Most children would go for a lesson laced with comedy, song and dance over a boring history lecture any day. Over the upcoming week, more than 3,300 underserved youths from Los Angeles Unified School District elementary and high schools will get the opportunity to do just that, thanks to Reprise Theatre Company’s new production of the popular musical “Man of La Mancha,” which plays at the UCLA Freud Playhouse Feb. 14 to March 1.
“Man of La Mancha” is the story of a delusional but lovable Spanish knight who goes on adventures created partly by his imagination. The musical is loosely adapted by Dale Wasserman from Miguel de Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote.”
As part of the Biller Student Theatre Initiative, the children will follow a curriculum in conjunction with “Man of La Mancha” and study the Spanish Inquisition. After the play, they’ll be given writing assignments that relate the work to its setting in 17th-century Spain.
Developed by managing director Danny Feldman, the Reprise Education Program involves one school in each of LAUSD’s eight local districts.
“Most of (the students) have never been to a college campus before,” Feldman said. “It’s very exciting to see them not only be exposed to the show, but to see many of them leaving their neighborhoods and to come to be on the campus of UCLA.”
Given free reign by artistic director Jason Alexander (of “Seinfeld” fame) to “shake it up,” director Michael Michetti has made a number of changes to the longtime show. Some changes, such as using fewer costume pieces or technology, were his own.
Michetti adapted other changes from his conversations with Wasserman, such as changing the musical’s text to better reflect Wasserman’s original intention for a general audience teleplay. The result is a story that will resonate especially well with students.
“A lot of the ideas behind the play … are about questioning authority and thinking in new ways, not just accepting oppression they felt was being handed to them,” Michetti said.
Michetti believes that such a theme is particularly relevant in the political and social climate of today.
“We now have a new government in place that is saying, “˜Let’s go back to some ideals that are important to our country’ … very much in keeping with some of the ideas in the play.”
Brent Spiner, best known for playing Data on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” brings a more comedic approach to the title role of Don Quixote.
“We get so lost with (Quixote’s) lofty ideals that we very often forget that when we first encounter him, he’s a fool,” Michetti said. “(Spiner) brings such a great comedic touch to it, that by the time the character starts to become rich and deeper as the play goes on, we’ve been disarmed by his humor and lightheartedness.”
Don Quixote’s sidekick, Sancho Panza, is coincidentally played by Spiner’s longtime friend, Lee Wilkof. In the play, Panza joins Don Quixote’s quest in the hopes of securing the governorship of an island.
Tony-nominated for his role in “Kiss Me, Kate,” Wilkof has played for audiences of all types in his 30-year career. He finds that young viewers have more fertile imaginations and are less critical.
“I have a feeling (students) will respond to my character because of his simplicity and honesty. (He is) very sweet and very loyal,” Wilkof said. “We have been warned that there will be references they don’t get. … But we won’t do anything different (because we want to) treat adults like they are children and children like they are adults.”
Targeting young students has always been important to theater, but there has been, as Michetti said, a “lack of focus in schools” that has made theater-going an expensive and exclusive endeavor. He hopes that musicals like “Man of La Mancha” can capture imaginations and engage young minds.
“This will be the first musical that most of (the students) have seen,” Wilkof said. “They will see this work, and they will probably want to see plays for the rest of their lives.”