SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Audience Dialogue and Feedback

EXTENDED! thru July 8th

WORLD PREMIERE!

A Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theater Co-Production

funded by the National Endowment for the Arts

CYRANO

written by Stephen Sachs

directed by Simon Levy

CRITIC'S CHOICE! - Los Angeles Times  - "INSPIRED AND INSPIRING!... Performed simultaneously in spoken dialogue and American Sign Language by a mixed ensemble of hearing and deaf actors, Sachs’ MOVING ADAPTATION transposes Rostand’s archetypal heroic outsider into a gifted coffeehouse poet whose inferiority complex is rooted in his deafness rather than his perfectly normal nose. TROY KOTSUR EXCELS as this modern Cyrano... Sachs’ adaptation skillfully maps Rostand’s principals to their updated versions... Raci is by turns HILARIOUS AND POIGNANT as clueless loser Chris, and Anova invests Roxy with the sensitivity and sense of isolation she unknowingly shares with Cyrano... THE PERFORMANCES QUICKLY CATCH FIRE in Simon Levy’s well-paced and precisely focused staging. Besides offering a refreshing take on a classic, the signed/spoken presentation offers hearing folks the opportunity to appreciate sign language’s unique emotional expressiveness." - Philip Brandes

CRITIC'S PICK! - BackStage.com - "SUPERBLY CRAFTED PRODUCTION... CLEVER AND DEEPLY MOVING... It's a HAUNTING PERFORMANCE [Troy Kotsur as Cyrano], beautifully realized in the nurturing hands of Levy and complemented by A REMARKABLE CAST of deaf and hearing actors, some signing, some voicing the words of others. Paul Raci, himself a CODA (child of deaf adults), is EXCEPTIONAL as Cyrano's tattooed rocker brother Chris... Like Kotsur, Raci bridges the gap between the tale's two worlds with poignancy and A HUGE DOSE OF HUMOR." - Travis Michael Holder

RAVE! - 5 STARS! - Examiner.com - "I CAN'T RAVE ENOUGH to adequately convey my excitement and admiration for the new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac that opened this week at the Fountain Theatre. Written by Stephen Sachs and directed by Simon Levy, THIS BRILLIANT CYRANO is performed by the extraordinary actors of the Deaf West Theatre... Although Kotsur dominates the action (he never leaves the stage), he is surrounded by an ensemble (six deaf members out of 13) that is as perfect as he is. Whether dramatically voicing the words that the others are signing, or “speaking” the words with their expressive hands, THE PLAYERS ARE THRILLING TO WATCH, and under Simon Levy’s deft direction, Jeff McLaughlin’s clever set design, and Jeremy Pivnick’s creative lighting design, THE PLAY EMERGES AS A POIGNANT, INVENTIVE, RIOTOUSLY FUNNY, AND MARVELOUSLY SATISFYING MASTERPIECE!" - Cynthia Citron

RAVE! - TalkinBroadway.com - "NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING!.. Troy Kotsur was born to play Cyrano... Kotsur is Cyrano, from the second he walks on stage... He's confident, quick-thinking, and, above all, eloquent... this Cyrano is A DAZZLING ACCOMPLISHMENT, A TERRIFIC ADAPTATION  which takes the essence of Rostand, makes Cyrano's physical issues so much more dramatically interesting than a big nose, throws in a dash of modern-day tech, and puts the whole thing in the hands of a very capable crew of actors, whose hands are more than up to the challenge." - Sharon Perlmutter

RAVE! - Dany Margolies, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle - "In Stephen Sachs’ INTELLIGENT, TOUCHING world premiere adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano is a modern-day deaf poet. CHARMINGLY AND IMAGINATIVELY DIRECTED by Simon Levy, the action is beautifully spoken and delivered in American Sign Language, with a ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME, MUST-SEE PERFORMANCE in the title role by Troy Kotsur."

RAVE! - LifeInLA.com - "ELEVATES SIGN LANGUAGE TO A BEAUTIFUL, VIVACIOUS ART FORM for Deaf and Hearing Audiences Alike... The romantic, tragi-comic Cyrano offers EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES AND DIRECTION, deaf culture from an insider’s perspective, poetic dialogue, and aesthetically gorgeous signed language... KOTSUR BRILLIANTLY AND ARTFULLY LEADS THE CAST AS CYRANO... Under the direction of Simon Levy, Cyrano harmoniously merges the realms of oral, signed, and electronic communication to craft a story that highlights the many emotional shades of adoration through poetic performance, be it brotherly, platonic, romantic, community, or self-love. Levy makes fluid use of the stage, cast, and set with careful attention to conversant and all-encompassing audience needs... A SHEER AND EXCEPTIONAL PLEASURE." - Mialka Bonadonna

