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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Man of La Mancha Also see Richard's reviews of Eleventh Hour Radio, The End of the World Cabaret, and La Cage aux Folles
The story goes that Rex Harrison originally had the leading role, but at the age of 57 the singing burden proved too much for him. So thank goodness for younger actors. And a wig and some whiskers can help out a lot. Jeff Kargus still manages to burst with pesky youth and vitality as Don Quixote, and he's delightful in the current production at the Clayton Community Theatre. He looks like he can quite easily buckle his own swash, even when burdened with a troublesome cuirass during his first number on opening night, which he gracefully endured before a quick fix off-stage. Mr. Kargus is not just smart, but he's funny and charming as well, winning us over to both this Quixote and his creator, Cervantes, in a medieval dungeon in the late 1500s after being grabbed up off the street by the Spanish Inquisition. In Man of La Mancha, Cervantes puts on a show to appease the dungeon's more dangerous habitués (in this case) on an admirable set by Zac Cary. Mr. Kargus is quite fine as a mad old man who tilts at windmills, thinking them monsters in the play within a play. The show's twin stories demonstrate how believing in others can help to raise us all up from a lowly state. And in act two the leading man's monologue on the folly and waste of war is quite sublime. Company co-founder Sam Hack finally makes his big musical theatre directing debut in this two and a half-hour show, with a great eye for blazing emotional truth and for swirling danger. He successfully covers his bets in this musical maiden voyage with a 17-piece orchestra under the direction of Gene Rauscher, with Mary Mather choreographing a lot of very good actor/singers within the constraints of a mostly non-dancing ensemble. The professional costumes are by Jean Heckmann, Nancy Crouse, and Jim Geiler (who also supplies the fine props), with lighting by Nathan Schroeder–the only designer on the team who has to do a lot with a little. Before the show, Alyssa Santoyo Catlin provides a beautiful guitar solo, dressed as one of the inmates, and accompanies the orchestra throughout. So when it comes to a strapping young Cervantes, becoming more and more credible as a charming old fool, we can see how a natural decrepitude always seems to creep in with the quest for nobility. It ages you, just trying to be good. The show steadily climbs up to a state of delight, partly because most of the best songs are stacked up after intermission. And by then, Mr. Kargus seems genuinely iconic for his struggles. The excellent Heather Matthews is an irrefutably fierce and tragic Aldonza, who also possesses a lovely voice. The strength of the show comes as well from the funny-in-a-modern-way Jeff Struckhoff as Sancho Panza. It's a great production, though a bit cartoonish, and a bit of a bedtime story, that perhaps comes to you (initially) in the hands of two unexpected deliverymen. Aldonza and the Muleteers' hard-to-watch scene of sexual assault lends urgent meaning to Quixote's famed musical quest "to right the un-rightable wrong." Will Spaeth adds clarity and acumen as the Duke and as Carrasco, while fellow performer Brad Slavik makes a tremendously naturalistic breakthrough in the roles of the unofficial governor of the dungeon and an innkeeper. The whole cast shines in numbers like "Golden Helmet of Mambrino," a comic song that reminds us of the great nonsense anthems that would soon follow from the Firesign Theatre comedy group. Of course the most suspenseful moment of the whole show comes at the end of its hit song "The Impossible Dream," over whether or not the leading man will successfully hit the final high note, which he does here! And Ms. Matthews as Aldonza sings beautifully as well, her strategic escapes from the male prisoners becoming indelible under director Hack. More fine singing comes from Angela Rovnyak as Quixote/Quijana's niece (he was Quijana before he went mad), and from Neema Naemi as Anselmo and one of the Muleteers. Michael Picker showed impressive vocal technique opening night as the Padre, largely overcoming a case of laryngitis (or seasonal allergies). The fabulous acoustics at Clayton also helped both him and even Mr. Kargus a bit in the leading man's first number. Luis Perez is very respectable as the un-respectable Pedro. And he dances nicely as a gypsy in act two, along with Hannah Martin, who's good as the Barber. The troupe also includes the esteemed stalwarts Jim Wamser as the Captain of the Inquisition and Terrell Thompson as a Muleteer. The large group entrances and exits "up center" seem a bit crowded and slow to me, and I have mixed feelings about some of the artificially distorted dramatic music and voice work (Wil Spaeth sells that digitized speech effect in a nice, understated way). But in spite of my own cluttered memories of past productions and of all of their leading men, it somehow comes together in a new and increasingly authentic manner here, as if they'd followed the same star in the sky, but led us by a new path to the promised land. Man of La Mancha, produced by Clayton Community Theatre, runs through May 3, 2026, at the Washington University South Campus, 6501 Clayton Rd., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.placeseveryone.org. Cast: Orchestra: Production Staff: |
