Man of La Mancha

Man of La Mancha is one of the world’s most popular musicals; the original 1965 production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century masterwork Don Quixote, Man of La Mancha was originally set during the Spanish Inquisition when Cervantes is in prison awaiting trial. This re-imagined version, directed by theatre department chair and Goodman Theatre Resident Director Henry Godinez, is set in a detention center on the US-Mexico border, where a growing group of migrants from across the world, being held and readied for deportation, is looking for safety and opportunity. Cervantes and his fellow prisoners perform a play-within-a-play, telling the story of the elderly Alonso Quijana, who renames himself Don Quixote and goes on a quest to right all wrongs in the world.