‘La Mancha’ great

It made me want to plant myself on the top of my relatively low roof, shake my fist and sing at the top of my lungs, “To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe. …”

Lucky for my neighbors, I opted instead to bow to the Village Theatre and its incredible cast and orchestra to sing forth the virtues of Don Quixote at the current production of “Man of La Mancha.” Led by the always charismatic and talented Timothy McCuen Piggee as Cervantes Quixote, and his slightly batty yet charming sidekick Sancho (Allen Galli), the ensemble performance is superb.

Supported by an orchestra that complements rather than overpowers the performers, director David Bennett paints a colorful, entertaining and often inspiring picture of pursuing one’s dreams. Saturday night’s audience was so enthralled, applause filled the auditorium a few minutes into the first act.

Set in late 16th century Spain during the Spanish Holy Inquisition, Dale Wasserman’s “Man of La Mancha” tells the story of Cervantes, a tax collector, who is thrown in prison for foreclosing on a church. The steel gate cranks open, and Cervantes arrives at Seville prison with his servant Sancho, his large trunk dropped by ropes into the common area below.

Opening the trunk, the inmates discover not only costumes and props, but Cervantes’ precious manuscript, “Don Quixote.” Snatching it, they tell him he must stand trial to have his novel back. Instead Cervantes employs them to perform the story. Soon the play within the play turns the dark, dingy dungeon into a new world filled with possibilities, hopes and dreams.

Piggee is perfect as the honest, idealistic yet realistic Cervantes, a sharp contrast to the idealistic, yet slightly deranged Quixote, the part of Cervantes that lives through his writing. Waving his crooked sword, the knight errant — Don Quixote de la Mancha — seeks to right the unrightable wrong.

However, the pursuit of right is not always an easy path. Along the way Quixote, donning the “Golden Helmet of Mambrino” (in actuality a barber’s shaving dish), mistakenly charges a windmill, thinking it a giant, mistakes an inn for a mighty castle, and falls for the local wench Aldonza, whom he sees as his lady love Dulcinea.

Piggee’s Quixote is enchanting, endearing and worthy of the admiration of both the audience and eventually the people whose lives Quixote touches.

Though the entire cast is outstanding, special kudos go to Galli as Sancho and Charlie Parker as Aldonza, who displays a range of emotions from anger to resentment to tenderness matched only by her vocal skills. Whether fighting off those who use her for their pleasure or defiantly throwing her hair back at the world, the bars around her heart are bolted tight … until a deranged knight marches in and unlocks the door.

Jolly, short and round Galli is the perfect foil to Quixote’s tall, lanky and determined demeanor, adding levity at every opportunity and lighting the stage with his effervescent spirit.

Sets are creative and innovative. Early in the first act, Quixote and his Sancho mount their “horses” — two barrels: one high, one low — with two men, one wearing a horse head, the other a mule head, in front of them, first walking, then galloping, then turning their heads as their masters pull in the reins. It was hilarious and, like the rest of the show, the audience loved it.