5 Reasons You Should See Man of La Mancha This Weekend
This musical inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote and produced by Arizona Theatre Company is showing in La Phoenikera at the Herbeger Theater Center. In the play, Miguel de Cervantes is sent to prison and has to defend his possessions during a mock trial done by the other prisoners. His defense is a play whose main characters are Don Quixote and his side kick Sancho Panza (play within a play anyone?). Here are five reasons why we think you should go see Man of La Mancha this weekend.
UNO! It’s the last weekend of the run! This weekend is your last opportunity to experience the show with performances running until Sunday. The last shows tend to be the best because the actors have been performing for quite some time and rumor has it that actors sometimes do crazy things during the last performances because what the hell, right?
DOS! There’s flamenco dancers! The play is set in Spain during Francisco Franco’s regime (an interesting spin since the original takes place during the Spanish Inquisition) and it includes a set of powerful flamenco performances with dancer Amelia Moore and guitarist Joaquin Gallegos.
TRES! There’s Latinx artists! The cast of the show is made up of quite a few Latinx actors, including Broadway’s Phillip Hernández (Les Miserables, Kiss of the Spider Woman). The Arizona Theatre Company, made a concerted effort to recruit Latinx actors for the production. Let’s show them our support!
CUATRO! It’s an award-winning show! Man of La Mancha is a five-time Tony Award winner (Tonys are the Oscars of theatre) that was first produced in 1965 and had 2,328 performances on Broadway between 1968 and 1971. Seeing a show of this caliber in La Phoenikera is an awesome experience.
CINCO! We need to dispel the myth that “Latinos don’t go to the theatre!” I’m personally tired of hearing this in the theatre circle so let’s show them that Latinxs do go to the theatre when we actually find out about productions and their relevance.
Details of the Play
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 26 – Sunday, Jan. 28
WHERE: Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St., Phoenix
HOW MUCH: $25 – $80 (See show times and buy tickets here)
