Panache – flamboyant confidence of style or manner. Last weekend, the Heritage Hall Performing Arts production of Edmond Rostand’sCyrano de Bergerac,a play filled with ubiquitous panache, begged the question, “When all's said and done, what else do we have but our panache?”

Cyrano de Bergerac presents its audience with tales of unrequited love, loss, and tragedy through the lens of one extraordinary man. With a nose described as 15-minutes ahead of its time zone, a perch for birds, and a monument, Cyrano hardly knew romantic love. The plot focuses primarily on the love triangle between him, a beautiful romantic idealist, and a handsome soldier. In the end, Cyrano recognizes that while he has many talents, his underlying possession was nothing other than his panache, his suave nature. This realization, while not necessarily always correct, often lies at the center of how we see great people. Besides his looks, his friends and acquaintances could not revere Cyrano more, simply for his wit.

As Cyrano crosses swords with the best swordsmen in France, he spins poetic thread and weaves a remarkable oratorical fabric leaving the audience awestruck. Granted, his poetry and the poetry of this fantastic play was not improvised as it was shown to be, but crafted by masterful wordsmiths. Following the performance, I was left with the thought that we should all strive for a little panache, wit, clever musing. Perhaps we can learn from Cyrano and ignore our defects and focus on panache.

Featured in the play’s titular role, Michael Mandanas ’18 portrayed a large-nosed, honorable soldier with romantic sensibilities and a poet’s way with words. Accompanying Mandanas were Luke Williams ’18 as Christian de Neuvillette, a dashing soldier who fumbles with women; Maddy Will ’17 as Roxane, who catches the eye and interest of many; Maggie Ephraim ’17 as De Guiche, a strict commanding officer who utilizes his influence for romance; Ellie Howell ’18 as Ragueneau, a social man caught up in both food and drink; and Cully Greene ’18 as Le Bret, a captain under De Guiche and loyal friend of Cyrano. Supporting our leading players was a crew of talented Chargers, including Nate Branscum ’20, Kayla Marshall ’20, Jacob Livesay ’19, Skylar Burrage ’18, Tahirah Naidu ’18, and Sydney Tucker ’18.

In addition to the marvelous actors, the technical theatre troupe led by Mr. Steven Gillmore once again facilitated great performances – Sarah Norton ’19 managed the backstage, Turner Watkins ’19 and Eric Smith ’19 worked backstage, and Bryson Ezell ’19 ran the sound system.

Thank you to the HH Encore Club, director Mr. Azlan Smith, and producer Mr. Jay Ferguson ’96for once again facilitating such an insightful, powerful, and unique production at The Hall!