Musical tilts at dreams
`Man of La Mancha' looks at Cervantes and his leading fictional character.
July 20, 2007|By Christine Cole, Special to the Sentinel
EUSTIS -- The Bay Street Players' production of Man of La Mancha, which opens at 8 p.m. today, is the Tony-award-winning musical adaptation of Don Quixote, a 400-year-old novel by Miguel de Cervantes.
In the musical play-within-a-play, Cervantes has been tossed into a dungeon during the Spanish Inquisition. In order to save his possessions -- including the Quixote manuscript -- from other prisoners, he proposes to entertain them with a production of Don Quixote.
Ken Rush, drama teacher at West Orange High School, plays Cervantes/Quixote.
"This is a romantic play about a man who searches for a perfect woman," Rush said. "He finds her in a prostitute in the dungeon."
By the time the story is over, the character has convinced the other prisoners that "The Impossible Dream" is not so impossible, Rush said.
As bold as Dale Wasserman's story, Mitch Leigh's music and Joe Darion's lyrics is director David Clevinger's set design.
"The set, with its many layers, textures and levels, looks like it was designed for an opera," executive director Elizabeth Scholl said. "David designed a drawbridge using our 1922 fly-loft system. There is a well and a fire pit. It is very arresting when you first see it."
As important as the set is William Dumas' lighting, which will again use a light-diffusing hazer as one of several special effects.
Steve Merens plays Sancho Panza and Kelly Elizabeth Fagan is Aldonza.
Timothy Turner is the musical director and Patrick Adams designed the costumes.
The play will continue at the State Theatre, 109 N. Bay St., through Aug. 12.
Performances begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $18, except Thursday when they are $15.
For reservations or for more information, call 352-357-7777352-357-7777.
`Man of La Mancha' looks at Cervantes and his leading fictional character.
July 20, 2007|By Christine Cole, Special to the Sentinel
EUSTIS -- The Bay Street Players' production of Man of La Mancha, which opens at 8 p.m. today, is the Tony-award-winning musical adaptation of Don Quixote, a 400-year-old novel by Miguel de Cervantes.
In the musical play-within-a-play, Cervantes has been tossed into a dungeon during the Spanish Inquisition. In order to save his possessions -- including the Quixote manuscript -- from other prisoners, he proposes to entertain them with a production of Don Quixote.
Ken Rush, drama teacher at West Orange High School, plays Cervantes/Quixote.
"This is a romantic play about a man who searches for a perfect woman," Rush said. "He finds her in a prostitute in the dungeon."
By the time the story is over, the character has convinced the other prisoners that "The Impossible Dream" is not so impossible, Rush said.
As bold as Dale Wasserman's story, Mitch Leigh's music and Joe Darion's lyrics is director David Clevinger's set design.
"The set, with its many layers, textures and levels, looks like it was designed for an opera," executive director Elizabeth Scholl said. "David designed a drawbridge using our 1922 fly-loft system. There is a well and a fire pit. It is very arresting when you first see it."
As important as the set is William Dumas' lighting, which will again use a light-diffusing hazer as one of several special effects.
Steve Merens plays Sancho Panza and Kelly Elizabeth Fagan is Aldonza.
Timothy Turner is the musical director and Patrick Adams designed the costumes.
The play will continue at the State Theatre, 109 N. Bay St., through Aug. 12.
Performances begin at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday matinees begin at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $18, except Thursday when they are $15.
For reservations or for more information, call 352-357-7777352-357-7777.