Review: Life is but a dream

Congratulations are in order to absolutely everyone connected with the splendid and inspiring production of Man of La Mancha that concludes another successful season at Stages St. Louis.

L-R: James Patterson, John Patrick Moran
Photo by ProPhotoSTL

Man of La Mancha has been with us for so long and has been produced in so many venues, amateur and professional, that it's easy to forget just how startling it was when it premiered at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre on November 22, 1965. The relatively small cast, unusual orchestration, and innovative dramatic structure of the show set it apart from the other major musicals of the time.

Initial response was effusive, both from the critics and, eventually, the theatre-going public. The latter made it one of the longest-running shows on Broadway with 2,329 performances and the former gave it five Tony awards and four Variety Poll of Drama Critics awards.

The Stages production, which runs through October 6, demonstrates vividly just why the show won all those trophies, and why it has remained popular for over half a century. The drama, comedy, and (above all) the inspiring message about the importance of "achieving the impossible" by "attempting the absurd" (to cite the Miguel Unamuno quote that inspired Dale Wasserman to write the show in the first place) come through loud and clear. If you're a fan of this play, you won't want to miss this one.

James Patterson, Amanda Robles
Photo by ProPhotoSTL

For those of you who have somehow managed to miss seeing Man of La Mancha, it's a highly-fictionalized account of an episode from the life of Miguel Cervantes y Saavedra, author of Don Quixote. Thrown into prison for attempting to apply the law to the Church (still a risky proposition), Cervantes entertains his fellow inmates with the story of Quixote, eventually inspiring them to share some of his and the Don's idealism. The resulting play within a play works surprisingly well, but puts a great burden on the actors to bring us into Quixote's fantastic world with only minimal props and the prison cell as a backdrop.

The Stages production is a hit in every possible respect, starting with its impressively strong cast. James Patterson manages the neat trick of shifting among four different characters: the well-meaning but diffident Cervantes, the self-assured Cervantes who narrates Quixote's story, the courageous but deluded Quixote and, in the final moments, the confused and dying Alfonso Quixano, no longer imagining himself to be a noble knght. He has the requisite big voice and compelling stage presence as well.

L-R: James Patterson, Ryan Cooper,
John Patrick Moran
Photo by ProPhotoSTL

John Patrick Moran is a funny and winsome Sancho Panza and Amanda Robles is a fiery and vulnerable Aldonza, who Quixote sees as his lady, Dulcinea. Stages regular Steve Isom has nice turn in the dual roles of The Governor, the prisoner who is the unofficial ruler of the dungeon in which Cervantes has been tossed, and the sympathetic Innkeeper who befriends Quixote. Ryan Cooper (a familiar figure on local stages) has a priceless comic cameo as the Barber whose shaving basin is mistaken for a legendary golden helmet by Quixote.

Other notable performances include Ryan Jesse's Duke/Dr. Carrasco (the cynical antagonist of both Cervantes and Quixote), Zoe Vonder Haar's Housekeeper, Julie Hanson as Quixano's niece Antonia, and Erik Keiser as the Padre, who has one of the show's stronger songs, "To Each His Dulcinea." In fact, everyone in this cast does splendid work.

L-R: John Patrick Moran, James Patterson,
Amanda Robles, Steve Isom
Photo by ProPhotoSTL

Michael Hamilton's direction and pacing are excellent, making the show's run time of two hours without intermission fly by. The show was originally intended for performance in one act, and it's nice to see Stages present it without the intermission other companies often shoehorn in right after the show's Big Hit, "The Impossible Dream." James Wolk's multi-level prison set looks appropriately imposing, and Sean M. Savoie's is very effective in creating individual playing areas with pinpoint accuracy.

This is, in short, a pretty much perfect production of a classic of the musical theatre, and its message is refreshingly out of synch with the prevailing cynicism, greed, spite, and short-sighted materialism of contemporary America. Don't miss it.