Presented by 5th Avenue Theatre Company, the show takes the stage over the next two weekends, Oct. 16, 17, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 18 and 25 at 2:30 p.m. at the Jean Carlo Stephenson Auditorium in Huntington City Hall. Tickets are $10 for Adults and $8 for Children 12 and under. For reservations and more information, call 304-696-5522.About the Production:
The City of Huntington Foundation, Inc. and 5th Avenue Theatre Company will present the beloved musical Man of La Mancha.
The cast features Ryan Hardiman as Cervantes/Don Quixote, Marina Jurica as Aldonza/Dulcinea and T. Michael Murdock as Sancho as well as an ensemble cast including Dave Benton, Kyle Fisher, Chloe Hardiman, Loretta Hetzer, Nancy Jackson, Jane Morse, Ralph Pack, Todd Preston, Ron Short, Desiree Sowards, Andrew Surber and Josh Taylor.
Man of La Mancha is directed by Eddie Harbert, with musical direction by Mike Campbell and choreography by Kerri Easter.
About the Show:
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh.
It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's 17th century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the "mad" knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.
The original 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,328 performances and won five Tony Awards, and the musical has been revived numerous times, becoming one of the most enduring works of musical theatre. The song, "The Impossible Dream", became a standard, and the musical is a popular choice for community theatre companies.
Man of La Mancha was first performed at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and had its New York premiere on the thrust stage of the ANTA Washington Square Theatre.
Synopsis:
Miguel de Cervantes, aging and an utter failure as playwright, poet and tax collector, has been thrown into a dungeon in Seville to await trial by the Inquisition for an offense against the Church. There he is dragged before a kangaroo court of his fellow prisoners, who plan to confiscate his few possessions—including the uncompleted manuscript of a novel, Don Quixote.
Cervantes, seeking to save the manuscript, proposes his defense in the form of a play. The "court" agrees, and Cervantes and his manservant don make-up and costumes, transforming themselves into Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. They then play out the story with the prisoners taking the roles of other characters.
Quixote and Sancho take to the road in a quest to restore the age of chivalry, battle all evil, and right all wrongs.
3 comments:
Hi Chuck! Thanks for the posting! You will have to be sure to come and see it and give a review! I hope that everyone reading your column will plan to attend. It has been 30 years since this show was last done in our community and it promises to be an evening of great entertainment!
Eddie, you're welcome! I'm really looking forward to seeing the show. I've never seen it live on stage, I love the music and you have an incredible cast. I'm sure this will be a great one!
This is one of my all-time favorite shows. I wish I was able to be there to see it. I was lucky enough to live in Brooklyn when it first ran on Broadway and got to see it with Richard Kiley and the original cast and then again just before it closed its original run. Very moving story and music. Maybe someday a film director will try it again with the proper approach.
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