By Dan Shaw We all know that Barrington Stage Company’s formidable founder Julianne Boyd excels when she is directing musicals with dark themes —remember her productions of Carousel and Sweeney Todd? Now, with Man of La Mancha, which is set in a prison during the Spanish Inquisition, she has transformed the middling 1965 classic into a magical tour de force. As the lights come up, we are thrust into a haunting, two-story dungeon designed by James Kronzer that delivers us to 1605. The opening number introduces the sexiest hooligans I’ve ever seen on stage, and you viscerally sense their unbridled anger and pent-up lust. When the poet Cervantes (Jeff McCarthy) is brought into their midst as a fellow prisoner, they mercilessly haze him. The show depends on Cervantes’ charisma and courage and McCarthy has the chops to bring the character convincingly to life. He commands the stage in his opening number, the show’s title song, with confidence and bravado. Having seduced the audience, he sets his sights on his fellow prisoners by transforming himself into Don Quixote, the knight errant and spellbinding storyteller.
McCarthy’s star power is matched by Felicia Boswell who plays the strumpet Aldonza whom Quixote imagines as a proper lady named Dulcinea. With her powerful voice and undeniable sensuality, it’s no wonder Quixote is as mesmerized by her as are we. As McCarthy’s faithful servant and co-conspirator, Tom Alan Robbins offers comic relief that borders on schmaltz but never goes over the top. Besides the iconic anthem, “The Impossible Dream," none of the songs will probably be familiar unless you’re one of those people who own the cast album with Richard Kiley. Nevertheless, the musical numbers are so well sung and robustly choreographed that they feel like old friends that you’re getting reacquainted with. Without resorting to gimmicks or special effects, Barrington Stage Company has magnificently resuscitated and reanimated Man of La Mancha. It’s such an emotionally rich and intensely satisfying production that you leave the theater thinking that Man of La Mancha may be one of the most underrated musicals of all time. Man of La Mancha (through July 11) Barrington Stage Company 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA (413) 236-8888
