Shakespeare Theatre of NJ's Man of La Mancha, With William Michals and Jane Pfitsch, Opens Oct. 20

By Michael Gioia
20 Oct 2012

William Michals
William Michals
Photo by Gerry Goodstein, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents the Tony Award-winning musical Man of La Mancha, which officially opens Oct. 20 following previews that began Oct. 17 at the company's mainstage F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre.

Directed by Shakespeare Theatre artistic director Bonnie J. Monte with music direction by Doug Oberhamer, performances continue through Nov. 18.

"It has been nearly ten years since we've produced a musical, and we are thrilled to present this gorgeous classic in our 50th anniversary season," said artistic director Bonnie J. Monte in a previous statement.

Inspired by Miguel de Cervante's seventeenth century work "Don Quixote," the musical features a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh.

William Michals (South Pacific, Beauty and the Beast) stars as Miguel de Cervantes with Jane Pfitsch (Company, Les Liaisons Dangereuses) as Aldonza. They are joined by Blake Pfeil (Shakespeare Theatre's A Christmas Carol) as Sancho Panza, Patrick Boll (Shakespeare Theatre's Richard II) as The Duke/Dr. Carrasco, Drew Dix as the Governor/Inkeeper, Derin Altay (Evita) as the Housekeeper, Darren Matthias (Seussical national tour) as the Caption of the Inquisition and Jeremy Lee Parrish (Jesus Christ Superstar national tour) as Padre.

Rounding out the cast are Kim Sava, John Seidman and Lee Harrington as well as Sean Buhr, George Abud, Jordan Laroya, John Gardner and Katy Hinson.

Other members of the creative team include set designer Michael Schweikardt, costume designer Michelle Eden Humphrey, lighting designer Michael Giannitti and sound designer Steven L. Beckel. Fight direction is by Rick Sordelet, and Denise Carderelli serves as production stage manager.

The Shakespeare Theatre will hold post-show symposium performances Oct. 23 at 7:30 PM and Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at 2 PM; a "Know the Show" performance Oct. 25 at 7 PM; and an audio-described performance Nov. 3 at 2 PM.

The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre is located at 36 Madison Avenue at Lancaster Road in Madison, NJ. For more information and tickets, call (973) 408-5600 or visit ShakespeareNJ.org.