This was my third La Mancha. The script deserves its reputation as a crowd pleaser that always gets a standing ovation. For this production the superb cast was led by a 73-year-old regional celebrity playing Cervantes/Quixote. He had The Voice, The Bearing and The Charisma to transport the audience to far away places.

One of the key necessities in any La Mancha set design is the forbidding stairway leading down into the dark prison and, at the conclusion of Act II, up to the light. When designed correctly the stair’s overall shape, rise, and tread should mimic the rhythmic structure of the final anthem, To Dream the Impossible Dream, and propel Cervantes and Sancho up the stairs towards light and air, freedom and justice.