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Made possible in part by Show Sponsors:
Bea & Bayard Waring

July 13 – August 11

Cyrano (New England Premiere)

A New adaptation by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers  |  Directed by Robert Walsh

Who wins the battle of beauty versus brains? Cyrano is a swordsman, philosopher, poet, and raconteur—everything that the love of his life, Roxane, would want. There’s just one colossal problem: his nose, rendering him unworthy of her affection (or so he believes). Enter Christian, a handsome, yet tongue-tied, young cadet equally smitten by Roxane. Surely together this unlikely pair can win the fair maiden’s heart. A cast of five plays a multitude of roles in this imaginative version of the classic tale.

Rostand’s 1897 play, Cyrano de Bergerac, is a classic of the stage at almost operatic proportions – this fantastic retelling by O’Connell & Withers brings the story into the 21st Century. Directed by Artistic Director Robert Walsh – Cyrano runs July 13 through August 11th at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm.

 

CAST

Cyrano …………………. JEREMIAH KISSEL*
Roxane ………………… ANDREA GOLDMAN*
Christian ………………. JAMES RICARDO MILORD
DeGuiche ……………… PAUL MELENDY*
LeBret/Duenna ……… ERIN NICOLE WASHINGTON

CAST BIOS (alphabetical)

ANDREA GOLDMAN* (Roxane) is thrilled to return to Gloucester Stage after playing the role of Kia in The Last Schwartz for which she was nominated for an IRNE for Best Supporting Actress. She has a master’s in classical theatre from the Bristol Old Vic. Recent New York and Regional Theatre Credits include Olivia in Twelfth Night, Calpurnia in Julius Caesar (Alvin Epstein Dir.), Winter in Malefactions, I wrote on your wall and now i regret it (Spookfish Theatre), Frankenstein, (Drama Desk Award Nominated), young ensemble at Pearl Theatre Company, and The Rover (Bristol Old Vic). She is an alumni of The Flea Theatre. She actively creates original work that has premiered in New York, New Zealand and throughout Europe with her company the box collective. She established the box collective (www.thebox-collective.com) as an artistic collaborative to promote a new kind of experiential theatre in the New York art scene & beyond.  Some previous work with the box: La Cueca at NY Chelsea Art Museum, Wild Horses & Small Among Infinite Stars at Guild Hall JDT lab, 116 at New Ohio, The Stadt Elegies at galleries for Venice Biennale & Milan Expo, Sometimes at Night in Berlin, among others. Most recently she debuted her solo show From the Heartland at the NY UnitedSolo Festival & Dixon Place and Static Apnea in New Zealand. She is also the co-founder of Viscus Film (www.viscusfilm.com) which has garnered numerous laurels and festival recognition for its slate of shorts and is currently in production with its first feature. She plans to continue performing, while developing her own original pieces in the process. For more about her work visit: www.andreagoldmanweb.com

JEREMIAH KISSEL* (Cyrano) winner of the 2003 Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence, is a thirty-five year veteran of Boston’s professional theaters, and has played leading roles for The Huntington, American Repertory, Merrimack Rep, as well as The Lyric Stage, Shear Madness, and various out of town companies when they passed through Boston. Recent appearances include “Old Money” and “King Lear” for Commonwealth Shakespeare, and “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Two Jews Walk Into a War” for The New Rep. He is the winner of Helen Hayes, IRNE, Hatch, Graniteer and Arts Impulse Awards as well as several Nortons, most recently, Best Actor for playing Bernie Madoff in 2014, and most notably, the very first Norton Award given to a local Boston actor in 1990. Screen credits include “The Town”, “The Fighter”, “Joy”, “Stronger” and “The Wrong Car”, and he can be seen in the upcoming Hulu series, “Castle Rock”. The last time he was in Cyrano, it was as Christian at The Theater at Monmouth, in 1983. He is pleased to make his debut at Gloucester Stage under the supervision of cherished colleagues Zinn and Walsh.

PAUL MELENDY* (DeGuice) is thrilled to be back in beautiful Gloucester! This is Paul’s fourth consecutive season with GSC that saw him tackling roles in Bank Job, The Last Schwartz, and Sweet and Sad. Other recent area credits include Noir Hamlet(Centastage), ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas(Greater Boston Stage Company), Sorry(New Repertory Theatre), and A Confederacy of Dunces (w/Nick Offerman@Huntington Theatre Company). Paul can also be seen ongoing in Boston’s Shear Madness as Tony/Eddie and can be spied regularly on television as The Naked Guy in a popular Bernie and Phyl’s ad. You might also had caught him before the Super Bowl this year in a teaser for the game opposite John Malkovich! Other regional credits: Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Underground Railway Theater, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, New Century Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, W.H.A.T., Barnstormers Theatre. Film credits: Unfinished Business, The Pink Panther Deux, The Makeover, and Graduates, an upcoming David Spade Netflix film.

JAMES RICARDO MILORD (Christian) is thrilled to be making his Gloucester Stage debut. Recent credits include Anna Christie and Barbecue (Lyric Stage). Mr. Milord also appeared in Akeelah and The Bee (Wheelock Family Theatre), Clybourne Park (Longwood Players Club), The Good Negro, The Brothers Size Trilogy (Company One), Zooman & The Sign (Our Place Theatre), Macbeth (Shakespeare Now). Film credits include Proud Mary (Screen Gems), The Brotherhood (Showtime), and a handful of industrial commercials. Mr. Milord is proud to be the first recipient for the Best Emerging Actor (David Wheeler Award) in 2010. He is also an entrepreneur and continues to pursue his dreams professionally.

ERIN NICOLE WASHINGTON (LeBret/Duenna) is a recent graduate of Harvard University, where she received her Masters’ in Acting. Before moving to Massachusetts, Erin was based in her home town of Los Angeles, acting, dancing, and producing. Some of Erin’s favorite roles include: Sarafina (Sarafina!, NAACP Theatre Award), Charlotte (Charlotte’s Web, American Repertory Theater), and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth, Harvard University). Erin has performed internationally in Moscow and Bali aims to continue to master the art of evolution within artistic expression. BFA NYSU Purchase. MFA Harvard University.

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
ºMember of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC)
†Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE

CREATIVE

Writer ………………………….. Jason O’Connell
Writer ………………………….. Brenda Withers
Director ……………………….. Robert Walshº
Scenic Design ………………. Jenna Lord
Lighting Design …………….. Russ Swift
Costume Design …………… Lisa Polito†
Properties Design …………. Emme Shaw
Sound Design ………………. David Wilson
Stage Manager …………….. Marsha Smith*
Asst. Stage Manager …….. Devin Christor

 

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
ºMember of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC)
†Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE

Cyrano is a New England Premiere presented under special arrangement with writers and representing agency.