Man of La Mancha: A Glorious Quest

Man of La Mancha

Written by Dale Wasserman, Music by Mitch Leigh, Lyrics by Joe Darion
Director, Spiro Veloudos; Musical Director, Jonathan Goldberg; Choreographer, Ilyse Robbins; Producer, Rebecca Curtiss; Scenic Designer, Janie E. Howland; Costume Designer, Rafael Jaen; Lighting Designer, Scott Clyve

CAST
Cervantes/Quixote – Christopher Chew
Manservant/Sancho Panza – Robert Saoud
Governor/Pedro – Timothy John Smith
Duke/Dr. Carrasco – Maurice E. Parent
Aldonza/Dulcinea – Caroline deLima
Innkeeper – J.T. Turner
Innkeeper's Wife/Housekeeper – Ellen Peterson
Padre – Kenneth Harmon
Antonia – Mala Bhattacharya
Ensemble – Andy McLeavey, David Costa, John Davin, Curt Denham, Gerard Slattery, Michele A. DeLuca

Performances through October 13 at The Lyric Stage Company
Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com

Producing Artistic Director Spiro Veloudos is giving Boston theatergoers a grand gift for his 10th anniversary at the helm of The Lyric Stage Company. With a cast composed of Lyric stalwarts, returnees, and rookies, Man of La Mancha is a vibrant, soulful, entertaining work of art. Winner of the 1966 Tony Award for Best Musical, it remains a timeless, uplifting story of hope, idealism, love, and courage.

The play begins in a prison vault in Seville, Spain, and then travels to various settings in the imagination of the poet Miguel de Cervantes. Having been thrown into the dungeon by the Spanish Inquisition for foreclosing on a monastery when he served as a tax collector, he and his manservant are attacked by their fellow prisoners and placed on mock trial. For his defense and to save a precious manuscript, Cervantes offers to act out an "entertainment" with their participation. Before their eyes, he transforms himself from the gentleman into Alonso Quijana, an aged country squire who imagines that he is the dauntless knight Don Quixote de La Mancha. He guides his fellow prisoners (and us) on a journey, sharing the adventures and illusions of the old man and his loyal sidekick Sancho Panza as they follow the noble quest to right the world's wrongs.

Much of the action occurs at a roadside inn (which the Don insists is a castle). It is there that he encounters Aldonza, the serving girl/trollop who Quixote sees as the lady he will fight for and exalt ("Dulcinea"), to her consternation and the amusement of the band of muleteers she waits on. Meanwhile, back in his country home, his niece Antonia, her fiancé Dr. Sanson Carrasco, and the housekeeper bring their concerns about Quixote's madness to the Padre ("I'm Only Thinking of Him") and hatch a plan to bring him home, primarily to save themselves from unwanted embarrassment.

Don Quixote convinces the innkeeper to dub him as a knight, then proceeds to explain his quest and defend his lady's honor. He faces a challenge from The Knight of The Mirrors and is forced to see himself in reality as a fool and a madman. Defeated, he goes home to die, surrounded by the Padre, Antonia, and Carrasco. In turn, Sancho and Aldonza arrive to try to cheer and revive him. Poignantly, she sings bits of "Dulcinea" and "The Impossible Dream" as she pleads with him to become Don Quixote once more, the drama building palpably to the end. 

Christopher Chew, Robert Saoud, and Caroline deLima stand out in an outstanding ensemble that moves together effortlessly from the play to the play-within-the-play and back again. The range and power of Chew's baritone are ideal for the role of Don Quixote and his songs. He belts out the title song with pride, sweetly croons to his fair lady in "Dulcinea," and strongly conveys the zeal for his quest in "The Impossible Dream."  His chemistry with Saoud and deLima is masterful as he shows his love and respect for their characters in different ways. He is part mentor, part friend to Sancho, but adoring, deferential servant to Aldonza.

For his part, Saoud convinces us that Sancho's loyalty is a byproduct of genuinely liking the master ("I Really Like Him"), and his facial expressions tell more about him than his spoken words. In the final scenes, when Quijana is struggling to retrieve his memories of their escapade, it is Saoud's reaction that telegraphs the true import and emotional impact of the moment.

Caroline deLima is a revelation in the dual role of Aldonza/Dulcinea. She overcomes her attractiveness to play the rough, angry barmaid who more than holds her own against the crude advances of the muleteers. She goes through many stages in dealing with the odd stranger, from sneering and incredulous, to confused and curious, finally softening into acceptance of his ardor and idealistic outlook when she becomes Dulcinea.  Her songs demand an array of emotions and deLima delivers, none better than "Aldonza," in which she powerfully sings and acts out her character's disillusionment with Quixote and his dreams.

All aspects of this production add up to a magnificent whole. Musical Director Jonathan Goldberg is blessed with a chorus of outstanding voices and gifted musicians to conduct. Special mention goes to the honeyed, dare I say, spiritual tone of Kenneth Harmon as the Padre and the brilliant Mala Bhattacharya as Antonia. Michele A. DeLuca is featured as one of the Moorish Dancers and shows off the delicious choreography of Ilyse Robbins. In less talented hands, the bad guys represented by Timothy John Smith and Maurice E. Parent might appear to be one-dimensional, but they also do justice to the softer, warmer characteristics of the Governor and the Duke while adding their great singing to the mix. Credit Fight Director Meron Langsner and Fight Captain J.T. Turner with the synchronized fisticuffs which add excitement and just the right amount of brutality.

Janie E. Howland's set, complemented by Scott Clyve's lighting design, creates the feeling of confinement necessary for the dungeon, while also being convertible to the tavern, the Padre's confessional, and other locales in La Mancha. Rafael Jaen's costumes are composed of multiple layers to allow the actors to quickly add and subtract pieces as they morph from one character to another.  Wait until you see the outfits for the simulated horses!

Director Veloudos has said that Man of La Mancha illustrates his conviction that art transcends hopelessness. Cervantes used his skill as a playwright and actor to impact the lives of his fellow prisoners, as well as to lift his own spirit as he faced the Inquisition. In his tale, the protagonist simply hopes "to add some measure of grace to the world." While others see him as mad, he questions, "When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?" He makes a good point, be it the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 21st. Don Quixote wishes to see life not as it is, but as it ought to be. At the Lyric Stage, this is theatre as it is and as it ought to be. It's a worthy quest.