Man of La Mancha

The fall musical at my school is Man of La Mancha. At first, I wasn't too excited about this show. I heard the story line and it sounded dry and boring. After this past week, I can honestly say that Man of La Mancha is the farthest thing from boring. I would compare the format of the story to something along the lines of Inception.


The opening scene shows prisoners in a dungeon during the Inquisition. Don Miguel de Cervantes and his manservant have been put in prison because, as a taxpayer, Cervantes, in favor of equality, foreclosed on a church. Don Miguel, a poet as well as a tax collector, is robbed of his properties and effects the second his is thrown into the prison. The Governor and the Duke, two other men in prison, hold a mock trial for the new inmate to decide on whether or not they should return the stolen items. The Duke charges Cervantes with being "an idealist, a bad poet, and an honest man." Miguel pleads guilty but would like to provide the jury, the other prisoners, with the opportunity to change their minds "in the form of a charade." He enlists the help of his manservant, the Governor, the Duke, and various other inmates to help him perform this story. Thus, the fabulous tale of La Mancha is formed. 

 Cervantes becomes Senor Quijana, a man who has "left the sane world" and become a knight-errant known as Don Quixote de La Mancha. His manservant becomes Quixote's trusty squire, Sancho, the Governor becomes the innkeeper in La Mancha, and the Duke becomes Quijana's niece's fiance and doctor, Dr. Carrasco. There are three story lines that the audience must keep straight throughout the play. The first layer, as I like to call it, is the prison scene where Cervante's main goal is to convince the to prisoners to return his property to him and get out of jail. The second layer, has Senor Quijana with his niece, doctor, house keeper and the local Padre, who are all trying to get him to once again become a sane person. 

Throughout the show, the Padre and Dr. Carrasco are trying to get Quijana to remember who he really his and convince him that everything else is just a dream. The third layer, is the story of Don Quixote, who is trying to be dubbed a knight when he stumbles upon a castle. In this castle, he finds a most wonderful lady named Dulcinea and sets out to make her, his. The only problem with all this is that Quixote is really the only person who sees these things. His lady, Dulcinea, in layer two is really a kitchen maid and a prostitute. The castle in which he visits to gain his knighthood, is really just an inn. Throughout the show, Cervantes, Senor Quijana, and Don Quixote set out to "dream the impossible dream."

If you would like to see more, check out the movie but if you have the opportunity, I would suggest you see the play. You won't regret it.

This is a song that Don Quixote sings to Dulcinea.