Man of La Mancha (2003)

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Man of La Mancha (2003)

Click to see a larger picture of Man of La Mancha

Directed By
Stephen Whittock

Producer
Jane Martin

Production Type
Nomads Production

Production Location
Main Theatre

Genre: Musical / Drama

Turnout: 77%

Length: 2hrs 15mins

User Rating:

(3.6/5 with 6 votes)

Flier Summary:



	Musical based on the tale of Don Quixote. Cervantes is brought to prison to await a hearing with the Inquisition. The prisoners decide to hold a mock trial in order to find him guilty and steal what seems to be a valuable package. Cervantes presents a play as his defence, with his 'jury' actors in the play. Cervantes plays Alhonso Quiana, a man who has set his own reality aside and become Don Quixote De La Mancha. Big, satisfying moments, musically and dramatically, reward and uplift the audience.

Description:



	Man of La Mancha first opened on Broadway in 1965 and then London in 1968. It is currently enjoying capacity audiences in a new Broadway production. It was one of the first tryly international hit musicals playing all over the world. Jacques Brel played the lead in the original Paris production. It was for some time the 4th longest running musical on Broadway. Man of La Mancha is an exceptional example of superbly integrated musicals, married with a truly exciting musical score full of soaring Iberian melodies crowning by the stunning "Impossible Dream". It is a true honour to work with such an exceptionally talented cast and crew. They have all shown a resilience and dedication that has been far above the "call of duty". I must also thank Rupert Ellick for designing what is a truly magnificent set, and Ian Harwood and his team for realising the design. Thanks also to Lindsay Macaulay, who has unswervingly helped me in achieving the incredibly high goals that I have set. Sit back and let the "Man" take you into his dream, but beware - it may be infectious. Steve Whittock Man of La Mancha - the musical This is a wonderful musical based on the tale of Don Quixote. Cervantes is brough to prison to await a hearing with the Inquisition. The prisoners decide to hold a mock trial in order to find him guilty and steal what seems to be a valuable package. Cervantes plays Alonso Quijana, a man who has set his own reality aside and become Don Quixote De La Mancha. Cervantes: An Insight Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the author of Don Quixote, lived from 1547 until 1616 during Spain's golden age. He was the fourth son in a family of seven children. His father Rodrigo was a surgeon, one of the salaried employees of the university of Alcala de Henares (Madrid), also the birthplace of Miguel. Cervantes joined the army with his brother, Rodrigo, and fought against the Turks and Italians. However, upon returning to Spain his ship was captured by pirates and both he and his brother were sold as slaves in Algiers. In 1580 Cervantes and his brother returned to Spain having spent five years as a slave. Without any means of livelihood, he turned his hand to playwriting. In this he was unsuccessful and he was eventually granted a job as commissary collecting foodstuffs for the Invincible Armada. Bookeeping was, however, a complicated process and he was twice imprisoned for owing money to the treasury due to a shortage in his accounts. It is said that during his imprisonment he started writing Don Quixote. Once completed in 1604, the book was an immediate best seller. Running into six editions a year after that, Cervantes derived no further profit from it, other than the money originally paid him by his publisher. Between the ages of 57 and 69, Cervantes published his Exemplary Novels, 12 stories of Spain, which survice as perceptive accounts of the local life of that time. He also published some plays, Eight Interludes and Eight Comedies and, his last work, The Troubles of Persiles and Sigismunda. At sixty-seven and still dogged by poverty, Cervantes began the sequel to Don Quixote only to find that a pirate edition had already been released, which was well received. Don Quixote is one of the most read novels in the world and continues to be a best seller. Vervantes, the product of a proud Catholic-inspired Spanish heritage, died in April 1616 (the same month and year as William Shakespeare). Like Don Quixote, Cervantes travelled through life with a strong sense of purpose, conquering challenges with the determination and enthusiasm of a great man. (Our thanks to Sally Mott for this history)

Production Dates & Prices: (Please note Booking Information)



Date	Time	Members Price	Non-Members Price
Tuesday 30th September 2003	8:00pm	£6.50	£6.75
Wednesday 1st October 2003	8:00pm	£6.50	£6.75
Thursday 2nd October 2003	8:00pm	£9.00	£9.25
Friday 3rd October 2003	8:00pm	£9.00	£9.25	FULL HOUSE
Saturday 4th October 2003	8:00pm	£9.00	£9.25	FULL HOUSE

Cast: (in programme order)



Stephen Macvicar	... Manservant (Sancho Panza)
Colin Wolrich	... Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote, Alonso Quijana)
Julian Rye	... Governor / Innkeeper
Don Brown	... Duke / Carrasco
Chris Hull	... Muleteer
Darren Layard	... Muleteer
Francis Pindar	... Muleteer
Julian Pindar	... Muleteer
Sam Underwood	... Muleteer
Lauren Fantham	... Aldonza (Dulcinea)
Elaine Burns	... Maria (Innkeeper's wife)
Denise Hull	... Fermina (a serving girl)
Roanna Cochrane	... Antonia (Alonso's niece)
Debbie Danaher	... Housekeeper
Hugh Coakley	... Padre
Jeff Wightwick	... Barber
Mary Talbot	... Moorish Dancer
Al Forbes	... Muleteer Guitarist

Crew: (in programme order)



