People’s Light & Theatre Presents The Return of Don Quixote, Closes 10/16

People's Light & Theatre presents The Return of Don Quixote, by Kira Obolensky, freely adapted from Cervantes' Don Quixote of La Mancha. It closes October 16, 2011 on the Main Stage. Co-Founder Ken Marini directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355. For tickets call 610.644.3500 or visit PeoplesLight.org. The Return of Don Quixote is supported by Customers Bank and Nihill & Riedley.

The play tells the story of Don Quixote, whose respectable retirement is turned upside down when Sancho Panza shows up with an unauthorized biography of their adventures together. The bio makes a mockery of the Don's previous escapades and his long-lost love, Dulcinea, while inspiring windmill-tilting imitators to roam the countryside in search of giants! What else can Don Quixote and Sancho Panza do but hit the road again? A charming tale to remind us that romance and adventure hide around every corner...if we are brave enough to look.

"This play is about a man who thought his journey was over and he's suddenly encouraged to revisit the journey he's taken," begins James F. Pyne, Jr., Scenic Designer for The Return of Don Quixote. "With the invention of the printing press and his story being published, Don Quixote is forced to re-evaluate what he's done with his life."

Jim has been Director of Design at People's Light since 1977, creating sets and/or lights for over 225 productions, including most recently Hatchetman, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Three Musketeers. He has received 11 Barrymore nominations for Outstanding Scenic and Lighting Design, winning for Outstanding Scenic Design in 1996 for The Life of Galileo and in 2002 for The Merchant of Venice. He has also designed scenery for the Arden, Villanova University, and The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis.

He continues, "As an audience, many of us struggle with stories about people like Don Quixote, who have crossed beyond the line of a traditional mode of sanity. Is he just a crazy guy who read too many books and created a fantasy world for himself? Or is his fantasy reality? It's one thing to have an active fantasy life and another to actively live that life. In this particular adaptation, there's redemption for Don Quixote at the end that is at once humorous and poignant."
With his 35 seasons of experience, Jim recognizes that a play like The Return of Don Quixote can be quite challenging to design. He explains, "The action moves very quickly from mood to mood and place to place, so the set must embrace that. Therefore, we came up with a very theatrical, carnival-inspired space where locale, mood, and perspective can change quickly. The aesthetic throughout is one of simplicity, whimsy, and theatricality, with painted muslin drops, moving ground rows, cutout props, and rolling wagons."

"For me this play isn't about the set, really. My job is to provide enough tools for the actors to be able to tell the story. It's funny, as we're going along in rehearsals, we're realizing that the tools we need most to tell the story are the ones the actors already have in them. We are adapting and simplifying elements of the set as we progress through rehearsals and the actors bring more storytelling tools to the table."

TICKET INFORMATION

The Return of Don Quixote previews on Wednesday, September 21st and Thursday, September 22nd at 7:30pm. The play opens on Friday, September 23rd at 8pm and runs through Sunday, October 16th. Audiences are encouraged to join the artists after each Thursday evening performance for a conversation about the production.

Single tickets range in price from $25 - $45. For tickets, call the box office at 610.644.3500. Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase group tickets, call 610.647.1900 x134 or email charles@peopleslight.org. Actors, prices, performances dates and times are subject to change. Additional service charges may apply. Contact the box office for more details.

Subscription tickets are now available. In addition to The Return of Don Quixote, productions in the 6-Play series include Treasure Island: A Musical Panto (November 16, 2011 - January 8, 2012), Fallow (January 11 - February 5, 2012), Of Mice and Men (February 15 - March 25, 2012), Shakespeare's Will (May 30 - June 24, 2012), and Mr. Hart and MR. Brown (July 18 - August 19, 2012).

THE SCOOP

With this production People's Light continues its program called The Scoop: History, Context, and Gossip, a lively discussion before every performance. Company member Alda Cortese, who plays the character of Mrs. Housekeeper, will discuss the world of the play, how and why it was chosen, as well as how it was cast, designed, and rehearsed. Refreshments will be available in the lobby before The Scoop begins and before the performance. The program will start one hour before curtain time and will take place in the theatre. No reservations are necessary.

