Published Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:13 PM PDT

THEATER REVIEW:
‘Man of La Mancha’ stirring

By TOM TITUS

The musical “Man of La Mancha” has been around since 1965, and Tim Nelson has been involved with it in one capacity or another since 1982.

They’re hooked up again, in a stirring production for Huntington Beach’s Academy for the Performing Arts, and using the current renovation work at Huntington Beach High School as a splendid excuse to move the show to Westminster’s Rose Center Theater, which Nelson also administers.

Nelson is both director and musical director for this familiar yet still highly involving production about the adventures of Miguel de Cervantes’ famous mad knight Don Quixote. When the company turns in unison toward the audience for the last few bars of the show’s signature song, “The Impossible Dream,” there will be few dry eyes in the house.

It may still comprise high school kids, but the talent level in this rendition is radiant. Only an all-too-carefully choreographed fight scene interrupts the full-bore presentation that grabs its audience by the throat and the heart. A second negative is the theater’s sound system which, at Sunday’s matinee, cut in and out during a solo by Jake Wells’ Sancho Panza.

Strong voices are a trademark of past APA productions, but in “Man of La Mancha,” Nelson’s troops set the bar even higher. Jared Marino (the padre) and Jessica Wilson (Antonia) are particularly accomplished in this regard under the baton of orchestra conductor Gregg Gilboe.

The leading performers approach professional caliber. Alex Syiek’s Cervantes/Quixote conveys an authority and stage presence far beyond his years, and his voice — particularly while rendering “The Impossible Dream” — is rich and commanding.

Particularly impressive is Aly Lespier as Aldonza, the kitchen wench and prostitute whom Quixote transforms into his idyllic Dulcinea. Outstanding in her fervent abduction scene, Lespier torches the stage with her fiery “Aldonza” number as she attempts to bludgeon the knight errant back to reality.

Wells maintains a youthful presence as Sancho, but this may be viewed as an asset, an impressionable youth following a loony but determined elder. Zak Whitson projects a stern Dr. Carrasco, Brian Wessels enacts a frustrated but accommodating innkeeper, and Emily Walker is fine as his shrewish wife, as is Nick Miranda as the victimized barber.

Diane Makas’ stirring choreography, particularly the sequence involving the gypsy dancers, is splendidly accomplished.

The huge cast responds in unison to the demands of both reality and imagination. Courtney Suter’s costumes are well chosen for the period and the circumstances.

Few musical theater productions carry the visceral power of “Man of La Mancha,” and the Huntington Beach student cast brings this classic beautifully to life in its lavish temporary quarters.
 

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