Audience Reviews posted on local ticket service:
"This the third time that we have been seen "Man of La Mancha" ... this performance by the Keegan Theatre was simply WOW.... I have to say David Jourdan was simply splendid in the role. In fact the whole cast was excellent ... Carolyn Agan was the best Aldonza I have had the pleasure to experience. Great acting, fabulous voice and just a delight to behold. ..."
"The acting was wonderful. The staging was imaginative. The costumes were great. ... Don’t miss it."
"Everyone left the theater inspired and ready to dream the impossible."
"The singing, acting performances were top notch. We’ve been raving about it to everyone we know. The cast and crew did a fabulous job. Thank you for a wonderful performance of Man of La Mancha!!"
"Wonderful. A great small stage production. Terrific set design and costumes"
"A spirited, talented cast. Venue is great; small and not a bad seat in the house. Some clever staging, too."
DC Theatre Scene
"Mark Rhea demonstrates in this reprise mounting that Man of La Mancha resonates deepest in an intimate environment. The dank, rustic set and lighting perfectly establish the scenes. ... David Jourdan’s Quixote is alternately distracted and driven, frail and heroic. There’s a lot of acting wisdom in Jourdan’s performance, delivering “Man of La Mancha,” Dulcinea,” and “Impossible Dream” in fine voice and, more importantly, perfectly in character. ... Michael Innocenti imbues his character with kindness and gentle humor, and the audience warms to him from the beginning. ... choreography by Melissa-Leigh Douglass is earthy and raw. ... The production is a mature take on an essentially serious, and seriously intelligent, musical ..."
-Read Gary McMillan’s full review
The DC Examiner
"perfect summertime fare for the whole family ... the two most challenging roles are in the hands of Jourdan and Agan, two of the area’s most underrated singing and acting talents, with fine support from the entire ensemble, especially Innocenti. Kudos to Melissa-Leigh Douglass’ athletic choreography, George Lucas’ set and Dan Martin’s lighting. Superlatively directed by Mark A. Rhea ..."
-Read Doug Krentzlin’s full review (pdf)
-Read review online (go to July 16, p. 23)
The Metro Herald"Run, don’t walk, to Church Street near Dupont Circle to see Mark A. Rhea’s
masterful staging of
Man of La Mancha. ... Lighting (designed by Dan Martin), costume (Kelly Peacock), set (
George Lucas) and sound (Tony Angelini) design – all come together in a cohesive whole.... All of the principals and even the supporting players are
impressive in their roles. ... a full musical ensemble under the direction of Amy Conley offers strong
and dramatic support to the cast on stage ... Keegan is wise to stay put in the
delightful Church Street space, where there is not – cannot be – a bad seat in the audience. ...Keegan’s
Man of La Mancha deserves to be seen. It is
inspiring, touching, and bold in its execution. Catch a performance before it’s gone. ..."
-Read Rick Sincere’s full review
The DC Traveler
"Keegan Theatre puts on an emotional and powerful performance ... With her powerful singing voice, Agan seems not to play the role effectively, but actually becomes her role ... The other cast members perform and sing with gusto, delivering the moments of humor and irony believably ... Innocenti, Adams, and Jourdan delight the audience..."
-Read the DC Traveler’s Full Review
The Washington Post
"The score is robustly sung by the energetic cast and gamely played by a small orchestra above the stage... Director Mark A. Rhea has assembled a big, full-throated ensemble that swaggers seriously and sounds plenty lusty during the big choral numbers ... everyone looks grubby as they lurk and loll about George Lucas’s crude, craggy set ... the good singing goes surprisingly deep in the cast .... Michael Innocenti shows solid musical-theater chops as Quixote’s sidekick, Sancho Panza ... Melissa-Leigh Douglass’s musical staging of Aldonza’s abduction scene is notable for its athletic discipline ... It’s a knockdown, shoulders-to-the-door approach to musicals ... With conviction and a handful of fine voices, these dreamers manage to hold the big show together..."
-Read Nelson Pressley’s full review
Reviews from 2001 production of Man of La Mancha
What the Critics Had to Say in 2001
"…Man of
La Mancha " is a relatively true-to-its-roots rendition that is pleasing for a first [musical]outing, suggesting that Keegan’s growth in the Signature mold is continuing.
Robert Leembruggen, this time around sans beard, has proven himself a fan favorite over and over again. Once a merciless thug in Keegan’s acclaimed "The Field," he of late has turned in some comic roles. In this case, he’s an amusing but fortunately not overblown Sancho Panza, trying to keep his master close to reality.
Director Rhea has joined with musical director Judy Levine and choreographer Peggy McGrath to fashion a taut production that keeps moving.
Keegan went with a standard to kick off its place in the local musical theater scene, and that’s a good thing. The troupe has proved itself creative and innovative, and adding a musical component to its repertoire is a winner for the local arts scene."
- Matt Reville,
Northern Virginia Sun
"And like Don Quixote, the Keegan is untroubled by the reality of its own limitations. Despite an uneven cast and a thin budget, director Mark A. Rhea hits the mark more often than he misses in the theater’s most ambitious undertaking to date.
It’s the music that matters, and in this regard the Keegan is dead-on. With voices well suited to the material, the supporting cast and principals -- David Jourdan as Don Quixote, Toni Rae Brotons as the Don’s fantasy woman and Robert Leembruggen as the faithful servant, Sancho -- more than make up for the limited production values."
- Dolores Whiskeyman, Special to The
Washington Post
"Well, Rhea and his bold lads and lasses may tumble off their horses once or twice, but you know what? His impossible dream looks pretty dreamy up there.
This is a story (about the Don) within a story (that of Cervantes’ imprisonment). These tales both concern daunting circumstances and the escapist visions that transcend them. To them, let’s add the story about Rhea’s inspiring an exceptionally well-prepared cast and crew to defy expectations, share his ambitious vision, and deliver a pleasing, if not always entirely professional, product. Unmiked, the cast, by and large, render the songs with finesse and admirable projection.
... the players really shine. Jourdan, in the title role, achieves the requisite alchemy to switch back and forth between the melancholy, charismatic Cervantes and the beautifully batty Knight of the Woeful Countenance. He also has the rich and fluid baritone, taxed maybe just a bit toward the low end, to put across the sweet homage “Dulcinea” and even “The Impossible Dream”- which, in lesser hands, could induce post-traumatic lousy-dinner-theater syndrome, evidenced by involuntary eye-rolling and program shuffling.
[Leembruggen’s] timing is smart, his straightman delivery peppered with witty resignation.
This musical is a paean to idealism, in all its richness and ridiculousness. Presented poorly, it deflates into Man of La Nausea. But Rhea &
Co. joust earnestly with its timeless themes and, though outmatched by some logistical windmills, charge valiantly to victory. As you head out [of the theater] humming the finale, you’ll see a bright flash. The sign of Generous George’s pizza parlor? Of course not. It’s the glint, from the school auditorium on the hill behind you, of Rhea’s armor."
-
Alexander
C.
Kafka,
City Paper
Based on Cervantes’ classic, Don Quixote comes to life as an old knight who seeks honor in the world, but instead finds true love. Since its off-Broadway beginnings in the 1960s, this show has warmed the heart and taught us all that it is still important to follow your dreams. Keegan’s 10th Anniversary production will once again feature the incredible talent of Helen Hayes nominated actor and Keegan Company member David Jourdan as Don Quixote.
