LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert- Page 2

[CarlosAlberto]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#25

Posted: 4/17/26 at 4:50pm

brdwybound04 said: "I continue to hopefor a Bartlett Sher directed LCT revival starring Paulo Szot as Don Quixote, Kelli O’Hara as Aldonza, and Danny Burstein as Sancho Panza…"

Kelli O'Hara as Aldonza?!?!?!? 

Oh dear. No. 

Love the woman, but no.

[AC126748]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#26

Posted: 4/18/26 at 1:11pm

Kelli O'Hara would be a fantastic Aldonza.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

[MezzA101]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#27

Posted: 4/21/26 at 4:31pm

Per LCT email, performance-only tickets now available on Telecharge.

[Melissa25]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#28

Posted: 5/19/26 at 11:35am

Did anyone attend? How was it? Any hints at when LCT will have the revival?

[Dan6]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#29

Posted: 5/19/26 at 11:43am

I was there last night and will share my thoughts here for those who are interested. 

It was a concert production, with the 17-piece orchestra (under Ted Sperling's direction) at the rear of the Beaumont stage, a line of chairs on either side for the performers, and a back wall that was effectively used for projections of the prison, the inn, the courtyard, etc. There was no other set; in place of the usual drawbridge, Cervantes and Sancho made their final exits up the audience aisles. Actors mostly wore street clothes, with several sporting baseball caps, and donned (very) limited costume pieces from Cervantes' trunk to take on roles in the "trial." Rolando Villazon and Lindsay Mendez appeared to be the only ones fully off book, with others relying on scripts to varying degrees. The originally intermission-less show was performed with an intermission, somewhat awkwardly placed after "To Each His Dulcinea."

The performance was staged more fully than I anticipated, including a fully (if simply) blocked "Combat" scene, but certain elements were sadly absent, including Cervantes' transformation to Quixote (which was limited to putting on a chest armor piece) and the horse choreography in the opening number. And for whatever reason, the abduction/rape scene, so critical to the emotional power of what follows, was limited to a couple of muleteers pushing Aldonza to the ground; someone unfamiliar with the show would have no idea what had happened. 

Villazon was fine in the role of Don Quixote/Cervantes. Although I'm an opera buff, I'm generally not a big fan of operatic voices singing musical theater (the Jose Carreras/Kiri Te Kanawa "West Side Story" recording stands out in my mind, and not in a good way), but it somehow fits better for this role than for others. His strong accent made some of the dialogue difficult to catch, but he acted the role well enough and sang it beautifully (with the exception of "Golden Helmet of Mambrino," where he sang a 5/4 measure in 4/4 at the outset and frustratingly remained a beat ahead of the orchestra for half the song while Sperling desperately tried to get them back in sync). His "Impossible Dream" was, not surprisingly, terrific.    

I thought Mendez started off weak; she skipped the high A flat at the end of "It's All the Same," and my friends and I all felt at intermission that she was sorely lacking any of the fire, anger, and bitterness of Aldonza; in her stance, accent, and delivery, she seemed less an abused Spanish stable whore than a mildly perturbed Brooklynite.  But maybe that was a choice and she was saving it up, because she exploded in the second act with a furious and heartbreaking "Aldonza" that brought down the house and left me and my neighbors in tears. I've seen the show many times, and I've never been as broken by that number as I was here. It was the highlight of the night.

Robin de Jesus sang Sancho pleasantly enough, but unfortunately missed much of the comedy, and many of the usual laugh lines fell flat. With more than one opportunity to play to an audience, I'm sure he'd find the humor, but I left thinking that the originally announced Harvey Guillen would have been more suited to the role.

Standouts among the supporting cast were Maria Bilbao as Antonia, Bonnie Milligan as the Housekeeper, and J. Harrison Ghee as the Padre; their "I'm Only Thinking of Him" was the clear highlight of Act One. In response to an earlier comment on this thread, the changed-up doubling of the Innkeeper with the Captain of the Inquisition (instead of the Governor) remained an unexplained oddity, and while I'll never regret seeing Patrick Page in anything, it simply made no sense that the Captain of the Inquisition who was summoning prisoners to their doom would be hanging out in the dungeon with them and playing a part in their own "trial" of Cervantes.

For a one-night concert staging, this exceeded my expectations; understandably rough around the edges, but several encouraging flashes of what we might see in a more fully realized Barlett Sher production.  

