By David Fleet
Editor
A dark, cold 16th century dungeon occupied by destitute, hopeless prisoners.

That’s where failed author-soldier-actor and tax collector Miguel de Cervantes has been thrown in
to by the Spanish Inquisition.

“Man of LaMancha” by Dale Wasserman and Mitch Leigh tells the story of the “mad” knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as
he awaits a hearing on charges of foreclosing on a monastery. Cervantes and a manservant have brought all their possessions with them into the prison.

Fellow prisoners attack them and create a mock trial. If they are found guilty the other prisoners get all their possessions. Cervantes agrees, except for a manuscript he loves. Cervantes’ defense will be a play, acted out by himself and all the prisoners.

In his 15th year as Goodrich High School drama director, Steve Mitchell, along with a cast and crew of more than 60 students, have transformed the Raymond C. Green Auditorium Goodrich Center for the Performing Arts into the late 16th century prison.

“This is the first time for “Man of LaMancha” here at Goodrich,” said Mitchell. “The play follows Don Quixote, an old man filled with the delusion of being a knight, going forth into the world, trying to right wrongs. The characters are inside a dark, dingy, rodent-infested world. They are devoid of hope and are wasting away in a filthy, cold place. But Quixote believes in chivalry in a time and place where chivalry is dead. He proves a glimmer of hope when the prisoners all face dead ends and a life full of despair.”
“I really want the students to make a connection with the lives of those in prison,” he said. “Today when many of the students have everything—I want them to connect with the characters that have nothing—imprisoned in a nasty place.”

Performance times are 7 p.m., May 5, 6 and 7 and 2:30 p.m., May 8, “Mom’s the Word” on Mother’s Day, tickets for all moms $1.

Ticket prices: $8 for reserved seating. Advance ticket sale reservations taken through May 7.
For additional information, contact: Goodrich HS Theatre, 8029 S. Gale Road, Goodrich. 810-591-2220.

  Man of La Mancha