Step onto the set of the Powerhouse Theatre’s latest production, “Quixotic,” and the theme song to the popular television show, “The Office,” may start playing in your head. The characters, the entertainingly awkward employees of Munsch-Littleton Insurance, are already hard at work at their desks, in a dreary and lackluster office, before the lights of the theater are even dimmed.
However what happens to the characters, specifically to the painfully quirky Arthur Quick, is far too extraordinary for the humdrum and never-changing life of “The Office.” Arthur Quick, a modern-day Don Quixote, escapes the unfulfilling routine of an insurance man when he comes to believe he is Sir Quixotic, Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance.
His transformation is comic, yet believable, evidence to the impressive acting of Isaac Wade, who plays Quick, as well as a carefully crafted script. When the delusional Quick reenters the scene after a metamorphosis involving eerie music and flashing lights, he is convincingly Sir Quixotic for the rest of the play.
While such a fantastical plot is perfect fodder for comedy, “Quixotic” attempts to touch on heavier issues as well. Unfortunately these are, at best, attempts. A tainted love affair between the office manager, Allie (played by Coco Kleppinger), and the owner of the company, is a vehicle for the larger life questions that Quixotic endeavors to ask. However, the transitions between comedy and drama are too abrupt, and these dramatic scenes become somewhat unrealistic. The issues themselves are a bit contrived, as apparent through cliche lines like, “It’s not about what I want,” and, “People don’t get to have everything.” The deeper issues behind these overused lines appear in the play but are never fully developed.
The ending has a surprise in store even for those familiar with the story of “Don Quixote.” It stays true to the original legend of “Don Quixote” just the right amount to allow comparison but takes its own interesting turns. While it probably should have ended at the height of the drama, its delayed conclusion does not diminish its jarring and poignant effect, which actually resolves some of the earlier problems of originality and gravity in the dramatic scenes.
Despite these shortcomings, this play is certainly enjoyable, mostly through the entertaining interactions of the characters, of which Nathaniel Meek (Carter) and Danielle Katz (Lily) stand out as particularly droll, and the superb acting in the part of Arthur Quick. With his evocation of sympathy, his authenticity, his comical but earnest facial expressions, and comic delusion, Sir Quixotic and his trusty steed of a bike Rosaline make the show.
E-mail Bastien at jbastien@media.ucla.edu.