Theatre
& Stage
reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff
Man
of La Mancha (thru November 6)
When
we think of the classic Musical, we often
think of the larger theaters as the only venues
for these, but as of late, we have found that
Marriott can do most anything, the New Drury
Lane Theatre at Water Tower Place has done
a large production on their small stage, and
now, Court Theatre, in its continuing quest
to present a musical each year, has chosen
the Tony Award winning "man of La Mancha"
with book by Dale Wasserman, Music by Mitch
Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darien. This is a
much grander production than the earlier musicals-
this epic tale of Don Quixote. But succeed
they did!
The
story takes place during the Spanish Inquisition
and tells the story of Cervantes, the legendary
Spanish author ( played with great bravado
by Herbert Perry) who while awaiting his true
hearing, pleads his case to his fellow prisoners
and regales them with his tale of Don Quixote-
the Noble and romantic journey of a knight
who sets out to right all wrongs and win the
heart of a good woman, dueling windmills (metaphor
for the obstacles he faces) along the way.
This is a classic, but comic tragedy of one
man's struggle to "dream the impossible dream".
It illuminates the powerful themes of honor,
nobility, chivalry, grace and idealism and
director Charles Newell has done this to perfection
on a fantastic set designed by John Culbert
(transforming the theater into a dirty, dank
dungeon-like cell), with great lighting effects
by Marek McCullough, sound by Ray Nardelli
and Josh Horvath and costuming by Jaqueline
Firkins. It takes all of the ingredients to
make a show this solid and while the set is
great and the direction the same, the actors
are the key.
Each
of the actors in this production handle all
of what is asked of them to perfection. Rod
Thomas, Stephen Wallem, Harriet Nzinga Plumpp,
Matthew Krause, Ben Dicke, Jeffrey Baumgarten,
The hysterical George Keating, the very strong
comic touch of Neil Friedman as Sancho, Don
Quixote's manservant( Who knew he could sing),
Susie McMonagle (always fun to watch with
a voice that is lilting) and of course , one
of Chicago;s favorites, Hollis Resnik as Aldonza/Dulcinea
(hers is a different interpretation of the
role and she is dynamite). Theses actors are
asked to play many roles throughout this over
2 hours (NO INTERMISSION) of wonderful story
and almost an operatic score. Most of the
songs are just a part of the storyline and
are not done out of context. "Dulcinea" and
"The Impossible Dream" are two that have been
recorded often, but each song has meaning
and each singer makes this all come to be.
this is not what one would call a "dancing"
show, but the choreography (Marla Lampert)
for the places it is needed is wonderful (the
rape and the fight are superb). This is a
large scale production done in a small intimate
theater, done to perfection. I think The Court
has found the perfect recipe with this production.
"Man
of LaMancha" will run through November 6th
with performances as follows:Sunday, Wednesday
and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
at 8 p.m. Matinees are Saturday at 3 p.m.
and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets
range in price from$35-$50 (a true bargain
for such wonderful theater) and are available
at the theater box office located at 5535
S. Ellis Ave. ( lots of free parking available),
by calling 773-753-4472 or online at www.CourtTheatre.uchicago.edu.
