“Man of La Mancha” lacks for scale but not talent

Musical Theatre West might be doing Man of La Mancha for the third (or is it the fourth?) time just because it hits the safe, maybe even nostalgic sweet spot for a good portion of their target demographic. But in today’s U.S. of A., when you’re doing a show about a man who’s been driven mad by the world’s injustice and an artist who awaits trial by the Inquisition, there’s no way not to see it as at least a little bit timely.

Writer / actor / tax collector Miguel de Cervantes (Richard Bermudez) and his manservant (Reggie De Leon) have been imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition for justly foreclosing on a monastery against the wishes of the crooked local officials. In the dungeon they encounter a group of long-term prisoners led by “the Governor” (Berto Fernández), who decide to pass the time by putting Cervantes on trial for being an idealist and a bad poet, partly to pass the time and partly to so they can justify stealing his possessions after finding him guilty. By way of a defense, Cervantes puts on a play — using the prisoners as actors — about Alonso Quijana (played by Cervantes), an old man driven mad by how unjust contemporary society is in comparison to that which is described in the chivalric romances with which he is obsessed. Believing himself to be a wannabe knight named Don Quixote, he goes out into the world seeking to prove himself by fighting injustice, etc. 

The cast is great. Richard Bermudez easily delineates Cervantes from Quijana/Quixote, and he just as easily nails every song — most important of which is “The Impossible Dream”, sending us into intermission on a high note both literally and figuratively. As Aldonza/Dulcinea, Monika Peña especially shines in Act Two, where the dulcet power of her “Dulcinea (Reprise)” simply slays. And cutesy as his Sancho may be, Reggie De Leon probably has it dialed in just right for people who lay their good money down for Man of La Mancha, a known quantity in the world of musical theatre.

It’s almost too bad this show is more about solo numbers than combos, because this cast sounds great together. The best early example is “We’re Only Thinking of Him”, where Louis Pardo, Rudy Martinez, Tatiana Monique Alvarez, and Analía Romero lock in with machine-like precision. And the full company finale has all the oomph you could hope for.

What this production lacks is scale. We’re clued into this problem early in Act One when Quixote tilts at windmills…well, one windmill, represented by four people swinging around rather average-sized banners. Where we should be swept up in Quijana’s delusion, instead we’re stuck wondering why Vásquez couldn’t manage a better solution.

In general, the mise en scène is simply too spare. For a backdrop we get a single set whose second storey is almost superfluous, and little is ever added to the foreground. Unlike with most Musical Theatre West shows, Act One looks almost exactly like Act Two, which in this case is rather dark and drab. Yes, part of this is diegetic — an Inquisition prison ain’t gonna be Candyland — but imitative fallacy aside, there are plenty of spots where they could give us something. Quijana’s hallucinating, after all  — how much opportunity do you need?! The one spot where we get a bit of spice is in Quixote’s climactic confrontation with the Knight of the Mirrors, which is basically self-explanatory. Nice, yes, but too little too late.

Man of La Mancha is not the most compelling work Musical Theatre West has staged (though take my saying that cum grano salis, because the original production damn near ran the table at the Tonys. De gustibus non est disputandum), nor is it their best production. But the people on stage (and in the pit) fully do their part to make it the best it can be. Hell, on multiple occasions the audience applauded the characters. It’s that kind of show.

Man of La Mancha at Musical Theatre West
Times: Fri 7pm, Sat 2pm & 7pm, Sun 1pm; plus Thurs Feb 19 7pm and Sun Feb 22 6pm
The show runs through March 1.
Cost: starting at $25
Details: (562) 856-1999, musical.org
Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center (6200 W. Atherton, Long Beach)