”Maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it ought to be.”
Don Quixote is considered “either the wisest madman or the maddest wise man in the world” as he sees the good in people and in life, even (or especially) when others don’t, and with lines likes this, it’s hard not to root for the valiant knight-errant.
He’s a dreamer and an optimist, and he sees things differently than most others as he strives to “dream the impossible dream” in the musical Man of La Mancha.
Man of La Mancha is the final production of Ladysmith Little Theatre (LLT)’s 2013-14 season, and it’s a wonderful celebration of the escapism that live theatre can bring. The production brings together so many familiar faces from other LLT productions, there’s a lot of humour, wonderful singing and great characters.
A play within a play set in a Spanish prison during the inquisition, Man of La Mancha is the music-filled story of Don Quixote, his servant Sancho, and the lady of his dreams, a prostitute named Aldonza whom he calls Dulcinea. Miguel de Cervantes, a poet, playwright and tax collector, is imprisoned, and when the other inmates put him on trial, Cervantes defends himself by engaging the prisoners in his fantasy, even assigning them parts in his story of Don Quixote.
There’s a lot of great music in Man of La Mancha, and the cast is full of talented singers. Everyone does a fantastic job, and Elizabeth Herman, who plays Aldonza (or as Don Quixote sees her, Dulcinea), particularly stands out with her operatic voice. Torry Clark, as the Innkeeper also has a great voice.
Every actor is very talented, and they all do a great job of bringing this show to life. Some of my personal favourite performers are Bill Johnston as Miguel de Cervantes, Alonso Quijana and Don Quixote; Charles Harman as Sancho and Bill Young as the Padre.
There are a lot of funny moments, and the actors shine at not only delivering comedic lines but also physical comedy and facial expressions. But there’s also some drama, and the musical offers a little bit of everything and something for everyone. 
LLT’s production of Man of La Mancha features one incredible set that is turned into a prison, an inn and a church at different times in the story and even has a drawbridge, and the costumes are amazing and colourful.
This musical has been revived on Broadway four times and has been running successfully for the past 50 years, and watching the LLT put it on, it’s easy to see why it has been so popular. Man of La Mancha is adapted from Dale Wasserman’s non-musical 1959 teleplay, I, Don Quixote, itself inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth-century novel, Don Quixote.
LLT’s production is directed by Mort Paul, while Bonnie Stebbings offers musical direction, and Anne McInulty-Gogo worked on the choreography.
If you want to catch LLT’s production of Man of La Mancha, it continues until May 18, with evening performances, matinees and dinner theatre nights. Pre-sales have been very busy for the theatre, and they encourage people to reserve their tickets early.
Click here for more information and tickets, or call the box office at 250-924-0658.
