Man of La Mancha @ UC Davis pt.1

Photo of Don Quixote de la Mancha by Elise Kane

Today I went to see Man of the Mancha in the Main Theatre @ UC Davis. Boy was it a travail to GET there! UC Davis is about an hour from where I live, and the drive wasn't too bad! It was the lack of directions that did me in! I gave myself PLENTY of travel time (puppet show time! Double the estimations given by MapQuest!) and arrived roughly when I expected to...but finding the place...whew! Luckily, the Information building is clearly marked (just hard to park near) and I ran in to find out WHERE I needed to go! Again, parking is TOUGH! There IS a space near the theater...but, for some reason I couldn't park there today.

My recommendation? If you go? Park in the parking structure @ the Mondavi Center! Trust me! And the Main theater is VERY near there, so walking won't be a problem.

When I FINALLY got to the theater? The Box Office was closed! Luckily, the overture was long and Everything was sorted out before I missed much!

The musical "Man of La Mancha" was written by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh and Lyrics by Joe Darion and debuted in 1965 (Per Wikipedia).

This puppet version was directed by Art Grueneberger (for UC Davis based on a workshop production also directed by Mr. Grueneberger). It features an HUGE cast and PUPPETS! The Bunraku style of puppets utilized up to three performers per puppet (for Sancho and Quixote). The remaining puppets used one person (the Muleteers) or two people (Aldonza, Antonia, etc.).

It was just GORGEOUS! The puppets were designed and built by Kristen Phillips--man did she do a great job! The look was very fitting (Quixote looked a little like Cervantes' portrait--check Wikipedia and you'll see what I mean). They were very stylised; The Knight of the Woeful Countenance definitely LOOKED woeful and Sancho was funny and plump but, not ridiculous--he could be very sympathetic and sly too. Aldonza/Dulcinea was fantastic looking! Very sexy--which can be very difficult for a woman PUPPET--most female puppets end up silly and gross (exaggerated). She was playful and earthy and sexy. Her design was such that when she turned her head down, it (coupled with the lighting) gave her an illusion of downcast eyes.

Check out Art's website for a trailer of the workshop! You can see the puppets MOVE!

More later! The cast and performances PLUS pics and a synopsis of the Q & A with the director! If I play my card right and pester him...I MAY get an interview HERE! (cross your fingers!)