RAVE! - Latin Heat Entertainment - "BRILLIANT WRITING! ... This new production, an adaptation by Stephen Sachs of Edmund Rostand’s 1897 über-romantic drama, is QUITE THE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE.  A co-production of the gifted Fountain Theatre and the esteemed Deaf West Theatre, this is AN EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTION OF A TERRIFIC PLAY, both of which deserve a long life here and a longer life abroad... [Sachs] has found the poetic equivalent in ASL and the most romantic of us will fall into his vision, watching A GLORIOUS ACTOR, Troy Kotsur, make the most of his talents opposite A GORGEOUS ACTRESS, Erinn Anova... As stated above, the acting is superlative, beginning with Kotsur and Anova.  And a large part of what works on us is the EXCELLENT speaking of the shadow-actors, starting with Victor Warren who voices Cyrano, Al Bernstein’s Chris, and James Babbin’s Bill, as well as the entire ensemble, including Martica de Cardenas as Roberta, who runs the hearing-poets coffee shop, along with Raci’s rocker, Chip Bent as a bully, Ipek D. Mehlum, Daniel Durant, Maleni Chaitoo and Eddie Buck.  Levy helps them all in their consistently believable characterizations... GO. SEE IT AND GROW." - Dale Reynolds

RAVE! - LAist.com - "SKILLFUL AND IMPRESSIVE!... TERRIFIC PERFORMANCES... Kotsur [as Cyrano] owns the stage every moment he’s on it... in A PERFORMANCE OF GREAT CHARISMA AND WIT. The actor who provides Cyrano’s voice for the hearing audience, Victor Warren, does a superb job, merging smoothly with Kotsur’s work. Raci, a hearing actor who also performs in ASL, brings humor and sympathy to Chris, a nice guy who is unfortunately not quite the man Roxy wants. Anova is charming as the guileless Roxy, and Hiltermann is winning as the one friend Cyrano has left... Perhaps the biggest challenge of this show is logistics, keeping the interplay of deaf and hearing actors clear for the audience, juggling spoken dialogue, ASL and actors voicing the deaf performers, and director Simon Levy stages all of this complexity with admirable clarity... Jeffrey Elias Teeter’s AMAZING VIDEO DESIGN IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN, both in conception and execution." - Terry Morgan

RAVE! - Buzzine.com - "IT'S A GREAT ROLLICKING EVENING OF THEATER!... CREATIVE STAGING... A GEM... Kotsur’s hands are a wonder: they move like birds, like leaves aflutter, like a ballet dancer’s hands, so expressive that they were the message as well as the messenger. KOTSUR'S PERFORMANCE IS REMARKABLE... THE CAST IS UNIVERSALLY GOOD... A must for anyone like me who has not been involved with “signing” and the remarkable Deaf West theater... FASCINATING ON SO MANY LEVELS." - Clare Elfman

RAVE! - StageHappenings.com - "A POWERHOUSE PIECE OF THEATER!... Right up front WE OFFER KUDOS to everyone involved with this SUPERLATIVE PRODUCTION. From Sachs' fine writing and Simon Levy's spot-on direction, the lead deaf characters together with the actors  who speak for them, and the entire ensemble down through the spectacular design crew that includes Jeffrey Elias Teeter's video  work, "Cyrano" is AN EXPERIENCE NOT TO BE MISSED. Troy Kotsur is ELECTRIFYING as the brilliant deaf poet who is torn apart by his pride... Paul Raci is SENSATIONAL as Chris... UPLIFTING, LIFE-AFFIRMING." - Shirle Gottlieb

RAVE! - LAStageTimes.com - "ONE OF THE MOST INGENIOUS UPDATES OF A CLASSIC I'VE SEEN IN A LONG TIME... The cast and designers, under director Simon Levy’s guidance, rise to the occasion." - Don Shirley

RAVE! - SoCalTheatreBlog.com - "PERFECTION!... a heart -wrenching adaptation in which the key concept is infinitely more meaningful and true than the original tale... In the trio of Kotsur, Raci, and Anova, sharp-eyed director Simon Levy and playwright Sachs have found a connected and TALENTED CORE GROUP OF ACTORS. The emotion and comedy they convey reaches the audience and touches them for its candor and frankness. Kotsur is as POWERFUL as he is vulnerable and Anova is as absorbing as she is open. As the most pleasant surprise in the cast, in a role that could easily be rendered ineffective by a lesser actor, Raci SOARS WITH HUMOR AND FEELING. His ability to sign, communicate, and entertain bridges the gaps in a mountainous range of emotional highs and lows demanded by the challenging character. Bob Hiltermann is a standout as well in the brief but crucial role of Bill, Cyrano’s grounded confidant... Sachs’ CONCEPTUAL GENIUS and that of Levy and his remarkable design team, combined with the raw emotion delivered by the lead actors and many of the ensemble, make this show A MUST SEE. Cyrano is a treat for both the eyes and ears. Hearing or deaf, the impact of this story has never been never been louder or more touching." - Robert Lilly

GO! - LAWeekly.com Review and Article

A modern day reimagined deaf/hearing version of the classic “Cyrano de Bergerac”. The setting is present day. Cyrano is a brilliant deaf poet in a modern day city. He is hopelessly in love with a beautiful hearing woman, Roxy. But she doesn't understand sign language and instead loves his hearing brother, Chris. Can Cyrano express his love for Roxy with his hands – the source of such deaf pride and shame? Or must he teach Chris to “speak his words” for him, to woo her? ASL becomes the language of love in this modern sign language spin on a classic love story.

