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In Miguel de Cervantes' 17th-century literary classic "Don Quixote," the Spanish nobleman, Don Quixote de La Mancha's chivalrous adventures included charging some windmills with a lance, believing they were ferocious giants. Flying in to Maui to star as Cervantes in the Maui Academy of Performing Arts' production of the musical "Man of La Mancha," Richard Cray saw an auspicious sign.
"There were certain signs, serendipity, things that happened," says Cray. "We were landing and I was sitting in an aisle seat. The couple next to me opened their window, and I saw fluffy clouds, and then it parted into blue sky, and the first thing I saw were windmills on the hillside of Maui."
Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, the uplifting musical will open at the MACC's Castle Theater on Aug. 16, and run over two weekends.
Directed by David C. Johnston, the new adaptation stars Cray, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom as Aldonza, and Francis Tau'a as Sancho Panza.
Utilizing every inch of the Castle Theater's stage with a massive set construction, a super cast and director, an inspiring story, and memorable music played by a live 17-pice orchestra, "Man of La Mancha," will likely be a big hit.
"I really love the concepts of healing and hope that it offers," says Johnston about the show. "It's a very spiritual piece. I think it's driving down a street that's very similar to what I believe theater is about, that ability to, through being optimistic and believing you can accomplish anything and believing that the impossible dream is possible, that's how we transform ourselves and that's how we transform hopefully our world too."
On of the world's most popular musicals, based on "Don Quixote," it portrays Miguel de Cervantes in prison awaiting trial during the Spanish Inquisition. He and his fellow prisoners perform a play-within-a-play, telling the story of the chivalrous knight, who goes on a quest to right wrongs in the world. The principal song in the show, "The Impossible Dream," became a standard.
"Quixote allows other people to find their way through the messages that he's learning to better themselves to realize their full potential as human beings," says Johnston. "I also like in the show the fact that there is an expectation, that if we've been given this life in this world, we have a responsibility to help it continue, to help it grow, to help it be realized in terms of the potential that we all have to make it a better place than when we came in."
Richard Cray has a long connection to the musical having first sung "The Impossible Dream," when he was 9. "My parents took me to an audition in Greenville, North Carolina," he recalls. "It was a professional theater company, and the first time I ever walked across the stage, they handed an accompanist some sheet music, and it was 'The Impossible Dream.' When I sang, they stopped the audition, and found my parents, sat them down and told them, 'your kid is extraordinarily gifted.' I learned it by listening to Jim Nabors sing it on the 'Gomer Pyle' show."
Since then, Cray has enjoyed a distinguished career in opera and musical theatre, including Broadway, performing in "Marriage of Figaro," "The Magic Flute," "Carmen," and "Mame." He last performed on Maui in the title role in "Phantom of the Opera" at the MACC in 2003.
Among other connections to "Mancha," "I played Danny Saunders in Chaim Potok's 'The Chosen' with George Hearn and Rob Morrow, and the woman that played my
mother, Mimi Turque, was the original Antonia in 'Man of La Mancha.' She's on the original cast recording. I sent her a photo that was taken during rehearsal of me standing with the lance and she said, 'oh Dickie, I'm so excited for you, you're going to be great.'"
Playing the role of Cervantes has been inspiring for him. "Some of the things that Don Quixote said have really kept me sane through this show," he notes. "One of his lines is, And for that wouldst thou have me stop trying? Nay, let a man be overthrown 10,000 times. Still must he rise and again do battle. The enchanter may confuse the outcome, but the effort must be sublime."
For one of Hawaii's most acclaimed musicians, starring in "Man of La Mancha" is a true joy. Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom has returned to the role of Aldonza, after first starring in a production when she was in college studying musical theater.
"She's so complex playing her," says Gilliom. "She has so many layers and it's been really amazing peeling through those layers as an older woman playing her than a college kid. It really is a completely different perspective on it. There are new facets, a lot of vulnerability, a lot of things that I can act better because I've gone through a lot of that. It pulls at your heart and soul. I'm really happy that Dave is directing because I knew he would pull that out of me, all that vulnerability and that on the edge. He let me see her in a whole different light than I remember playing her before."
Gilliom is delighted to be acting again in musical theater. "I always sing Hawaiian music because of my grandmother, but I'm trained in musical theater," she says. "This year I realized after playing 'Evita' four or five years ago how much I miss it. I really miss the camaraderie of the cast and working through emotional scenes with the cast. And of course, working with Richard, he's just so amazing. His 'Impossible Dream' is just magical."
Playing over 6 nights, Gilliom feels audiences are going to love the show and its message of hope. "I think it's going to be amazing. I think it's going to be really good for Maui in this present time. The end is encouraging hope. It's just a very hopeful musical."
"Man of La Mancha" is presented at the MACC's Castle Theater on Aug. 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 18 at 3 p.m., Aug. 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15, $40, and $62 ( plus applicable fees ), available at mauiarts.org.