Keegan’s ‘Man of La Mancha’ Worth a Revisit

Richard Morrison and I saw Keegan Theatre's new production of Man of La Mancha last Saturday night. It turned out there was a former UVA student in the cast, whom we knew peripherally. (We didn't stick around to give the cast accolades after the show, however; there was a long drive ahead.)

My review, prepared for The Metro Herald in Alexandria, appears below.

Keegan’s ‘Man of La Mancha’ Worth a Revisit
Rick Sincere
Metro Herald Entertainment Editor

Run, don’t walk, to Church Street near Dupont Circle to see Mark A. Rhea’s masterful staging of Man of La Mancha. Don’t even hesitate, because tickets to this outstanding production are sure to sell out fast.

Man of La Mancha – which was inspired by the life and writings of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote – is perhaps unique among highly successful Broadway musicals. Not only did its creative team – librettist Dale Wasserman, composer Mitch Leigh, and lyricist Joe Darion – never have another hit together, but none of them individually achieved a similar success on Broadway, alone or in collaboration with others.

In fact, if you added up all the Broadway performances of all the other shows Wasserman, Leigh, and Darion had a hand in, they would not reach even a third of the original run of Man of La Mancha (2,328 performances from November 1965 through June 1971). Such is the magic of the musical theatre, which often relies on kismet. (One has to wonder whether the show would have enjoyed such amazing success had the original lyricist, poet W.H. Auden, stuck with the project.)

Now in its 10th season, with a repertoire that largely but not entirely focuses on Irish drama, the Keegan Theatre is reprising one of the successful shows from early in its existence. Some of the cast members are the same, but even those who are new exhibit a depth of understanding of their characters.

For those unfamiliar with this much-revived musical (including four revivals on Broadway, the most recent in 2003 featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Ernie Sabella, played briefly at Washington’s Warner Theatre), it is something of a play within a play.

Cervantes (played by David Jourdan) arrives in prison at the invitation of the Inquisition. In order to delay the taking of his belongings by his fellow prisoners – cutthroats, thieves, murderers, and others – he suggests that he put on an entertainment. If his storytelling pleases the “jury” of his prisoner-peers, he gets to keep his things (and, presumably, his life, too). He proceeds to lay out the tale of Alonso Quijana, an old man who believes himself to be a noble knight known as “Don Quixote de La Mancha.” The other prisoners, as necessary, take on the other roles in the play.

In one of his most brilliant strokes, Rhea directs his supporting cast – the other prisoners, who mostly populate the periphery of the compact performance space – to start off being indifferent to Cervantes’ antics. They face away from the action, twiddle their thumbs, feign sleep, avoid engagement.

As the play continues, however, the ensemble becomes more and more – gradually, eventually – absorbed and engaged in what is unfolding center stage. By the end, they are totally consumed and inspired by Cervantes’ story and his dignified response to the indignities he faces.

Rhea and his production team must have worked tirelessly to put all the pieces together. A floor grate, for example, becomes a confessional booth; a handy design, but not an obvious choice. Lighting (designed by Dan Martin), costume (Kelly Peacock), set (George Lucas) and sound (Tony Angelini) design – all come together in a cohesive whole.

At the same time, despite its excellence, the production retains the sense that Cervantes and his companion are improvising. They need to buy time (which is in abundance in the prison) and, to do so, they entertain.

All of the principals and even the supporting players are impressive in their roles.

Michael Innocenti has pitch-perfect intonation and comic timing in the tenor role of Sancho. Innocenti can do as much with a roll of his eyes as with his voice.

As Aldonza, Carolyn Agan is expressive and – as Don Quixote proclaims – beautiful underneath her scullery-maid exterior. The song “Aldonza” is one of the best character songs in the musical theatre repertoire, and Agan delivers it with exactly the right mix of cynicism, frustration, and sadness.

Harv Lester as Padre, Jane Petkofsky as the Housekeeper, and Carolyn Myers as Antonia all deserve special recognition. Each of them gets a backstory as a prisoner that plays out in their “character” roles in the Don Quixote sequences.

Kevin Adams, who plays the “Governor” (head prisoner) and the Innkeeper, stays straight for most of the performance, but he has impish (appropriately so) fun with the song “Knight of the Woeful Countenance,” which is too often performed with mock seriousness. Nice touch.

Jourdan (as Cervantes) is at his best when reciting, rather than singing, his lines. Perhaps it was a bad night for him, but he seemed at times to be struggling to hit his notes. Still, this detracted little from his overall performance, which was otherwise spot on.

