naphtalia's Full Review: Dale Wasserman - Man of LA Mancha
Man of La Mancha was the winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical back in 1966. I was only three years old back then and hardly knew the name of the street I lived on, much less knew the name Broadway for the street in New York where all the big shows run. For whatever reason, by the time I learned about the play Man of La Mancha, I already knew its most famous song "The Impossible Dream." Man of La Mancha was a part of my world before I knew what it was.
Man of La Mancha is a wonderful combination of the story of the author Don Miguel de Cervantes and his creation Don Quixote de La Mancha. In the play, Cervantes is sent to await a trial by the Spanish Inquisition. He brings with him baggage containing all he owns. The other inmates in the prison rifle through his things and he allows it until they threaten a manuscript which his things include. The prisoners then put him on trial to see if he should get the manuscript back. As a defense, he offers them the story contained in the manuscript - the story of Don Quixote. Thus, the story of Cervantes' life becomes a frame around the story of Quixote.
Slowly, we are taken through the transformation from Cervantes the narrator into the story of Don Quixote with Cervantes playing the leading role.
Don Quixote is really a country squire named Alonso Quijana. He has lost his mind while reading stories of knights and their ladies. Though the age of chivalry is past, he imagines himself as a knight named Don Quixote. In the meantime, his niece and Quijana's housekeeper enlist the help of the local priest and the niece's fiancee to bring the squire back to his right mind.
Quixote's story presented in he script include a battle against a windmill that he believes is a giant, the acquisition of the Golden Helmet of Mambrino, and the battle against the Knight of Mirrors. Most important, the story here includes his love for a woman he calls Dulcinea who is really a kitchen servant and prostitute named Aldonza.
While the Dale Wasserman script tells much of the story of Don Quixote, it leaves out many details such as the relationship that Quixote's friend and servant Sancho Panza has with many of the people they encounter along the way. If what you want is the full story of Don Quixote, you won't get it here. This is Don Quixote-lite. This is not a put down of the script. It is simply a recognition that Wasserman never meant to tell every little detail of the story. If you are a student who is supposed to read Don Quixote, you will find some help here, but you will not be able to replace one with the other.
The music of Man of La Mancha is wonderful. The words are all here in the script. Sadly, the scoring is not. If you already know the music, you may hear it in your head. For those who don't, however, the songs often don't work in script form....not just for reading. If you can, the ideal way to read this book would be with the soundtrack in the CD player beside you.
Having been involved in a long-ago production of Man of La Mancha, I really enjoyed reading the script. The music was alive in my head. I had good memories. It's a great story - even if it's not the entire Don Quixote. I can definitely recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the play.
Of my students who had never seen or heard any part of the play, about 3/4 enjoyed this, too. Though they preferred watching the movie to reading the play, they still enjoyed the script.
If you are comfortable reading scripts, I would suggest this one. It is especially good if you already know the story, but even if you don't it is a pleasure to read.
Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, 1966 & quot; To me the most interesting aspect of the success of Man of La Mancha is the ...More at Buy.com
Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical, 1966 & quot; To me the most interesting aspect of the success of Man of La Mancha is the ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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