By Dale Wasserman
Music by Mitch Leigh
Lyrics by Joe Darion
 We toured this production in the Spring of 2002 and it is
one of our favourites. Voted best musical in its day, it is a heart rendering
tale of hope against the realities of life. We did this one pretty straight,
with very simple staging, just back rostra borrowed from each theatre we played.
The big thing about this play is how powerful it is. Each person has at least
two characters to play and nobody leaves the stage once they are on it. It was
for this reason it suited our company as everyone was capable of being in
character throughout, not one slip of the mask. |
"A beautiful, well-devised and directed production ... [a] memorable evening of fine theatre and a huge success for Concept" NODA |
 |
The music is fantastic, atmospheric, charged, anthemic and at times comedic. The most famous song of course is To Dream the Impossible Dream, and every night during the reprise as Don Quixote is dying, there were genuine tears on stage as well as in the audience! Our Dulcinea was played by Rhiannon Rose who made this role her own, blowing us away at auditions and making the character not only gritty and proud but vulnerable and sexy at the same time. The tour de force was of course Cervantes himself, Neil Davies, who was perfect for the role (even if he did have a mishap with a fake moustache one night) and was ably supported by his faithful sidekick Sancho, played with brilliant comic timing by Paul Buckle. |
| Cameos abound from all in the cast. Angie's dancing, the horses (brilliantly made by Lyndon), the Barber, the nastiness of Dr Carrasco and of course not forgetting the guitar playing of Roger and the brooding Kevin as Pedro. Our Directors got the best out of us and for Nigel it was the fulfilment of a long time wish having first seen a professional production of this as a student in the 1960s. Thanks to his and Janet's perseverance we all finally "got" the concept and put on what is definitely a high point in Concept's artistic history. |
 |
See
Photos of
See Cast List and Synopsis
of
See NODA Review of
Return to Concept Home Page