Jane Martin	... Producer
Stephen Whittock	... Director
Lindsay Macaulay	... Music Director
Erika Hearle	... Musician - Flute
Becky Darlow	... Musician - Clarinet
Lesley Potts	... Musician - Oboe
Ben Donnelly	... Musician - Bassoon
Jamie Crook	... Musician - Trumpet
Daria Hines	... Musician - Trumpet
Phil Vivian	... Musician - Horn
Lawrence Tatnell	... Musician - Trombone
Eric Hearle	... Musician - Trombone
Al Forbes	... Musician - Guitar
Dan Stent	... Musician - Guitar
Jenny Abbott	... Musician - Bass
Tom Early	... Musician - Percussion
Rupert Ellick	... Set Design
Ian Harwood	... Set Construction
Charlie "the dog" Arnold	... Set Construction
Lisa Arnold	... Set Construction
Jonathan Bleasby	... Set Construction
Tracy Davis	... Set Construction
Simon Hallett	... Set Construction
Gordon Hilliker	... Set Construction
Matthew Jenner	... Set Construction
Darren Layard	... Set Construction
Helen Longes	... Set Construction
David Payne	... Set Construction
David Romeo	... Set Construction
David Smee	... Set Construction
Anne Thomas	... Set Construction
Sarah Thomas	... Set Construction
Tom Thomas	... Set Construction
Robin Richard	... Stage Manager
Ian Harwood	... Stage Crew
Helen Longes	... Stage Crew
Barry Pilcher	... Set Construction
Lisa Arnold	... Properties
David Armitage	... Lighting Designer
Anne Thomas	... Lighting Operator
Charles Hope	... Sound Operator
Jill Evans	... Costume Design
Elizabeth Grimstone	... Costume Assistant

Official Review:

Man of La Mancha - the review

The latest offering at the Nomad Theatre was 'Man of La Mancha', a musical celebrating the tale of Don Quixote. 'Man of La Mancha' is not the easiest of constructs: it features a play within a play, with a third layer thrown in for good measure. The play's central character, Miguel de Cervantes, and an associate are brought to prison to await a hearing with the Inquisition. He is set upon by the prisoners, who decide to hold a mock trial in order to find him guilty and steal all his possessions (including a package he seems to value greatly). Cervantes presents a play as his defense, to give the "jury" insight into the "crimes" of which they accuse him. They agree and become actors in his play. Cervantes plays Alhonso Quijana, a man who has set his own reality aside and becomes Don Quixote de La Mancha. 'Man of La Mancha' simultaneously tracks the experiences of the three men (Cervantes, Quijana, and Quixote), focusing mostly upon Quixote.

One of the key problems with this musical, and what makes it such a bold choice for any company to stage, is the complexity of the storyline, and the mixture of styles it seems to incorporate. On the one hand it's a tale of adventure, then it flits to romance, then to almost Pythonesque comedy, brushing past moments of melodrama and back again. Therefore one of the director's (Stephen Whittock's) first objectives must be to make the production accessible to his audience. The Nomads' production was atmospheric and entertaining, and the actors coped admirably in bringing this tricky tale to life. The opening sequence was truly memorable, the dark cavern-like walls of the prison, the descending staircase from the light of the world above, the squalor of the prison in-mates, the revolve revealing 'Man of La Mancha', all lit with incredible effect, and accompanied by the band's first rendition of the title track. I was truly excited and ready to be startled by this production. Unfortunately, the rest of the show didn't quite deliver to the same standard. The singing overall was fairly mediocre, with one or two exceptions, and I felt that more could have been achieved vocally by this cast, the majority of whom were experienced in musical theatre. There was however a good pace to the show, characters on the whole were believable, and the production itself was fairly slick, despite some obvious problems with the sound mics.

It falls upon the actor playing Quixote to provide the audience link to the story, and Colin Wolrich must be applauded for his portrayal of the title role. This was a natural performance; he gave a very measured and intelligent delivery of his lines, and had a pleasant singing voice to boot. My one criticism of this performance was his rendition of The Impossible Dream', without doubt the show's well known number, which in my opinion was too static and lacked the passion and energy that this song requires.

His companion and comedy sidekick, Sancho Panza, was played with comic effect by Stephen Macvicar whose rendition of 'I like Him' was one of the highlights of the show, and showed off an excellent tenor voice. Aldonza is an incredibly challenging rote for any singer/actress, but Lauren Fantham- coped very well with some very-difficult -songs. Her breakdown at the end of the show at Quixote's bedside was very moving, and led beautifully into the final chorus of 'Impossible Dream'. Don Brown was suitably authoritative as the Duke, and notable in the supporting line-up was Julian Rye's performance as 'the Governor'.

As I mentioned earlier, Stephen Whittock's production was assisted in no small way by a fantastic set (designed by Rupert Ellick) and a very atmospheric lighting design (David Armitage). The band, hidden upstage, was directed by Lindsay Macaulay. Finally I was left unsatisfied at the end by the lack of a curtain call, which I felt to be a strange omission. Surely it is the audience's right to have the theatrical spell broken at the end of the evening? Nevertheless well done to all.

Related News:


Oct 2003	Man Of La Mancha Production Images
Sep 2003	12hr Sponsored Sing!
Sep 2003	Come and meet the Man of the Year!
Sep 2003	Man OF La Mancha Triathlon
May 2003	Man of La Mancha Audition
Apr 2003	Man of La Mancha Postponed & Audition Information
Mar 2003	Man of La Mancha
Jan 2003	Man of La Mancha: Parts, Readthrough & Auditions

Recommendations:


Man of LA Mancha: Complete Vocal Scores
Man of La Mancha
Impossible Musical: The Story of "Man of La Mancha"
Man of La Mancha [SOUNDTRACK]
Man of La Mancha [SOUNDTRACK]
Original Cast [IMPORT]
The Man of La Mancha [Image] [IMPORT]
Leigh: Man of La Mancha (Placido Domingo)

User Reviews:

No Online Reviews Found

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