Andrew Smith (from left) as Cyrano, Joe Hoover as Cadet and Eric Alexander Bloom as Comte de Guiche in the National Players' 50th anniversary touring production of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. NATIONAL PLAYERS

Multiplying the talents

Web posted January 17, 1999

 On stage

By Kent Kimes
Staff Writer

The National Players are like the hard-working Jamaican family from Fox's old In Living Color comedy-sketch show -- they are expected to hold down multiple jobs.

Damon Wayans' Jamaican patriarch, who once served as pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight attendant and landing gear on an airliner, would be proud of the National Players.

The 12-member troupe does it all -- booking dates, keeping up with finances, handling technical aspects of productions and driving the three-vehicle caravan.

``You might be on stage and have to hit a soundboard on your way off,'' company manager Bill Gillett said in a recent phone interview from Olney, Md., where the group is based. ``We do everything. We bring no technicians. It keeps us busy.''

The players will perform Cyrano de Bergerac on Thursday and William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night Friday and Saturday at Augusta State University's Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre.

Celebrating their 50th season, the National Players bill themselves as the longest-running classical touring company in the United States. They've played Augusta State several times, including performances of The Taming of the Shrew and Of Mice and Men last year.

The Players' mission is to bring professional theater productions to places that might ordinarily be passed by and also provide theater experience for young actors, said Mr. Gillett.

Traveling nine months through 40 states, the Players offer a crash course in touring theater, and sometimes there are casualties, said Mr. Gillett, who plays Ragueneau in Cyrano and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night.

``A lot of people don't make it.''

``It does test the resolve,'' said Mr. Gillett, who at 28 is the senior member of the group. The average age is 24, he said.

But the Players' success rate is significant. Some 70 percent of alumni go on to work in theater, film and television. ``Maybe they're not actors, but they're associated with theater,'' said Mr. Gillett, who is finishing a master's degree in theater at the University of Maryland.

Alumni include Daniel Hugh-Kelly, who starred as McCormick on ABC's Hardcastle and McCormick; John Heard, who landed a role in the Broadway production of Glass Menagerie; New York Times head drama critic David Richards; and Stan Wojewodski, dean of Yale University's drama school.

Noting the efficiency and ingenuity of the company, Mr. Gillett discussed the decision to stage Twelfth Night in Cavalier, France. Because the comedy takes place in a magical kingdom known as Illyria, it could be anywhere, said Mr. Gillett. ``It could be Illyria, France, for all people know,'' he said.

That way they can use the same costumes, set and props as Cyrano, which is set in 17th-century Paris.

You may be familiar with the story of Cyrano. Steve Martin's hit movie Roxanne is basically an adaptation of Edmond Rostand's classic. ``The major plot parts are the same,'' said Mr. Gillett.

Cyrano is the guy with an usually large nose, bad attitude, and pent up desire for his beautiful cousin Roxana.

But in the Players' production, there is no happy ending. Cyrano dies shortly after Roxana realizes that he is in love with her and vice versa.

Twelfth Night, on the other hand, is Shakespeare at his most farcical. ``It's fun and rambunctious,'' said Mr. Gillett. ``Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's funniest plays.''

Kent Kimes can be reached at (706) 823-3626 or feature@augustachronicle.com.

On stage

What: Cyrano de Bergerac

When: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Where: Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, 2500 Walton Way

How much: $4-$6 matinee, $6-$8 evening

Phone: 737-1609

Twelfth Night

When: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Grover C. Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, 2500 Walton Way

How much: $4-$6 matinee, $6-$8 evening

Phone: 737-1609