Pacific Northwest Ballet is mounting its biggest production yet in February with the American premier of Alexei Ratmansky’s “Don Quixote,” the timeless tale of love based on the Cervantes novel.
Pulling no stops, they’ve hired Hollywood actor Tom Skerritt to play the lead role in all but the matinee performances.
Skerritt, 78, starred in the films “Top Gun,” Steel Magnolias” and “Alien” and the TV show “Picket Fences.”
This is Skerritt’s ballet premiere, but he did once play a former dancer, in the 1977 film “Turning Point,” which co-starred Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft.
Don’t expect to see Viper doing pirouettes. Instead, Skerritt’s role will lean on his acting skills, PNB spokesman Gary Tucker said. Skerritt will rely on mime and gesture.
The story line breaks from the traditional telling of the aged knight sent on a fruitless quest to win the heart of a woman. In this rendition, Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza (played by Allen Galli), visit Barcelona.
There they meet Kitri, whose father prefers her to marry someone for money instead of marrying Basilio, the handsome man for whom she longs. The couple flee and become entangled in Quixote’s visions.
The production is complex, including highly difficult dance moves.
PNB”s “Don Quixote,” the full-length dance featuring literature’s classic figure, set to a score by Ludwig Minkus, runs from Feb. 3 to 12.
Tickets range from $28 to $168 at www.pnb.org or 206-441-2424.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3447; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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