Sentence:  Nikolai Cherkasov , the Russian actor who has played such heroic roles as Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible , performs the lanky Don Quixote , and does so with a simple dignity that <WSD>bridges</WSD> the inner nobility and the surface absurdity of this poignant man . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  connect or reduce the distance between