Peter Dinklage, Blake Jenner, Jasmine Cephas Jones, or any of the rest of the cast.

Don't see it if you hope to see a truly relevant musical version of Cyrano with a good book and score.

Also I'm a Dinklage fan and was excited about seeing this. He acts the heck out of the role, but he isn't a singer. That wasn't the biggest problem, however. It was the banal lyrics that caused the biggest problem. Also, the dialogue and costuming both seemed to go back and forth between period and modern, which was confusing. Plus, we got little of the poetry that seems to woo Roxanne. It seems that lyrically, this could have been used to the writers' advantage. Quite a lost opportunity. Would love to see a version of the show that's truly worthy of the talents on stage.... Read more Read less