Being able to afford a glamorous night at the theater in Boston can be difficult. In a questionable act of democracy, "Man of La Mancha" is more moderately priced than most, but you might be paying for quality.
"La Mancha" opens quietly with the players padding out of nowhere. The sound of guitars sets the scene inarguably in Spain. Unfortunately, the introductory guitar rift is one of the only interesting musical numbers of the show. Most of the score is homogeneous and forgettable. Every song seems to exist only to remind the audience that yes, this is an epic, and no, you can never have too many trumpets.
The only exceptions are one or two completely average ballads. The actors' voices are passably good, but often they complement neither each other nor the music, an exception being a group of ne'er-to-do-wells at an inn. The singers do, however, improve as they go on, and the last five minutes of the play are rather impressive.
The story is the well-known tale of Don Quixote, acted out by prison inmates. The main character, Cervantes (played by Christopher Chew), and his man-servant Sancho (Robert Saoud) are thrown into a large prison cell during the Spanish Inquisition for foreclosing a church. The inmates proceed to try him, find him guilty and confiscate all his clothing. When they attempt to burn a manuscript, however, Cervantes protests and as a defense, puts on the play of Don Quixote. The play flashes back between the time of Don Quixote and temporarily returns to the prison hold, as though to check what's going on in the real world.
While the plot has some potential, this particular production of "Man of La Mancha" is essentially a musical of "almosts." It almost makes you think, it almost made a statement, and it is almost engrossing. The actors are almost good, with stilted, dry performances at the beginning that only pick up towards the end, before one can properly enjoy them.
The messages are mixed at best, and the musical flits between three or four morals before the end of the show. On one hand is the idea that the world has lost its ability to dream and needs to reinstate it, even if the price is sanity. The show tries to subtly dig at this idea through choice deaths and an ambiguous ending of the musical.
Then there are passionate, although fairly random speeches about the meaning of life, if in fact it has a meaning. These speeches, in turn, compete with half-formed characterizations of both the church and science, each wavering between sympathetic and despicable.
To be blunt, the musical is completely average. It has good points, but no shining moments, and the many pitfalls of the show only make the awful parts look worse by comparison. The lack of musicality in the play is especially disappointing. When going to see a musical, one at least expects a level of musical skill, even if coupled with poor acting or an uninteresting plot. While viewers may leave with a profound sense of dissatisfaction, $29 is a small price to pay for a night of culture in Boston. "Man of La Mancha" will remain at the Lyric Stage from now until Oct. 13.
