Man of La Mancha - Productions

Productions

The musical first played at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut in 1965. Rex Harrison was to be the original star of this production, but the musical demands of the role were heavy for him. After 21 previews, the musical opened at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre in Greenwich Village on November 22, 1965, then moved to Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on March 20, 1968, then to the Eden Theatre on March 3, 1971, and finally to the Mark Hellinger Theatre on May 26, 1971 for its last month, a total original New York run of 2,329 performances. Musical staging and direction were by Albert Marre, choreography was by Jack Cole, and Howard Bay was the scenic and lighting designer, with costumes by Bay and Patton Campbell.

Richard Kiley won a Tony Award for his performance as Cervantes/Quixote in the original production, and it made Kiley a bona fide Broadway star. Kiley was replaced in the original Broadway run by first Jose Ferrer on Broadway and in the 1968 National Tour, and then operatic baritone David Atkinson. He also performed Cervantes and Quixote in the 1968 National Tour and for all of the matinee performances in the 1972 Broadway revival which also starred Kiley.

The original cast also included Irving Jacobson (Sancho), Ray Middleton (Innkeeper), Robert Rounseville (The Padre), and Joan Diener (Aldonza). John Cullum, Hal Holbrook, and Lloyd Bridges also played Cervantes and Don Quixote during the run of the production. Keith Andes also played the role.

The musical was performed on a single set that suggested a dungeon. All changes in location were created by alterations in the lighting, by the use of props supposedly lying around the floor of the dungeon, and by reliance on the audience's imagination. More recent productions, however, have added more scenery.

The original West End London production was at the Piccadilly Theatre, opening on April 24, 1968 and running for 253 performances. Keith Michell starred, with Joan Diener reprising her original role and Bernard Spear as Sancho.

The play has been revived on Broadway four times:

• 1972 - with Richard Kiley as Cervantes/Quixote, running for 140 performances
• 1977 - with Richard Kiley as Cervantes/Quixote, Tony Martinez as Sancho Panza and Emily Yancy as Aldonza/Dulcinea, running for 124 performances
• 1992 - with Raúl Juliá as Cervantes/Quixote and Sheena Easton as Aldonza/Dulcinea, running for 108 performances. Easton was replaced, late in the run, by Joan Diener.
• 2002 - with Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cervantes/Quixote, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Aldonza/Dulcinea, and Ernie Sabella as Sancho Panza, running for 304 performances; Marin Mazzie took over as Aldonza (Dulcinea) on July 1, 2003.

In the film Man of La Mancha (1972), the title role went to Peter O'Toole (singing voice dubbed by Simon Gilbert), James Coco was Sancho, and Sophia Loren was Aldonza.

Hal Linden played Quixote in the show's 1988 U.S. National tour, and Robert Goulet played Quixote in the 1997-98 U.S. National tour.

The first non-professional production opened in 1970 at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre near Cleveland, Ohio. The circumstances of its community theater debut were serendipitous: CVLT members Don Edelman and Frank Mularo were sight-seeing near the Tams-Witmark offices in New York City and impulsively walked in to inquire about newly available scripts they might consider for production at the theater. Although the performance rights for Man of La Mancha were not yet being offered to the public, the date for the release had already been set, and so the two were offered a license to premiere the show on the same day that it would be announced as available. The 20-performance run played to 93% paid capacity (with the remaining tickets being used as complimentary) - a sales record which remains unbroken at the theater.