Man of La Mancha

The story of Don Quixote is one of hope over improbability. A romantic, Don Quixote tries to live in a heroic age when knights in shining armor (or, in his case, a helmet made from a barber’s bowl) rescue ladies in distress. His loyal squire, Sancho Panza, knows that the old man is crazy and Aldonza, a rough peasant woman pursued and misused by too many men, helps fulfill his dream of that perfect lady, Dulcinea.

Based on Cervantes’ Don Quixote and on Cervantes’ life, Man of La Mancha is a modern telling of this 17th-century classic of European literature and is the winner of five Tony Awards and has been produced all over the world in over 30 languages. Man of La Mancha intrigues the imagination and sparks belief in faith, survival, innocence, honesty, and courage. Dale Wasserman, who wrote Man of La Mancha, was inspired by the comment of the 20th-century philosopher Miguel de Unamuno that, “Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible.”