Mission: ‘Impossible’
It was easily the highlight of the original Broadway production in 1965, as performed by Richard Kiley.
Then the song broke onto the Billboard pop charts in 1966, performed by Jack Jones. Ever since, it has been a staple of lounge pianists, karaoke playlists and “American Idol” contestants.
Beginning Friday, Patrick McHenry-Kroetch, one of Spokane’s top performers, will tackle that famous tune in a Spokane Civic Theatre production directed by Troy Nickerson.
Yet “Man of La Mancha” has virtues far beyond that one classic song.
It is an adaptation of one of the greatest works of literature of all time, “Don Quixote.” With help from writer Dale Wasserman’s ingenious narrative device, it also manages to be the story of author Miguel de Cervantes himself.
The show became a huge Broadway hit, running for 2,328 performances from 1965 to 1971 and nearly sweeping the 1966 Tony Awards. It won Best Musical and the composing team of Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion won Best Composer and Lyricist.
And it did that all without compromising on the essentially dark nature of both the “Don Quixote” story and the Cervantes story. “The Oxford Companion to American Theatre” calls it “unflinching.”
The story’s dark nature appealed to Nickerson, because it gives the musical an uncommon power. He found staging the famous abduction/rape scene particularly challenging – and ultimately rewarding.
Yet Nickerson said “the whole underlying theme” is far from dark; it’s about the power of imagination, goodness, chivalry and idealism.
It takes place in a dungeon, where Cervantes is imprisoned by the Spanish Inquisition. He’s surrounded by murderers, thieves and trollops – and Cervantes himself is half-mad.
During a mock trial, he acts out his manuscript of “Don Quixote,” using the denizens of the dungeon as the actors in his story.
Cervantes transforms himself into Quixote, and one of the trollops becomes the earthy Aldonza, who then is transformed – by literary alchemy – into the noble and virtuous lady Dulcinea.
This structure was originally invented by Wasserman as a television script, for a 1959 TV special titled “I, Don Quixote” which aired on the highbrow “DuPont Show of the Month.” The critics loved it.
A few years later, a Broadway director asked Wasserman to turn it into a musical, which he did with the collaboration of Leigh and Darion. Besides “The Impossible Dream,” the musical was studded with other memorable tunes, including “Dulcinea” and the title song.
It was an immediate sensation in New York, moved to a larger Broadway theater and was a staple of the city’s theatrical scene for the last half of the 1960s.
After Kiley left the cast, Cervantes/Quixote was played by John Cullum, Jose Ferrer and Hal Holbrook. Robert Goulet later became associated with the role in touring productions (including Spokane in 1997). Peter O’Toole played the role in the messy 1972 movie adaptation.
The Civic cast features McHenry-Kroetch in the lead role, along with Gary Pierce as Sancho and Tami Knoell as Aldonza. David Gigler plays the Governor/Innkeeper, Gavin Smith plays the Duke/Dr. Carrasco and Hannah Kimball plays Antonia.
Other cast members include Heather Lee, David Williams, Benjamin Lee, Justin Gray, David McCarthy, Daniel McKeever, Steve Porter, Justin Roney, Amanda Rood, Mandy Shumksi and Kristin Wilkinson.
Musical director Gary Laing presides over a six-piece combo, which includes a classical guitarist.
The Main Stage has been transformed by the Civic’s professional set design team into a stone dungeon, where even the prisoners can dream impossible dreams.