Last summer, Keegan’s musical offering was 1776, which was wonderfully done with the shortcoming of the absence of live musical accompaniment. (The actors sang to pre-recorded music.) Not so this summer: In Man of La Mancha, a full musical ensemble under the direction of Amy Conley offers strong and dramatic support to the cast on stage. With this, Keegan’s Man of La Mancha is a truly integrated musical play.

Having mentioned George Lucas’ set design already, it should be noted that the intimate performance space at Church Street Theater is true to the origins of Man of La Mancha, which was originally produced on a small thrust stage at a (now defunct) theatre known as ANTA Washington Square. (It later graduated to a series of larger Broadway houses.)

One mistake many producers of Man of La Mancha make is to ignore the fundamental intimacy of the play. (The 2003 Broadway revival was far too fancy and big, for example; the Martin Beck Theatre [now the Al Hirschfeld] where it played seats nearly 1,500 people.) This play, after all, is set in a dungeon, with all of the dankness and darkness that word connotes. Directors also forget that Don Quixote/Alonso Quijana is a weak old man, so to have him belt “The Impossible Dream” like Robert Goulet in a Las Vegas show room is disjointed, to say the least.

Mark Rhea and the Keegan company avoid these errors and make virtue out of necessity. Though the temptation might be strong to “move up” to a larger house, especially with popular productions like Man of La Mancha, they are wise to stay put in the delightful Church Street space, where there is not – cannot be – a bad seat in the audience.

Keegan’s Man of La Mancha deserves to be seen. It is inspiring, touching (bring an extra handkerchief), and bold in its execution. Catch a performance before it’s gone.

Keegan Theatre’s production of Man of La Mancha runs through August 17 at Church Street Theater, 1742 Church Street, N.W., in Washington near Dupont Circle. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 o’clock, with Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $30 to $35, with discounts for groups of 10 or more. For ticket information, call the Keegan Theatre box office at 703-892-0202 (ext. 2) or send an email to boxoffice@keegantheatre.com. The Keegan Theatre web site can be found at www.keegantheatre.com.

Blogger is being fussy, so I will be posting production photos later.

Knight of the Woeful Countenance

After the Revolution March and Rally tomorrow, I'll be heading up to Dupont Circle to see one of my favorite musical plays, Man of La Mancha (based on the picaresque novel, Don Quixote), which is being reprised by Keegan Theatre. Here's an excerpt from the news release:

Man of La Mancha Returns to Keegan Theatre!

Arlington, VA, June 6, 2008—The Keegan Theatre brings back to the stage one of its most successful productions, the musical Man of La Mancha. Based on the Cervantes classic, Man of La Mancha is one of the most enduring works of musical theatre, and one that remains in your heart and soul well after you leave the theater. Keegan’s Tenth Anniversary production will once again feature the incredible talent of Helen Hayes-nominated actor and Keegan company member David Jourdan as Don Quixote. Man of La Mancha opens on July 10, 2008, and runs through August 17, 2008, at the Church Street Theater in Washington, DC.

* * *

Where:
Church Street Theater
1742 Church Street NW
Washington, DC 20036

Performances:
July 10-August 17, 2008
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8 PM
Sunday matinees at 2 PM

Tickets:
$35- General admission
$30- Senior (60 and over) and students
Discount rate for groups (10 or more)

Box Office:
703-892-0202 x2
boxoffice@keegantheatre.com


Web Address:
www.keegantheatre.com

History as Drama: Keegan Theatre's '1776'

I'm playing a bit of catch-up now. Here is my review of Keegan Theatre's 1776, now in production at the Church Street Theatre in Washington:

History as Drama:
Keegan Theatre’s ‘1776’
Rick Sincere
Metro Herald Entertainment Editor

Early in his best-selling book about the pivotal year of the American Revolution, 1776, historian David McCullough writes:

It was [the legislature] as theater, and gripping, even if the outcome, like much of theater, was understood all along. For importantly it was also well understood, and deeply felt, that the historic chamber was again the setting for history, that issues of the utmost consequence, truly the fate of nations, were at stake.

McCullough was referring, not (as one might think) to the Continental Congress’ deliberations about the Declaration of Independence, but of the British Parliament’s reaction to King George III’s first major report on the rebellion in the colonies, months before the patriots/traitors in Philadelphia declared that “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states …”

Reflecting retrospectively on historical events, most of us assume that they were inevitable. What we often forget is that the people living through those events had no sense of inevitability. For them – like for us living today – the future was uncertain, however hopeful and optimistic they permitted themselves to be.

Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards’ 1969 musical play, 1776, now in a new Keegan Theatre production at the Church Street Theatre near Dupont Circle in Washington, has that sense of uncertainty at its core. Although we know, 230 years on, the outcome of the debates, discussions, and deliberations through that hot Philadelphia summer, the drama of the situation – Congress as theater, as it were – grips us through two hours, making us want to find out just how this conflict will find satisfactory resolution.

1776 is an odd musical. Its structure is unique in musical theatre; it begins with a 10-minute musical scene that relaxes into a long, 30-minute sequence without music that can stand on its own as a one-act play. Its cast includes 23 men and only two women. A major character appears near the beginning, sings a rousing number, and then disappears for the rest of the play. The central character is, by his own admission and with the musical agreement of others on stage, “obnoxious and disliked.”

On paper, 1776 looks like a sure failure. Yet what doesn’t work in theory works marvelously in practice. In concept, 1776 looks like a bore. On stage, 1776 is lively, intelligent, and scintillating.

This is particularly true under the brilliant direction of Keegan Theatre’s Mark Rhea, who understands the potential pitfalls and shortcomings of 1776 and turns them into assets.

He starts by taking advantage of the full surface of the stage in the narrow and cozy Church Street Theatre. 1776 uses the deepest parts of the Church Street stage; in fact, having seen several productions there in the past, I was never aware that there was so much space available until now.

The spatial depth permits Rhea to arrange and rearrange his cast into tableaux that frame the action. It also allows him to assign each of the supporting actors a personal space that helps define his character – something already supported by Stone’s book and Edwards’ lyrics, which extract from a historical mass individuated personalities of the 20 Founding Fathers portrayed.

1776 was not written with hit songs in mind. There’s not a lot of hummability in the score, aside from Martha Jefferson’s “He Plays the Violin” and the ballad “Mama Look Sharp,” neither of which are essential to advance the action. Most of the score is closer to recitative, designed to establish character, express philosophical (!) points of view, and move the plot forward.

Because of this, the prerecorded, synthesized musical accompaniment (an “innovation” that caused me to wince at a community-theatre production of Camelot a few weeks ago) was barely noticeable and hardly objectionable, especially since the singing (so to speak) took center stage.

A successful production of 1776 rises or falls on the performances of its principals, and in Keegan’s case, it rises. Mick Tinder’s John Adams -- who is, as noted, “obnoxious and disliked” by his fellow statesmen – is solid, focused, stubborn, and discerning. Robert Leembruggen’s Benjamin Franklin is impish, flirtatious, and aware of his own celebrity. James Finley seems a bit wet-behind-the-ears as Jefferson, but then again, so was Jefferson.

Even for Americans who think they know the story of the Declaration of Independence, few are aware of the opposition to it. (It is widely thought that, during the Revolutionary War, one-third of Americans supported independence, one-third were loyal to the Crown, and one-third were indifferent.) Personifying this opposition in 1776 is the character of John Dickinson, a delegate from Pennsylvania, here played by Kevin Adams. Adams nails the part. His Dickinson is erudite, determined, and plainspoken.

One casting error may be found in Edward Rutledge, who was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence (at just 26). The Rutledge of 1776 has the closest thing to an eleven o’clock number (“Molasses to Rum to Slaves”) when, as a delegate from South Carolina, he objects to the condemnation of slavery in Jefferson’s draft declaration. Rutledge’s objection looks to be an impassable hurdle until Adams agrees to a compromise. The casting problem is that Dave Jourdan – as good as he is in the role – is at least 20 years older than the historical Rutledge would have been.

That aside, there are so many good performances in 1776 that it seems unfair to single out just a few.

Perhaps it was just fortuosity, perhaps advance planning, but Keegan Theatre’s 1776 closes its run on the Fourth of July. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Independence Day – or the days leading up to it – than by strolling over to the Church Street Theatre to see the show.

1776, by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards, continues through July 4 at the Church Street Theatre, Thurday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2:00 p.m.; added performance Saturday, June 23 at 2:00 p.m.; no performance Sunday, June 24; Special 4th Celebration Performance Wednesday, July 4, at 2:00 p.m. Ticket prices: $30 general admission, $25 students (with ID) and seniors (60+). To reserve tickets: call 703-892-0202, ext 2 or email to boxoffice@keegantheatre.com.

Still Witty After All These Years

It's a busy time for theatre critics. Last week it was Keegan Theatre's 1776. Last night it was Keegan's The Importance of Being Earnest (see below). Tonight it is Signature Theatre's U.S. premiere of The Witches of Eastwick. Sunday it will be the Shakespeare Theatre's Hamlet. Hardly time to breathe, much less compose a review -- especially considering the commute from Charlottesville to D.C. and back.

