GEOFF ELLIOTT IS INDEED THE MAN (OF LA MANCHA).Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic As surprising as it is for the classics-minded troupe A Noise Within to consider an old chestnut like "Man of La Mancha La Man·cha A region of south-central Spain. The high, mostly barren plateau is famous as the setting for Cervantes's Don Quixote. " as "classic theater," the time for quibbling is over. Yes, "La Mancha" is done to death (not so long ago, in fact, in a Theatre League tour that came to Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. ). All the same, what ANW ANW Airborne Networking Waveform ANW Advanced NetWare (Cisco) ANW Appraised Net Worth ANW Program Director for Weather and Flight Service Stations (FAA) does, it usually does very well -- especially when co-artistic director Geoff Elliott joins the cast. He's playing the lead role of Don Quixote/Miguel de Cervantes, and in director Julia Rodriguez Elliott's production, things fall smoothly and smartly into place around the windmill-tilting senor with the impossible dream. Taking place as it does in a 16th-century prison, "La Mancha" has always been a rather gloomy and slightly claustrophobic claus·tro·pho·bic adj. 1. a. Relating to or suffering from claustrophobia. b. Uncomfortably closed or hemmed in. 2. bit of business. So it goes in Glendale on the austere and highly functional stage arranged by Melissa Ficociello. The prisoners who will "judge" Miguel de Cervantes' story while stepping inside it are a frightening lot led by a more-than-creepy Governor (played by Steve Weingartner). Music director/pianist David O. and guitarist Kevin Tiernan are all that are needed to keep the score's gypsy and tango-heavy beat. Efficient, this "La Mancha" is, but never spare. Elliott, wheeled on in a prison cart, applies the age makeup, dons the armor and becomes the old deluded knight, Quixote, before our very eyes. The younger man's assurance gives way to an elderly man's quiver. Each fresh blow -- from a windmill windmill, apparatus that harnesses wind power for a variety of uses, e.g., pumping water, grinding corn, driving small sawmills, and driving electrical generators. Windmills were probably not known in Europe before the 12th cent. , for example -- seems to take just a bit more out of him. But, always, the man's voice remains firm and unbroken. Alan Blumenfeld is all practicality and good-natured humor humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was as Quixote's faithful servant Sancho Panza Sancho Panza is a character in the novel Don Quixote written by Spanish author Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1602. Sancho acts as squire to Don Quixote, and provides comments throughout the novel, known as sanchismos . Nadia Ahern lays on the ice as the tavern wench Aldonza, mistaken by Quixote for the fair Dulcinea. With a Quixote-like Elliott to worship her, though, be assured the lady will thaw. One man's delusion delusion, false belief based upon a misinterpretation of reality. It is not, like a hallucination, a false sensory perception, or like an illusion, a distorted perception. -- amid some pretty dark forces, no less -- isn't necessarily guaranteed to play with such upbeat energy. "Man of La Mancha" is no celebration -- the Quixote story is routinely interrupted as prisoners are sent before the Inquisition Inquisition (ĭn'kwĭzĭsh`ən), tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church established for the investigation of heresy. The Medieval Inquisition In the early Middle Ages investigation of heresy was a duty of the bishops. -- but Rodriguez Elliott's production stirs the blood nonetheless. Who, after all, can't be roused by an old man with a cracked lance, a heart full of love and the most impossible of dreams. Particularly when that old man is as skilled as Geoff Elliott is. Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson@dailynews.com MAN OF LA MANCHA - Three and one half stars Where: A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale. When: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through June 10. Tickets: $34 to $38. (818) 240-0910, Ext. 1; www.anoisewithin.org. In a nutshell: Geoff Elliott's production stirs the heart. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A Noise Within's co-artistic director Geoff Elliott takes the lead role in "Man of La Mancha" at the Glendale theater. |
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