‘Man of La Mancha’ brings hope to the hopeless

Mt. Hood’s theater production of “Man of La Mancha” has one more weekend left (7:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday; 2 p.m. on Sunday) and it’s definitely a must see.

Based of Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th century novel, “Don Quixote,” the play is set within the time of the Spanish Inquisition. As Cervantes awaits his trial, others in the prison try to take his belongings – including his manuscript. He proposes a trial to prove his worth and that of his piece, and with the assistance of other prisoners, tells the tale of Alonso Quijana – believing himself to be a knight errant – renames himself Don Quixote and sets off to seek adventures with his squire, Sancho Panza.

True, he may believe that a tavern’s a castle and windmills to be giants, but he also transforms the wretched Aldonza into a beautiful lady.

The neat thing about this story line is that, apart from all the scenes being set and made within the prison, all the actors play at least two different characters – including those in the Mt. Hood production.

“I am Cervantes, who appears at the prison in the beginning,” said MHCC student Benjamin Trombi, “[and] I also play Alonso Quijana – who thinks he’s Don Quixote – so I technically get to play three characters, which is crazy.”

The switch-outs between different characters is, indeed, a little crazy, but in the end it works with the overall setting of the play.

Even with the most minimal of items used to create the scenes, the way the characters interact with them paints the picture – be it a bar, a kitchen, or even a church. Musical pieces within the show are also awesome and full of emotion and pack energy, a few pieces being “The Impossible Dream,” “Dulcinea,” and “Golden Helmet of Mambrino.”

Yet, even with all the light, singing, and joy in the show, there is still the ever-looming theme of fear and hopelessnes, both in the play as a whole and with Cervantes’s play.

“We’re portraying a story of hope in arguably one of the most hopeless situations,” said Julianne Rathbone, another student on campus who plays Aldonza. “As the captain said, ‘Some an hour, some a lifetime’ wait and they don’t know. Any single day they can be carted off to their death.”

The idea of hopelessness is easily exemplified with Rathbone’s character, the scullery girl, Aldonza, who had resorted to prostitution to make ends meet. While she sees the world as it is, Don Quixote sees it differently and reaches out to her and tells her that she’s beautiful.

It’s only at the end where Aldonza believes that world isn’t as bleak as she seems it is.

“Dulcinea is what you strive for [and] what your dream is,” said Trombi. “To reach the un reachable star.”

Though the characters in Man of La Mancha all await their death in one way or another, and those in Cervantes’s skit may find it hard to believe in good, or of chivalric deeds, the story rekindles hope in dark times.

“It definitely has a message of carving your own path and creating your own possibilities,” said Rathbone. “A door isn’t closed necessarily; you can find a way to open it.”

On the whole, the show gets four out of five windmills (or giants, if you prefer).

Though I went to the preview, everything was smooth sailing with little error, that I could tell. Rathbone did an exceptional job for someone who’s been dealing with vocal issues, due to a bug that hit the week before production – starting out a little rough on the high notes at the beginning but ending it strong. MHCC’s orchestra, conducted by Grant Linsell, also did a good job with the music for all the songs, as well.

Overall, as said before, the show is a definite must-see: Either to rekindle some hope in your life, or just a good laugh from the cast, this is a show people can relate to, in times of darkness and even light.

Go for it, before it becomes… unreachable!