THEATER REVIEW : ‘Cyrano’ Noses Aside Knightsbridge Attendance Woes : The production is in its second go-round at the small theater in Old Pasadena. Financially--and artistically--it has proven well worth bringing back.

The Knightsbridge Theater in Old Pasadena is on a nice roll. Having just staged a sterling production of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” it is now bringing luster to “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

After performing for 1 1/2 years with casts that sometimes outnumbered the audiences, the Knightsbridge is now filling the house and outwitting the financial pressures that plague small theaters. (In the past two months, Old Town has lost two live theaters, The Basement, long housed in the Congregational Church, and the Dramatic New Art in the Labor Temple.)

French playwright Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano,” which is loosely based on the life of an actual soldier/poet in 17th-Century France and which opened in Paris in 1897, was first staged by the Knightsbridge last year. Except for some new cast members, this production is essentially the same.

It’s well worth bringing back.

Fortunately, Joseph Stachura, who co-founded the Knightsbridge, returns as Cyrano. He also directs, and his achievement is impressive, trimming down to 11 principals a play that normally features 30 people and extras. Three of the 11 are double-cast, including a few cadets.

Using his small stage to advantage, Stachura is able to make 11 actors frequently seem like 20 or more. In fact, the only crucial thing missing in this show--and it is missed--is Roxanne’s balcony.

Here, instead, Roxanne (demure, luminous Erin Weaver) materializes as if on a balcony by virtue of shadowy, moody lighting and Stachura’s transforming eloquence.

As she listens in the moonlight, Cyrano is rhapsodizing below, ostensibly as a favor to Roxanne’s handsome but stumbling, tongue-tied lover, Christian (the well-cast Chris Devlin), who also is hiding in the dark. In fact, Cyrano’s poetic inspiration comes from his own heartfelt love for Roxanne, whom he won’t dare face, let alone woo, because of his enormous nose.

Cyrano is theater’s greatest romantic hero and one of its most difficult roles. For actors, Cyrano is second only to Hamlet. “Cyrano de Bergerac” is like playing Carnegie Hall, the Met and Yankee Stadium (when Babe Ruth was at bat).

Lightweights need not apply. As for Stachura, he deftly blends Cyrano’s swagger and lyricism, his verbal virtuosity and gallantry. And his famous scene, as he dies in Roxanne’s arms, echoes Cyrano’s poetic imagery years earlier under the balcony when he spoke of “all the blossoms in my heart I will fling to you.”

Fencing scenes are visceral under the choreography of fight director Bill Ferrell. And two supporting performances, the vivid Rick Hoffman as the loyal soldier La Bret and Steven Boe as Cyrano’s jealous rival De Guiche, underscore the richness at the bottom as well as the cream at the top of this production.

* “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Knightsbridge Theatre, 35 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena (lower level, the Braley Building), Friday, 9 p.m., Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 5 p.m. Ends Feb. 26. $14. (818) 440-0821. Running time: 2 hrs., 45 min.