Features: James Roengsak Loyshusak, Ben Cha-Latid, Pattarawarin Tim-Kul and Ohh Anuchit
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James Roengsak Loyshusak
as Don Quixote |
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Pattarawarin Tim-Kul
as Aldonza |
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Ben Cha-Latid as Sancho |
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the "mad" knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.
The original 1965 Broadway production ran for 2,329 performances and won five Tony Awards, and the musical has been revived numerous times, becoming one of the most enduring works of musical theatre. The song, "The Impossible Dream", became a standard, and the musical is a popular choice for community theatre companies.
Synopsis
Man of La Mancha based on the tale of Don Quixote. Cervantes is brought to prison to await a hearing with the Inquisition. The prisoners decide to hold a mock trial in order to find him guilty and steal what seems to be a valuable package. Cervantes presents a play as his defense, with his "jury" actors in the play. Cervantes plays Alhonso Quiana, a man who has set his own reality aside and become Don Quixote De La Mancha.
ervantes and his manservant have been imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition, and a manuscript by Cervantes is seized by his fellow inmates, who subject him to a mock trial in order to determine whether the manuscript should be returned.
Cervantes' defense is in the form of a play, in which Cervantes takes the role of Alonso Quijana, an old gentleman who has lost his mind and now believes that he should go forth as a knight-errant. Quijana renames himself Don Quixote de La Mancha, and sets out to find adventures with his "squire", Sancho Panza.
Two changes are made to the storyline of the stage musical: one of them is the reason for Cervantes' imprisonment. The play begins with Cervantes and his manservant entering the dungeon, after which we learn that Cervantes incurred the wrath of the Inquisition by issuing a lien on a monastery that would not pay their taxes. In the film's opening scene, we see a festival in the town square, during which Cervantes stages a play that openly lampoons the Inquisition, thereby leading to his arrest. Another change in the film occurs when the Padre and Dr. Carrasco are sent to bring Don Quixote back home. In the play, they arrive at the inn and simply try to reason with him, but he pays no attention. In the film, in a scene directly inspired by Cervantes's original novel, an elaborate ruse is set up by Don Quixote's family. A man is brought in on a bier, apparently "turned to stone" through some enchantment. Don Quixote is told by the man's "relatives" that only he can break the spell, by fighting the dreaded Enchanter, Quixote's mortal enemy. This prepares us for the Enchanter's later appearance as the Knight of the Mirrors.
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