ABOUT PEOPLE'S LIGHT

People's Light, a professional, not-for-profit theatre in Chester County, Pennsylvania, makes plays drawn from many sources to entertain, inspire, and engage our community. We extend our mission of making and experiencing theatre through arts education programs that excite curiosity about, and deepen understanding of, the world around us. These plays and programs bring people together and provide opportunities for reflection, discovery, and celebration. Founded in 1974, we produce seven to nine plays each season, in two black box theatres with 350 and 170 seats respectively, mixing world premieres, contemporary plays, and fresh approaches to classic texts for our 6-Play and Discovery Series.

BIOS
Kira Obolensky (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright and writer who lives in Minneapolis. New work includes Why We Laugh: A Terezin Cabaret, which premiered this summer in two international festivals; Raskol (commissioned and produced by Ten Thousand Things Theatre and featured on critics' end of year lists); Cabinet of Wonders (produced by Gas and Electric Arts, Philadelphia; Open Eye Figure Theatre, Minneapolis; 2010 Barrymore nomination for Best New Play); Modern House, finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburne Prize), and Lune, Pronounced Loony, produced by B Street. Upcoming: Vasalisa, the Wise, commissioned and to be produced by Ten Thousand Things Theatre in the Spring of 2012. Kira is a Guggenheim Fellow and has also received fellowships and grants from the Henson Foundation, NEA and Irvine Foundations, Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, le Comte du Nouys Foundation, and a Pew Theatre Initiative Grant. Her play Lobster Alice was a Kesselring Prize winner; The Adventures of Herculina received Honorable Mention/ Kesselring Prize. She is the author of three published books about architecture and design and is the co-author of the national bestseller, The Not So Big House. A core writer at the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, Kira also teaches playwriting at the University of Minnesota and at Spalding University's low residency M.F.A. Program in Louisville, KY.

Miguel de Cervantes (Author) was a famous Spanish novelist and poet (1547-1616), who was born in Alcalá de Henares, a small town near Madrid. Cervantes' life was full of journeys and adventures. He spent most of his childhood moving from town to town while his father looked for work. He studied in Madrid between 1568 and 1569. In 1570 Cervantes participated in the sea battle at Lepanto (1571), where his left hand was permanently disfigured. He earned his nickname in this battle - "el manco de Lepanto" (the cripple of Lepanto). In 1575 Cervantes set out with his brother Rodrigo on the boat "El Sol" for Spain. Pirates captured their ship and the brothers were taken to Algiers as slaves. Cervantes spent five years as a slave while he waited for his family to raise enough money to pay his ransom. Cervantes was released in 1580 and then returned to Madrid where he held several temporary administrative posts. In 1584 Miguel de Cervantes married Catalina de Salazar y Palacios, who was 18 years younger than him. He left her in the late 1580s. Cervantes started his literary career in Andalusia and his first play Los Tratos de Argel (The Traffic of Algiers) was published in 1580. The play was based on his experiences as a Moorish slave. Cervantes published his first work in prose, La Galatea, in 1585. The first part of Cervantes' most acclaimed work The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha appeared in 1605. As a marvelous parody of the popular romances of chivalry, Don Quixote was a huge and instant success. The second part of the adventures of the knight of La Mancha appeared in 1615. During his lifetime Cervantes wrote between 20 and 30 plays, but only two of them have survived. He also wrote several short novels. In 1606 Cervantes settled permanently in Madrid. He died on April 23, 1616.

Ken Marini (Director) is a co-founder of PLTC and has directed many productions, including The Master Builder, Absence, A Tale of Two Cities, The Glass Menagerie, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Humble Boy, Man from Nebraska, The Problem and How We Talk in South Boston for 30Fest, Around the World in 80 Days, Born Yesterday, A Delicate Balance, Dimly Perceived Threats to the System, Sacco and Vanzetti: A Vaudeville, and Sign of the Lizard. Other PLTC credits include The Life of Galileo and an internationally-acclaimed production of Louis Lippa's adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie. He was the Artistic Director of the Cheltenham Center for the Arts for six seasons, directing Kindertransport, The Glass Menagerie, and many others.