Updated On: 5/19/26 at 11:43 AM

[Scarywarhol]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#30

Posted: 5/19/26 at 12:12pm

In all, so glad I got to be there. I would like to see this reach full production, but it's going to have to be outstanding. It's going to have to really surprise and excite us with its theatricality, how it handles the layers of fiction and imagination, and really move. Sher *MAY* be able to do it with great collaborators (and keeping away from that godforesaken Beaumont video wall which was used about as tactfully as possible last night, but still ultimately felt a bit tacky). The onstage orchestra sounded great.

What was on display last night was a musical that does creak a bit and show its age, but has such intense emotional and thematic power at its best that it deserves to be cracked open in a new way. There were some gestures at concepts that I'm not sure really click (was Patrick Page's inquisitor meant to be an ICE agent?) but I think it's not an impossible dream. Maybe a contemporary frame will play better in a fully fleshed out production, but it didn't feel committed to or figured out here. 

Mendez was the highlight, with her "Aldonza" bringing the house down. Villazon did quite well and I think could pull out a great star turn in this part with more rehearsal and time to develop. Having an opera singer as Don Quixote actually really served the comedy of the character at times, the dissonance between his loftiness and his delusion, and of course his "Impossible Dream" was a rousing highlight. I am not an expert on these things but I believe he basically sang the score in its original keys, what is traditionally a baritone part and he was reaching a bit down in his range as a tenor at times, but this allowed him a thrilling option up at the end of his big number. He flubbed a few things, as noted "Golden Helmet" started on a dicey note and took a moment to get on track, but he was fully off-Book for this one-night-only show. 

I think Robin de Jesus needs to be cut a lot of slack because he seems to have been drafted at the last moment and got through it fine on book, also flubbed some lyrics but it was nice to see him again and he could probably be a good Sancho. The comedy is going to require a chance to be found.

In all a very enjoyable presentation of a show that *could* have a further life, but is not the obvious slam dunk for LCT and Sher that the R&H shows were, or MY FAIR LADY. It's going to require a lot more dramaturgical massaging and theatrical invention, though what's already here is probably already a lot better than CAMELOT. While I have loved many of Sher's productions, I'm not yet convinced he's the right fit for this. DeBossonet certainly is not, judging from her musical productions so far. I think some really fresh blood and new ideas may be required for this to reach its full potential, but this may not be the institution for that. I'd certainly still enjoy a more fleshed-out version of what was seen last night. 

Updated On: 5/19/26 at 12:12 PM

[Mickey3309]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#31

Posted: 5/19/26 at 1:49pm

I was there as well. It was far more fleshed out and staged than I expected with the rehearsal time. I thought the costuming was very smart and the prison background looked great. My only disappointment with the staging/movement (though I can understand why this might have been hard with the time constraints) is that the muleteers barely touched Aldonza. There was a lot of physical lust and testosterone missing from “it’s all the same” with the muleteers mostly just sitting around her while she wove through them. It made it seem like Aldonza mostly struggles with being teased and cat called rather than used and abused. I echo what someone said above about the rape barely registering. I was also frustrated with the breakneck speed of It’s All the Same and ESPECIALLY the ending scene where Aldonza sings Dulcinea to Quijana on his death bed. That part usually makes me cry and last night it was distractingly quick. 
 

Overall, I felt Villazon gave a great, impassioned performance and was impressed he was totally off book. I thought he sounded great too. I did think one little slip was especially funny: “No longer shall he be plain Alonso Quijana… but a dauntless knight known as… ALONSO QUIJANA!!” (Luckily he was able to insert the correct “Don Quixote de La Mancha!” before he had to start singing.)

I agree that Robin de Jesus could have found more laughs, but I’m mindful of how quickly he had to fill in and thought he was very endearing and sounded wonderful. 
 

Highlight of the night: I’m Only Thinking of Him. No notes - all three of them were WOW. Hilarious, surprising, and sounded better than any other trio I’ve seen sing it, and I’ve seen many many La Manchas. It was an unforgettable moment.

Also have to shout out Patrick Page who is so reliably excellent.

For a one night only staged concert, I thought it was a success - even if their limitations affected some of the emotional impact. I also agree that Mendez’s performance of Aldonza was fantastic. 

[WindyNewYorker]

LCT's MAN OF LA MANCHA Concert#32

Posted: 5/19/26 at 4:39pm

Would you please share the playbill page of the orchestra made up? Thank you for your time.