Fountain Theatre Intimate Excellent Blog

BroadwayWorld

TheatreMania.com - Marlee Matlin Visits Fountain Theatre

BroadwayWorld.com - Marlee Matlin at Opening

LAStageTimes - Article

Examiner.com - Article

produced by Laura Hill (Fountain), David Kurs (Deaf West), and Deborah Lawlor (Executive Producer)

ASL Masters: Ty Giordano and Shoshannah Stern

starring:

Troy Kotsur as Cyrano

Paul Raci as Chris

Bob Hiltermann as Bill

Erinn Anova as Roxy

Deaf Ensemble:

Eddie Buck, Maleni Chaitoo, Daniel Durant, Ipek Mehlum

Hearing Ensemble:

James Babbin (Bill), Chip Bent (Jim),

Al Bernstein (Chris), Adam Critchlow (Alternate),

Martica De Cardenas (Roberta), Scott Roberts (Alternate),

Victor Warren (Cyrano)

creative and producing team:

Naila Aladdin-Sanders (costumes), Peter Bayne (sound),

Misty Carlisle (props), Brian Danner (fight director),

Bobby De Luca (ASM), Elizabeth Greene (ASL Interpreter),

Sue Karutz (PSM), Evelyn Keolian (ASM),

Jeffrey McLaughlin (sets), Media Fabricators [MFI-Rents] (multimedia), Jeremy Pivnick (lighting), Terri Roberts (PSM),

Jeff Teeter (video designer), Scott Tuomey (TD),

Abby Walla (fight director)

EXTENDED! thru July 8th

Call:

Box Office, 323-663-1525

Group Sales: 323-663-1098

(not recommended for children under 12)

or online here:

Ticket Discount Offers

Now in our 7th year!

FOREVER FLAMENCO!

Dance Channel

Culture Spot LA 2012

"SPIRITED SOLOS DRIVE FLAMENCO."

Los Angeles Times

PICK OF THE WEEK! - "The Fountain has certainly cemented its stature as L.A.'s most significant venue for flamenco. Kudos are also due to the rotating series of artistic directors who continue to attract the best dancers from L.A.'s vibrant community as well as significant out-of-town guests... L.A.'s MOST SIGNIFICANT VENUE FOR FLAMENCO." - L.A. Weekly

“Olé!” - full review - SoCal.com

The hottest flamenco in town is happening at the Fountain! A thrilling combination of prepared work and spontaneous exploration.

New Artists and New Shows

Every Month

Check with us often to see who will be performing, including great artists like:

Dancers: Vanessa Acosta, Roberto Amaral, Yolanda Arroyo, Clara Catalina, Ricardo Chavez, Emilio Dominguez, Carissa Hernandez, Arleen Hurtado, Evelyn Nacif, Arturo Nazzari, Timo Nunez, Rina Orellano, La Pamela, Sara Parra, Pablo Pizano, Paloma Rios, Sari, Mizuho Sato, Juan Talavera, Cristina Villalobos, Briseyda Zarate, Daniela Zermeno, Ryan Zermeno... and others.

Singers: Marisol Fuentes, Vicente Griego, Charo Monge, Jesus Montoya, Pilar Moreno.

Guitarists: Paco Arroyo, Robert Boyd, Adam del Monte, Gabriel Osuna, Kambis Pakandam, Jose Tanaka, Antonio Triana, Ben Woods.

Percussionists: Joey Heredia, Adam Hernandez, Gerardo Morales.

Special Guests (when they are in town): Fanny Ara, Lakshmi Basile, Maria Bermudez, Melissa Cruz, La Conja, La Fibi, La Tania, Emilio Ochando, Elena Osuna, Nelida Terado, Yaelisa, Carola Zertuche.

WE PRESENT FLAMENCO EVERY MONTH

AT THE BEAUTIFUL BARNSDALL PARK

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

(programming subject to change)

Presented by Deborah Lawlor and The Fountain Theatre in association with Beth Nesbitt and Vida Flamenca

SUN MAY 27 8pm

"Quien Yo Soy" ("Who I Am")

at the Fountain Theatre (not Barnsdall)

featuring Cihtli Ocampo

Artistic Director - Ethan Margolis
dancer - Cihtli Ocampo

guitar - Ethan Margolis

percussion - Joey Heredia

flute/sax - Katisse Buckingham

vocals - Maxayn Lewis and Oscar Valero

BroadwayWorld

(Keep checking our website for updates!)

For Flamenco CDs, DVDs and video tapes, please visit www.danzeffguitars.com

Produced by Deborah Lawlor

RESERVE NOW! Seats go fast!

Assigned Seating CALL 323-663-1525

or online here:

Ticket Discount Offers