Starring: Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, and James Coco

Outline

A play is in progress, with Cervantes acting the role of a man about to be burned at the stake.

• Members of the Inquisition interrupt the play and arrest Cervantes.
• Cervantes, his assistant, and his trunk of theatrical goods are taken to a prison.

[The rest of the musical takes place in the prison.]

• Cervantes addresses his fellow prisoners, is attacked by them.
• "The Governor", a leader of the prisoners, stops the attack.
• "The Duke" explains why he was imprisoned.
• Cervantes is to be tried by his fellow prisoners. If convicted, he will lose all his goods.
• Cervantes demands his trial in order to save his manuscript (an unfinished version of the novel Don Quijote).
• "The Duke" will try the case.
• The charge: being an idealist, a bad poet, and an honest man.
• Cervantes pleads guilty, but demands to be heard out (to gain leniency).
• His defense takes the form of a charade; he calls for the prisoners to take part in it.

The Play (within the play):

• Cervantes assumes the role of Don Quijote, and his assistant assumes that of Sancho Panza. "Man of La Mancha (I Don Quijote)"
• Don Quijote and Sancho are on the road, converse (enchanters, proverbs, etc.).
• Don Quijote attacks a "giant" (which is "transformed into a windmill").
• They find a "castle" (inn).
• [Cervantes assigns roles to the prisoners: innkeeper, muledrivers, trollop, kitchen maid (Aldonza).]
• At the inn/castle:
  • Aldonza serves the muledrivers. "It's All the Same"
  • Don Quijote enters, announced by Sancho (knocked off his horse as he enters the gate).
  • Don Quijote addresses the "gentle knights" (muleteers); sees Aldonza, calls her "my lady" and "Dulcinea". "Dulcinea"
  • Muledrivers make fun of her being "Dulcinea".
• Back in prison:
  • The defense will continue. Cervantes sets up the situation with Don Quijote's niece, Antonia, and her housekeeper, who seek advice from the priest regarding how to deal with Don Quijote's madness.
• At Don Quijote's village:
  • Antonia and housekeeper talk to the priest. "I'm Only Thinking of Him"
  • [Cervantes sets up the scene: Dr. Sansón Carrasco is Antonia's fiancé.]
  • Dr. Carrasco, Antonia, and the priest. Dr. Carrasco is to try to cure him from his madness.
  • Sancho brings a letter to Dulcinea from Don Quijote, and asks her for a "token". She wants to know why Sancho follows Don Quijote. He replies: "I Really Like Him"
  • Sancho gives Don Quijote the "token": a rag.
  • The barber approaches, with a basin on his head. "The Barber's Song"
  • Don Quijote demands the golden helmet. "The Golden Helmet (of Mambrino)"
• Back at the inn/castle:
  • Don Quijote hasn't been dubbed a knight; he is to stand watch over his arms first, then be knighted by the castle-warden (innkeeper).
  • As Don Quijote stands watch over his arms in the courtyard, a procession approaches; a lady (Antonia, his niece) supposedly needs the help of Don Quijote; her brother (the village priest) has been bewitched, turned into stone, until Don Quijote fights the enchanter, who will appear at a later point.
  • The muleteers taunt Aldonza. "Little Bird, Little, Bird"
  • Aldonza envisions herself as a lady.
  • Don Quijote envisions his future fame, then starts to express his creed.
  • Aldonza comes, asks why he does what he does. Don Quijote explains that he must follow his quest. "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)"
  • Fight with the man who had an "appointment" with Aldonza, then with the rest of the muleteers.
  • Victory for Don Quijote, with help from Aldonza and Sancho.
  • Don Quijote is knighted by the innkeeper, who gives him a new name. "The Dubbing (Knight of the Woeful Countenance"
  • Don Quijote wants to minister to his enemies (the conquered muleteers); Aldonza goes in his place. She is attacked. The muleteers load up to leave, taking her along.
  • Don Quijote echoes his creed.
• [Interruption: Prison guards remove a prisoner; talk about life and illusion.]
• Don Quijote and Sancho have left the inn and are on the road again.
  • They discover Aldonza on the roadside, left by the muleteers.
  • She rejects Don Quijote and talks about her life. "Aldonza"
  • The promised "enchanter" appears, dressed as the "Knight of the Mirrors" (Dr. Carrasco).
  • Don Quijote throws down the gauntlet, challenging him to battle. The terms: if the enchanter wins, Don Quijote will be at his disposal; if Don Quijote wins, the enchanter will kneel and beg Dulcinea's forgiveness for insulting her.
• The battle: Don Quijote is to look into the mirror of reality and see things as they really are.
• [Interruption: Cervantes is to be summoned by the judges of the Inquisition.]
• The ending of Cervantes' play, which takes place in a farmhouse in La Mancha:
  • "A man --once Don Quijote-- lies in the shadows between living and dying." He is surrounded by the priest, Dr. Carrasco, Antonia, and the housekeeper.
  • His assistant (Sancho) attempts to cheer him up: "A Little Gossip"
  • Don Quijote starts to come to, but as Alonso Quijano. He talks about what he has dreamed, then starts to make out his will.
  • Aldonza bursts into the room. She calls him "my Lord, Don Quijote", and sings part of the song: "Dulcinea (Reprise)"
  • Alonso: "Perhaps it was not a dream" "The Impossible Dream (Reprise)"
  • He again assumes the identity of Don Quijote. "Man of La Mancha (Reprise)"
  • Don Quijote dies; the priest sings: "The Psalm"
  • Dulcinea: "A man died; he seemed a good man, but I did not know him... Don Quijote is not dead. Believe!"
• [End of the play within the play.]

[Back in the dungeon:]

• Don Miguel de Cervantes is summoned before the Inquisition.
• The jury of the prisoners awards him the manuscript. As he leaves for his trial, the prisoners sing: "Finale (The Impossible Dream)"

Fred Jehle jehle@ipfw.edu
Indiana U.-Purdue U. Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN 46805-1499
URL: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/s450/manoflam.htm
Home page http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/
Works of Cervantes http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/cervante.htm