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"Man of La Mancha"
Friday – Saturday, November 10-11, 2006
8pm / 3 pm
Based on the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, the musical Man of La Mancha is both fresh and timeless and filled with charming, vibrant songs. From "Man of La Mancha", to the humorous, "I'm Only Thinking of Him" and the show's foundation, the spirited "Impossible Dream", the music is as noteworthy as the script.
Set in Seville at the end of the 16th century, author Cervantes and his assistant Sancho are thrown into prison by the Spanish Inquisition. Quickly, the other prisoners steal Cervantes's possessions, but he convinces them to allow him to win back a package of papers that would not be of value to other people. Pleading his case, Cervantes gives a dramatic defense by reenacting the story of Don Quixote of La Mancha. In this tale, Don Quixote falls in love with the fair maiden, Aldonza (Dulcinea), and convinces her to live a moral life. When Quixote is being knighted, the muleteers brutally assault Aldonza. Quixote and Sancho quickly come to Aldonza's rescue but in the end, Quixote only preaches forgiveness. Next, Quixote fights off his darkest foe, the Enchanter. Moved by the story, the prisoners return Quixote's manuscript just before he is called before the Inquisition.
Misfortune, in fact, was the pattern of his life. He was dealt blow after blow by the blind malice of fate. Failure and disaster; this is the record – until in his fifties, shamefully poor, infirm of body and in dimming eyesight, he undertook the writing of a book which he hoped might bring him ease in his remaining years. In other words: "The upsets of existence never dimmed the brightness of his vision, never soured his compassion nor his humor, never stripped him of his faith."
Don't' miss this complex, powerful and heartfelt musical.
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