10—The Daily Collegian Monday, July 25, 1983
arts
'obert Trehy shines as Cervantes in 'Man Of La Mancha'
By HEIDI' BEELER
Collegian Staff Writer
If the Festival Theater offered you the chance to see
Robert Trehy walk onto an empty stage wearing a non
descript suit with only a bare light bulb hanging overhead,
sing "The Impossible Dream" and then walk off again, I'd
say take it!
At the opening performance of "Man Of La Mancha"
Thursday night, Trehy's powerful voice rang above even
the trumpets and trombones of the 16 piece pit band. And
when he let go of the final note of the number, the audience
stopped the show with a pounding applause that made him
stand motionless in a noble profile for at least twice the
time of the applause for the other numbers.
theatre review
Now add to that a leading lady with a voice to match, a
comic cohort, a full chorus, 16th century Spanish cos
tumes, the original Broadway set design, and some of the
classic exploits of Cervantes' Don Quixote, and you have
one of the strongest productions of the season.
With music and lyrics by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion,
Dale Wasserman's adaptation of "The Ingenious Gen
tleman Don Quixote" includes a part of Cervantes' life
story along with Dori Quixote's by using a play-within-a
play structure. The play opens as Cervantes (Trehy), a
penniless gentleman and playwright, and his servant
( Yusef Bulos) are led into a Spanish dungeon by the
knights of the Inquisition (Gary Perdue, Phil Gibson and
D. John Hefferon). Here Cervantes must await a trial with
the Inquisition. "He foreclosed on a church," his servant
tells the other prisoners, "and someone had to tack the
notice up on the church door "
Once the guards leave, the prisoners tackle the pair and
steal their belongings, including a trunk of stage props and
Cervantes' classic manuscript about the mad knight. As
the "governor" of the thieves (Gil Aberg) threatens to
burn the package with his work, Cervantes pleads to be
allowed to show them what the manuscript contains. So,
donning a scrawny prop beard and some rusty armor,
Cervantes and his servant become Don Quixote and his
practical and faithful squire, Sancho Panza.
The prisoners take up the other roles of the story, as the
knight battles a windmill supposing it to be an ogre, takes
an innyard and its rough peasants for a castle and courtly
people, and falls in love with Aldonza (Leilani Mickey), a
Allegheny
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kitchen wench, while insisting she is a virtuous lady. And
as the characters sing, dance and fight their way through
the tangles of reality and perception, the knights of the
Inquisition interupt to remind Cervantes of his own reality
and the trial awaiting him.
Directed and choreographed by Darwin Knight, the cast
did a good job with the music, dance and spectacle of the
show. Trehy's voice could be both powerful with noble
intention and gentle with sincere sentiment at need.
Mickey's voice was also expressive, as she varied between
a harsh (bawdy strength and
,a soft bewilderment. While
Bulos' voice was a little raspy next to Trehy's clear
operatic one, it carried well and was fitting for the comic
squire who tried to be as noble as his master but didn't
really understand what their quest was about.
The cast as a whole had a nice blend, although when
most of them sang as individuals their voices didn't
always carry well. The dance numbers were interesting,
including a gypsy belly dance and a horrifying gang rape
number in which Aldonza was passed from muleteer to
muleteer as the rest looked on and smiled while clapping
their hands to the music. The comic fight dance, in which
Don Quixote clobbers the muleteers almost by accident
with spinning ladders, a cast-iron pot and his broken
lance, went by a little too quickly, though. Because Don
Quixote has been taunted mercilessly by, the muleteers
and told his quest will never succeed, it's important that
he and his impractical virtue can win here. And he won the
fight a little too easily, too quickly to let you feel the
marvel of that victory.
While the over-all performance was wonderful, the
acting itself wasn't as good. Trehy was excellent at being
steadfastly virtuous and brave, but when Cervantes
breaks down at the sight of the knights of the Inquisition,
you couldn't see the fear underlying that proud exterior.
So in the end when he is truly brave and willing to face any
hardship, you don't realize that Cervantes has changed
with the prisoners because of his own play. Mickey's
Aldonza was too easily changed from the tough, pragmat
ic whore to a despairing woman, and it made the scene in
which she accepts his ideals melodramatic.
Bulos - was the acting highlight of the show. Clad in rust
colored pantaloons and standing a half-head shorter than
Trehy, he danced about the stage, delivering missives,
badly tooting fanfares on a battered bugle and picking his
master up off the ground when needed. Bulos' energy and
character'development really brightened the production.
Jim Caldwell was also good as the amazed old barber
whose shaving basin becomes Don Quixote's enchanted
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Golden Helmet of Mambrino. Catherine Dupuis had a
strong voice as Don Quixote's proper niece. And James
LeVaggi sang a gentle, although a little too soft, tenor solo
as the padre who isn't sure if it's worse to let Quixote
remain mad or to take his ideals away from him.
With its Tony award-winning set recreated by Howard
Bay and Douglas R. Maddox, lighting designed by Pat
Simmons and costumes designed by Marie Anne Chiment,
the technical half of the production set an eerie mood. A
blue gloom poured over the dungeon's stone floor, as the
overture played and the prisoners crawled out of the
corners. And when the knights of the Inquisition first
appeared at the top of the drawbridge staircase 20 feet off
Searching for the impossible dream in the Festival Theatre's production of "Man Of La Mancha" are (clockwise from top
left) Yusef Bulos as Sancho Panza, Robert Trehy In the lead role of Cervantes/Don Quixote and Leilani Mickey as Aldonza.
The production runs through August 7 at the Playhouse Theatre.
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the floor, the slow methodical sound of creaking ropes and
Gregorian chants could be heard over the sound system
and a brilliant gold backlight struck the sharply polished
armor of the guards so that their faces were all shadows
and their armor all lights. The audience literally gasped at
their first appearance.
The orchestra, directed by Bruce Trinkley, was well
balanced and interesting with its Spanish guitars, clicking
castinettes and brass fanfares.
The Festival Theater's production of "Man Of La
Mancha" plays through August 7 in the Playhouse Theatre
with performances at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays
and 7:30 p.m. Sundays.
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