[NEohioPAL]Plain Dealer Review of "Man of La Mancha" at the JCC Halle Theatre

Fri Oct 11 07:11:35 PDT 2002

--part1_161.157e9686.2ad818b0_boundary
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Man of La Mancha 
continues at the 
JCC Halle Theatre, 
3505 Mayfield Rd.,
Cleveland Hts., Ohio 44118
through October 27

<A HREF="http://www.clevejcc.org/arts/halletheatre.asp">Ticket Info</A>
<A HREF="http://www.tomfulton.com/lamancha.htm">Tom Fulton's 'La Mancha' page</A>
<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/fsternfeld/ManofLaMancha.html">Fred Sternfeld's 'La Mancha' page</A>

Clever staging, gifted cast make 'La Mancha' a dream 

10/08/02

Jacqueline Gerber 
Special to The Plain Dealer

At Saturday's opening performance of "Man of La Mancha," the action began 
before the show did. 

On the dimly lit stage, a man strummed a guitar. Casual groupings of men and 
women, dressed in tatters, held muted conversations and silent fights. Above 
them, iron bars created a daunting perimeter. 

Slowly, the players revealed the grim social order of a 16th-century prison. 

That sense of understated detail transforms "La Mancha" from aging musical 
chestnut to an engaging night in the theater. 

Fred Sternfeld's taut and vocally strong production gives full rein to the 
sentimentality, bravado and despair at the heart of the 1965 Tony 
Award-winning musical. 

In a superb performance, Tom Fulton seamlessly transforms himself from the 
troubled Miguel de Cervantes to the author's creation, the dotty, plumpish 
knight errant, Don Quixote, who is charmingly out of step with his 
surroundings. 

Tracee Patterson's earthy and beautifully sung Aldonza seems occasionally 
low-key, but she creates an effective tension when she resists Quixote's 
flowery attempts to ennoble her. 

Contemporary choreography by Martin Cespedes adds edgy athleticism. From 
stage fighting and exotic dancing to a horse ballet, the dancing also 
illustrates in harrowing realism the brutality that befalls Aldonza. 

The exceptional cast includes excellent performances by David Robeano as a 
disarmingly sweet Sancho Panza and R. Scott Posey as the padre. 

The prisoners, a motley crew of thieves, murderers and malcontents, are major 
assets. They sing and act with precision. In their rags and leathers, with 
menacing scowls, they look like contenders on the professional wrestling 
tour. 

Larry Hartzell's excellent off-stage orchestra, heavy on the synthesizer, 
maintains the right note of heroism. 

A wonderfully grimy setting is created by Keith Nagy's raked two-level set. 

Although "The Impossible Dream" is the only song from the Mitch Leigh-Joe 
Darion score to have a life outside the musical, there are other gems: 
"Dulcinea," "I'm Only Thinking of Him" and the title song. Dale Wasserman's 
book, adapted from his late 1950s play about Cervantes, offers laughs, 
adventure and sadness. 

It could be argued that the show's idealism is better suited to the political 
and social fabric of the 1960s than to sadder-but-wiser 2002. But it's clear 
that Quixote's insistent sanguinity proves the redemptive power of the 
imagination. 

Gerber is a free-lance writer in Shaker Heights. 

To reach Jacqueline Gerber: 

entertainment at plaind.com 

--part1_161.157e9686.2ad818b0_boundary
Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT  COLOR="#008040" SIZE=6 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><B><I>Man of La Mancha</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#008040" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></I> </FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
continues at the <BR>
JCC Halle Theatre, <BR>
3505 Mayfield Rd.,<BR>
Cleveland Hts., Ohio 44118<BR>
through October 27<BR>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="http://www.clevejcc.org/arts/halletheatre.asp">Ticket Info</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.tomfulton.com/lamancha.htm">Tom Fulton's 'La Mancha' page</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/fsternfeld/ManofLaMancha.html">Fred Sternfeld's 'La Mancha' page</A><BR>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=4 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="ARIAL" LANG="0">Clever staging, gifted cast make 'La Mancha' a dream </FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="ARIAL" LANG="0"><BR>
<BR>
</B>10/08/02<BR>
<BR>
<B>Jacqueline Gerber</B> <BR>
Special to The Plain Dealer<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="arial" LANG="0">At Saturday's opening performance of "Man of La Mancha," the action began before the show did. <BR>
<BR>
On the dimly lit stage, a man strummed a guitar. Casual groupings of men and women, dressed in tatters, held muted conversations and silent fights. Above them, iron bars created a daunting perimeter. <BR>
                    <BR>
Slowly, the players revealed the grim social order of a 16th-century prison. <BR>
<BR>
That sense of understated detail transforms "La Mancha" from aging musical chestnut to an engaging night in the theater. <BR>
<BR>
Fred Sternfeld's taut and vocally strong production gives full rein to the sentimentality, bravado and despair at the heart of the 1965 Tony Award-winning musical. <BR>
<BR>
In a superb performance, Tom Fulton seamlessly transforms himself from the troubled Miguel de Cervantes to the author's creation, the dotty, plumpish knight errant, Don Quixote, who is charmingly out of step with his surroundings. <BR>
<BR>
Tracee Patterson's earthy and beautifully sung Aldonza seems occasionally low-key, but she creates an effective tension when she resists Quixote's flowery attempts to ennoble her. <BR>
<BR>
Contemporary choreography by Martin Cespedes adds edgy athleticism. From stage fighting and exotic dancing to a horse ballet, the dancing also illustrates in harrowing realism the brutality that befalls Aldonza. <BR>
<BR>
The exceptional cast includes excellent performances by David Robeano as a disarmingly sweet Sancho Panza and R. Scott Posey as the padre. <BR>
<BR>
The prisoners, a motley crew of thieves, murderers and malcontents, are major assets. They sing and act with precision. In their rags and leathers, with menacing scowls, they look like contenders on the professional wrestling tour. <BR>
<BR>
Larry Hartzell's excellent off-stage orchestra, heavy on the synthesizer, maintains the right note of heroism. <BR>
<BR>
A wonderfully grimy setting is created by Keith Nagy's raked two-level set. <BR>
<BR>
Although "The Impossible Dream" is the only song from the Mitch Leigh-Joe Darion score to have a life outside the musical, there are other gems: "Dulcinea," "I'm Only Thinking of Him" and the title song. Dale Wasserman's book, adapted from his late 1950s play about Cervantes, offers laughs, adventure and sadness. <BR>
<BR>
It could be argued that the show's idealism is better suited to the political and social fabric of the 1960s than to sadder-but-wiser 2002. But it's clear that Quixote's insistent sanguinity proves the redemptive power of the imagination. <BR>
<BR>
Gerber is a free-lance writer in Shaker Heights. <BR>
<BR>
To reach Jacqueline Gerber: <BR>
<BR>
entertainment at plaind.com <BR>
<BR>
    <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
    <BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="arial" LANG="0"> </P></P></P></P></FONT></HTML>

--part1_161.157e9686.2ad818b0_boundary--