Cyrano review: Peter Dinklage-led musical has no nose for poetry or comedy of classic love story


“Panache” versus “Pride” condenses the fundamental difference in approach between

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Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac and Joe Wright’s 2021 musical rendition Cyrano.

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The different last word uttered by the titular hero in his dying breath in the new

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retelling provides insight into what it does right and what it doesn’t.

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As a filmmaker, Wright has always taken pride in his literary adaptations (Pride & Prejudice,

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Atonement, Anna Karenina, The Woman in the Window) but what they have often lacked is panache.

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At their best, they have a deep musicality.

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At their worst, they suffer from a distracting theatricality.

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Cyrano falls somewhere in between. Though complemented by the score and lyrics

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