When we heard the major songs from the "Roxanne Wars" I was struck by a certain similarity to a work I had heard of before: Cyrano de Bergerac. The French playwright wrote a fictionalized account of the life of the seventeenth-century poet and sometime soldier Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac. First performed in 1897, the work was immediately successful, and remains performed to this day. It inspired many adaptations, including a musical version, several operas (the most famous, Franco Alfano's of 1936 was performed this month at the Met), several films, including the adaptation starring Steve Martin, Roxanne. The basic plot point concerns the large-nosed hero Cyrano and the various people competing for the affections young woman Roxane, who is part of the upper-class group of précieuses who appreciate witty proper speech and sophisticated literature. Christian, a cadet, and Cyrano are both captivated by her, and, as Cyrano realizes that Roxane does not and can never love him because of ugliness, he decides to help Christian woo Roxane, as Christian does not have the intellect, wit, or command of language required. Christian has the looks to win her heart, Cyrano, the words. Roxane falls in love with Christian because of the beautiful poetry and love letters he sends her, which Cyrano wrote. Though there are several comedic moments, the play ends tragically due to other developments, and Roxane realizes the truth too late. (It should be noted Roxane is not portrayed as entirely vain.)
Despite the different spelling of the name, I wondered if the similarity between the rap and the play was entirely coincidental. Roxanne, the woman pursued by the rappers of UTFO similarly criticizes the suitors on the weakness of their rhyme, suggesting that the way to gain her respect and affection is through better poetry. Interestingly enough, one could draw parallels between this story and that of Melanie, who is drawn to the more "Street" Nick, and chooses him over the more intellectual Benji. (This appeared to be for other reasons, though, not the least of which being his mistakes at his aunt's house.) However, I doubt that was the entirety of Whitehead's reasoning to add the episodes into Sag Harbor. Whether the similarities are intentional or coincidental, I still find them interesting.
