Man of La Mancha
Written by Dale Wasserman (book),
Mitch Leigh (music) and Joe Darion (lyrics)
Directed/Choreographed by Rudy Hogenmiller
at Cahn Auditorium, Evanston (map)
thru Aug 26 | tickets: $32-$92 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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As Cervantes/Quixote, James Harms is “The Man”
Light Opera Works presents
Man of La Mancha
Review by John Olson
We can always trust Light Opera Works to deliver productions with strong musical performances, but with Man of La Mancha, they’re giving us a show that is knockout on many levels, beginning with the performance of James Harms in the title role. Harms is a perfectly fine singer – handling the demanding baritone role without a snag – but he so fully creates the many facets of his dual characters that we’re pulled right into the story from the start. Harms’ Miguel de Cervantes – in a Spanish Inquisition prison for attempting to collect taxes from a church – is alternately fearful, resourceful, idealistic and beaten. As Cervantes’ character Don Quixote, whom he portrays in an improvised performance for his fellow prisoners, Harms gives a charming and touching take on the delusional old Alonso Quijano, who believes himself to be Don Quixote, a knight errant
Equally impressive, though, and even more revelatory is the performance of Colette Todd as Aldonza. While Todd has appeared in a number of productions by local musical theater and opera companies, Light Opera Works may be the first company she worked with that attracts attention from the major theater critics and a broad swath of the regular base of Chicago theatergoers. With her astonishing Aldonza, she should be getting lots of calls for more roles shortly. Her Aldonza is an uncompromisingly hard-bitten scullery maid and prostitute. We believe throughout that she’s had the incredibly hard life she sings of in “Aldonza,” and the toughness of her portrayal makes the stakes of her redemption with Quixote’s help high and very real. Vocally, she knocks her songs way out of the park with the hard-to-find full-bodied soprano that the role requires. Her vocals are every bit as strong as those of Joan Diener on the original cast recording and at times you’d swear that’s who you’re listening to.
Vocals and character work are impressive throughout the cast, with not a weak link among them. Cary Lovett plays Sancho Panza less broadly than seen in other productions, but he’s charming, performing his comic numbers with musicianship and comedic skill. As the Innkeeper/Governor, Alex Honzen has a winningly bedraggled demeanor and fares just as well in his comic numbers. Greg Zawada is an especially menacing Pedro, and with director Rudy Hogenmiller’s staging of Pedro’s violence toward Aldonza – about as realistic as you’d ever want to see on stage – he makes us see the stark brutality of Aldonza’s life. All the featured numbers given to supporting characters are handled with great skill. Bill Chamberlain, as the kind Padre, sings a lovely “To Each His Dulcinea,” and, together with Jordan Yentz, Yvonne Strumecki and Edward J. McLennan, provides an amusing and well-sung “We’re Only Thinking of Him.” Peter Eli Johnson is also winning as the hapless barber whose basin is believed by Quixote to be the “Golden Helmet of Mambrino.”
 
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The action is played out on a set by Adam L. Veness that cleverly doubles as the prison’s common room and the Inn of the Quixote story. He’s designed a series of drawbridges that, when raised, isolate the prisoners from the outside world – confining them to the hole that is the prison. Andrew H. Meyer’s lighting design helps with the transitions between the prison and the play-within-a-play. Jesus Perez’s costumes are elaborate and complete the high production values seen here.
The production has a few flaws – Hogenmiller and Conductor Nyela Basney sometimes race through songs and scenes when the material might be better delivered more quietly and leisurely. It even seems they could savor “The Impossible Dream” a bit more. Hogenmiller’s dances – which have an inventive vocabulary for the rough muleteers – aren’t always executed comfortably by the ensemble. Christopher Kusek’s sound design has a very obvious amplified tone to it, and when Hogenmiller would have characters begin speaking before making entrances from offstage, it’s difficult to hear where they’re coming from.
These are minor points, though, and way overshadowed by the strength of Hogenmiller’s vision, the brilliant performances by Harms and Todd, and the strong vocal and orchestral readings of Mitch Leigh’s rich score. Man of La Mancha, seems to be produced less frequently than it should given its Broadway success, its literary roots and just the overall strength of the material. Maybe it’s hard to find a suitable “Man” to play Cervantes/Quixote, so when somebody does, it’s an opportunity that ought not to be passed up. In this case, James Harms is most definitely “the man.”
Rating: ★★★½
Man of La Mancha continues through August 26th at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson, Evanston (map), with performances Wednesdays and Sundays at 2pm; Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. Tickets are $32-$92, and are available by phone (847-920-5360) or through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More info at LightOperaWorks.com. (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes an intermission)
Photos by Rich Foreman and Chris Ocken
artists
cast
James Harms* (Cervantes, Don Quixote); Colette Todd (Aldonza, Dulcinea); Cary Lovett (Sancho Panza); Alex Honzen (Governor, Innkeeper); Edward J. MacLennan (Duke, Dr. Carasco); Bill Chamberlain (Padre); Peter Eli Johnson (Barber); Sarah Jane Blevins (Maria); Jordan Yentz (Antonia), Yvonne Strumecki (Housekeeper); Greg Zawada (Pedro); Michael Harnichar (Anselmo); Daniel Spagnuolo (Jose); David Sajewich (Tenorio); Nathan Mittleman (Paco); Patrick Rooney (Guitarist); Christie Burgess (Fermina); Amy Brophy (Moorish dancer); Daniel Hurtado (prisoner); Jerry Mills (Inquisition Captain); Patrick Byrnes, Mark Le Beau (guards)
orchestra
Jean Bishop (flute, piccolo); Debra R. Freedland (oboe); David Tuttle (clarinet); Peter Brusen (clarinet, bassoon); Beth Mazur-Johnson, Amanda Karwoske (horn); John Burson, Kevin G. Wood (trumpet); John McAllister, James Mattern (trombone); Debbie Katz Knowles, Tina S. Laughlin, Russell Knutson (percussion); Steven A. Roberts, Jeffrey Jacobs (Spanish guitar); Joseph Krzysiak (bass)
behind the scenes
Rudy Hogenmiller (director, choreographer); Emily Rogers (asst. director); Nyela Basney (music director); Adam L. Veness (scenic); Jesus Perez (costumes); Sienna Macedon-Kusek (hair and make-up); Andrew H. Meyer (lighting); Chris Kusek (sound); Julie Eberhardt (props); Tom Campbell (stage manager); Brian Brown (asst. stage manager); Katie Beeks (production manager); Rich Foreman, Chris Ocken (photos)
* denotes Actors Equity member
12-0814