Alda Cortese (Mrs. Housekeeper/Ensemble) has been with People's Light since 1976, first appearing in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage. She has since appeared in nearly 100 productions with this theatre-most recently in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Emperor's New Clothes, Stretch: A Fantasia, Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Jersey Lily, and The Day of the Picnic. Less recent appearances include Humble Boy, The Foreigner, The O'Connor Girls, The Miser (for which she received a Barrymore nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress), String of Pearls, and Arthur's Stone, Merlin's Fire.

Peter DeLaurier (A Printer/Ensemble) is an Artistic Associate at PLTC and has been with the Theatre since 1981. He has played a lot of roles here in the intervening years. He has won and lost Barrymore Awards in all non-musical acting categories. He has published three plays, including Anne of Green Gables (Barrymore nomination). He has directed at PLTC and at theatres around the country, serving as Artistic Director of New Stage Theatre in Jackson, MS. With his wife, PLTC actress Ceal Phelan, and other friends, he co-founded The Delaware Theatre Company in 1978.

Chris Faith (Sancho Panza) was last seen at People's Light in The Three Musketeers. He is a multiple Barrymore Award nominee, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Treasure Island here at PLTC and won a Barrymore Award for Best Ensemble for PLTC's Cinderella. Other credits include The Secret Garden and Like It Is (Off-Broadway), productions at the Wilma, Arden, 1812 Productions, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Luna Theatre, Act II Playhouse, among others. Recently, Chris was hired as an adjunct professor for Temple University teaching musical theater.

Melanye Finister (Teresa Panza/Ensemble) was last seen at PLTC playing Mrs. Muller in Doubt. She is a Resident Teaching Artist at People's Light and has been a company member since 1991. She has also worked for Arden Theatre Company, Flashpoint Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Venture Theatre and The Walnut Street Theatre. Melanye is board member at Stockton Rush Bartol and holds a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Stephen Novelli (A Farmer/Ensemble) was recently Halvard Solness in The Master Builder at People's Light, Mick Dowd in The Lantern Theatre production of A Skull in Connemara and Voltaire in Legacy of Light at PLTC. Other roles at PLTC include Gloucester in King Lear and Saladin in Nathan the Wise. He directed The Secret of Sherlock Holmes and Tuesdays with Morrie for People's Light. A member of the resident company since 1974, he now serves as Artistic Associate.

Nalini Sharma (Innocenta/Ensemble) has a long list of hometowns across the world as part of her upbringing and is based out of New York and LA. She was most recently a BAT, the resident Acting Company at The Obie Award Winning Flea Theater. She has been part of several workshop readings in NY (New Dramatists, The Lark, Second Stage, New Georges). Regional/Off-Broadway: The TE'A Project, Gorilla Rep Shakespeare, People's Light & Theatre. Training: The Maggie Flanigan Studio. www.nalinisharma.net.

Graham Smith (Alonzo Quixano) received his B.A. at Davidson College and his M.F.A. at Hilberry Classic. He has been a PLTC company member since 1999. At PLTC: Valley Song, A Delicate Balance, The Crucible, Camping with Henry and Tom, The Miser, Twelfth Night, Nathan the Wise, King Lear, and Dividing the Estate. Recent work includes A Number and What the Butler Saw: NCSC, The Tempest: ATL and NCSF, and The Foreigner: Festival Stage. Began career in 1961 touring with father's family-vaudeville-magic show Saucy Sorcery, a one-man show with others.
Luigi Sottile (Sampson Carrasco/Ensemble) has performed at People's Light in Nathan the Wise, Snow White, King Lear, and Kidnapped! He has also acted for Lantern Theatre, Azuka Theatre, Shakespeare in Clark Park, and Wilma Theater. See him later this year in The Mystery of Irma Vep (Act II), Cyrano (Arden), and Angels in America (Wilma).