“Cyrano de Bergerac” may be an unfamiliar name to many people, but for theatre students at Canyon Vista, it is a name they are known by, at the RRISD Middle School One Act Play Festival. On Saturday November 16th, at McNeil Performing Arts Center, theatre students performed the famous play, “Cyrano de Bergerac,” written by Edmond Rostand. Starring in the play was 8th grader Mihai C. playing Cyrano, 8th grader Amanda M. playing Roxanne, and 7th grader Chayce W. playing Christian.

The play takes place in Paris, France and tells the story of a man named Cyrano, who is secretly in love with his cousin, Roxanne. But Cyrano feels that his large nose makes him too unattractive to tell Roxanne how he feels about her. Meanwhile, Roxanne is already attracted to another man named Christian. Christian wants to tell Roxanne that he loves her also, but doesn’t know how. Cyrano offers to Christian that he could send letters to Roxanne while pretending that Christian wrote it. Christian agrees to the offer, glad that he can finally connect with Roxanne. When Roxanne expresses that the letters are so moving and passionate, Christian tells Cyrano that he doesn’t want his help anymore, and then makes a fool of himself when he tries to talk to Roxanne. As Cyrano comes to Christian’s aid, Cyrano charms Roxanne by his words while hidden in the darkness pretending to be Christian. As the mood of the play is romantic and calm, the scene changes to battlegrounds were Cyrano and Christian fight in a war against Spain. When Christian is shot and killed, Roxanne is devastated.

15 long years pass by and during that time, Roxanne moves to live in a nunnery. Cyrano visits Roxanne every week, telling her news of what is happening. One day, Cyrano gets very ill, as his life had been at risk because he had been hit by a large log at an ambush.  At one of their visits, Roxanne asks Cyrano to read Christian’s last letter to her, and as he is doing so, she realizes that Cyrano is actually the true author of the letters. As the last moments of his life draw near, Roxanne tells Cyrano that she loves him, but as she speaks, Cyrano drops dead to the ground with a smile spread out, on his face.

8th grader Grace G. was captivated by the play from the minute it started. “On opening night, I was impatiently waiting on the edge of my seat until the curtain rose. I was immediately hooked when I saw Cyrano’s nose,” said Grace. “The play was very emotional, in my opinion. I laughed and I cried. In the end, I turned out to love it.”

The play was a hit to many people, and at the One Act Play Festival, the cast and crew got an overall rating of “Excellent” from the judges. Many members of the cast received awards, including: 8th grader Emily H. (Stage Manager) who won the Thespian Spirit Award, 8th graders Amanda M. (“Roxanne”) and Zoe R. (“Viscount”) who won Honorable Mention All Star Cast, 7th grader Chayce W. (“Christian”) and 8th grader Catie D. (“de Guiche”) who won All Star Cast, and 8th grader Mihai C. (“Cyrano”) who won the Best Actor award.

Congratulations to the cast and crew- we are excited to see your next production!