Man of La Mancha

I really enjoy the story of Don Quixote and all of his quests. In all honesty, (it could be my fault) but i thought this was going to be a straight up book of Man a la Mancha, but instead it was more like a script of the musical. It's still great though. If you order the book you should definitely get the CD to play along with it.

Maddest of all is to see things as they are and not as they should be. This simple premise lies at the heart of every marriage proposal, politcal campaign, revolution and of course the birth of every religion. That such a poignant essence was successfully reduced for theatrical presentation from the lengthy Cervantes work is nothing short of genius. All too often its easy for story tellers, playwrights and movie makers to tease out the prurient drama of human suffering. It is so much more compelling when someone manages to capture that moment of inspiration when someone dares to believe and others chance to join. First with Sancho, then fair Dulcinea, then ultimately maybe us, we gather eagerly to that spark of faith that grows in this play. If you think about it, "Impossible Dream" could easily have been rendered maudlin in the wrong hands. It's a testiment to this play and this writer that it actually inspires.

I was introduced to Hidalgo Quixote, Knight of the Woeful Countenance in high school and was overtaken by the power of the music and the story. Two years later, I was living in Portugal. Though it wasn't Spain, I still felt the same breeze, and saw the same type of windmills that Quixote tilted in his tilted reason.Joseph Smith once observed that, "by proving contraries, truth is made manifest," (History of the Church 6:428), and Aristotle once said that if you want to find truth, invert. Cervantes follows this pattern of putting things upside-down to show right-side-upness. He accentuates reality by taking an insane man as his lead character. The paradox, however, is that Quixote seems to be the sanest person in the story."The Man of La Mancha" has two advantages over its parent-text "Don Quixote." The first is that Wasserman, et al. did a marvelous job of pairing down Cervantes' two part book into a one act play. A lot of Quixote's adventures are funny parody, but it at times becomes a bit over-done. The play captures the essence of the Quixote-Idea without any gas. "Brevity is the soul of wit," as Shakespeare testified.The second advantage is the music. "The Quest (The Impossible Dream)" is a triumph not only for Wasserman et al, but it is a triumph for humanity. So this book needs to be read with the soundtrack. The original Broadway is my favorite, since it captures the Iberian wind that blows over the story. The Peter O'Toole film is too produced and had too many sweet strings that drench out the Spanish guitars.You know how good a work of art is by seeing how it is parodies. Quixote has been copied on "Quantum Leap," and Alf, and Jim Neighbors sung "The Quest" on Gomer Pyle. There is even a cartoon "Don Coyote and Sancho Panda." And, of course, there is the classic Mr. Magoo (Jim Baccus) version of Don Quixote.So buy, and enjoy this play. Read along with the movie, and ponder reality through the eyes of an insane man.

Man of La Mancha remains my alltime favorite musical. Others such as Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera are perhaps better in many ways, but nevertheless, Man of La Mancha holds a very dear place in my heart. It is a powerfull tale of a man who, disalusioned with everyday life, decides to become a Knight Errant and sally forth into the world righting all wrongs. Its overall themes of good over evil, and the search for happyness are an inspiration. Don Quixote may be a bit out of his time, but is he really so insane? Perhaps its the rest of the world that could do with some of his peculuar brand of boldness.

I cried. It's sad, yet beautiful -- a refreshingly simplistic,and elegant musical which was oddly conceived in an era of gaudy,whimsical Broadway cheesecake.