Here's one for today. Perhaps more to come over the next 72 hours.

The Importance of Being Earnest:
Still Witty After All These Years
Rick Sincere
Metro Herald Entertainment Editor

(ARLINGTON) --- The Importance of Being Earnest is one of those plays that, despite being produced frequently and upon multiple viewings, never grows stale.

The Internet Broadway Data Base (IBDB) lists eight known Broadway productions of Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners between 1895 and 1977 (though none since). This does not include the Broadway production of Travesties, Tom Stoppard’s 1975 Tony-winning play that uses large portions of Earnest as a play-within-a-play. There have been nine film or TV versions (including one with an all-black cast, directed in 1992 by Kurt Baker), according to IMDB.

Benefiting from being in the public domain (like Shakespeare’s plays), The Importance of Being Earnest lends itself to being kneaded, rolled, snipped, rearranged, reset, recostumed, and even mauled (as in Joe Banno and Jeff Keenan’s hilarious but ultimately unsatisfying all-male version for Source Theatre Company in 2000, relocated to Washington and Rehoboth Beach). The most recent film took the play out of the drawing room and brought it into the wider social world of late-Victorian London and the English countryside, even including a hot-air balloon landing for a dramatic entrance.

Because the flexibility of Earnest lends itself to so much experimentation, it is refreshing to encounter a production that pares the play down to its essence, letting the words and characters shine through without frills.

This is what Keegan Theatre’s New Island Project has to offer at Arlington’s Theatre on the Run, an intimate black box that is perfectly suited for hearing Wilde’s epigrammatic dialogue delivered, generally, with aplomb.

Director Dorothy Neumann has reduced the set to a few wooden benches, a tea cart, a movable doorframe, and a piano (used to great effect). The costumes are full and reflective of late-19th century England, but not so elaborate as to inhibit the actors’ movement.

Neumann has a flair for pulling line readings from her actors that are just-so. With surprising turns of vocal modulation, she and her cast have transformed many of Wilde’s witticisms from the clichés they have become through a century of repetition into surprising and trenchant comments on life and society.

The two pairs of lovers – and by this I mean Mike Innocenti as Algernon and Christopher Dinolfo as Jack, and Suzanne Edgar as Cecily and Erin Buchanan as Gwendolyn – fit together delightfully. Unfortunately – or perhaps this is what Wilde intended – the male-male and female-female pairs have far more chemistry between themselves than the male-female pairs that are the ostensible stimulant for the plot. As an example of this chemical bonding, the set-piece in which Cecily and Gwendolyn share tea on the terrace in near silence evoked guffaws from the audience, even as the two of them did little beside refusing to look at each other.

Barbara Klein, as Lady Bracknell, ostentatiously enjoys one of the meatiest roles for women-of-a-certain-age in the theatrical literature. Wilde gives her the lion’s share of his best epigrams, and Klein revels in them without overdoing it. She says as much by raising an eyebrow as she does by bellowing “Prism!” in the revelatory third act unraveling of Wilde’s thickly-plotted (and nearly Dickensian), interwoven storylines.

Prism, played by Rosemary Regan, and the Reverend Chasuble, played by John F. Degen (returning to the stage after a two-decade absence, long overdue), suggest autumnal romance and affection that drifts dangerously close to lust, but without crossing that line. The tension that results from Prism’s prissiness and Chasuble’s self-effacing shyness is spot on.

One odd choice Neumann makes – perhaps out of necessity – is her casting of a woman as Lane and Merriman (respectively, Algernon’s and Jack’s manservants). Played as a female character (in full Victorian housemaid’s costume), Melissa Hmelnicky’s presence and responses as Lane to Algernon’s commentary on marriage and courtship lends an edgy, if not awkward, aspect to the dialogue, and one that is not entirely believable in the context of the play and its times. (The problem is not so evident in the scenes with Merriman, whose presence is more utilitarian.)

My only quibble with this show is that there were a few moments in the play where the actors stumbled over Wilde’s lines, which require a precise delivery. For the most part, these stumbles were minor and probably unnoticed by the majority of the audience. Perhaps this was due to the actors having had a few days off between the opening weekend and the performance we saw.

Still, as I say, this is a small quibble and should not discourage anyone from heading to Theatre on the Run to enjoy the delights of The Importance of Being Earnest.

The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, continues through July 7 at Theatre on the Run, 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington. Performances Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. Tickets $20 general admission, $15 students and seniors. Special group rates for groups of ten or more. To reserve: telephone 703-892-0202 or email newisland@keegantheatre.com.