CHICAGO-- Man of La Mancha has never been the last word on Don Quixote. With its home-grown The Adventures of Don Quixote, the Oak Park Festival Theatre departs from its annual Shakespeare fare to present an open-air retelling of Miguel de Cervantes' beloved classic. Opening July 1, artistic director Dale Calandra's new, non-musical version of Cervantes' novel features Henry Godinez as the self-appointed "Knight of the Woeful Countenance." Presented in collaboration with Teatro Vista, this portrait of a would-be knight, trapped in the age after chivalry, combines realistic and surrealistic production elements and period costumes. The goal: to explore the tie between reality and imagination, sanity and inspiration. A dozen actors play over a hundred roles in Calandra's fast-paced treatment of the multi-volume novel. For information call (708) 524-2050.
--By Lawrence Bommer
Chicago Correspondent