A Musty ‘Man of La Mancha’

The names of Grammy Award-winner Sheena Easton and actor Raul Julia (fresh from supervisibility as Gomez in “The Addams Family”) are 1 1/2 reasons for seeing composer Mitch Leigh’s 25th-anniversary edition of “Man of La Mancha” that opened at the Pantages Thursday.

Except for an unfortunate collision with the orchestra at the worst possible moment, Julia is mostly a fine and tender idealist as Cervantes/Quixote, Knight of the Woeful Countenance, fighting his good fight with his windmills and winning our hearts even as he loses his battles. Easton, however, is another matter. She certainly can sing and does, but ask her to act and she delivers an inexpressive Barbie Doll Aldonza, lacking a single genuine emotion.

As for the rest of this production (or, more like it, reproduction), it is to theater what reconstituted orange juice is to fresh--a version at least as tired as the weary old knight at its center. And not half as endearing. There is not an uncreaky bone in its body, only the cloning of a 25-year-old show that wastes its fine lyrics (Joe Darion) and gorgeous score (Leigh) on a lazy assembly-line version of a musical that had once been meticulously hand-crafted.

One begins to understand why book writer Dale Wasserman has been fighting windmills of his own, vociferously repudiating this production concept in the press and recently switching the battlefield for “control over rights and licenses” to a court of law.

The fact that this “Man of La Mancha” has been staged by its original director, Albert Marre, only serves to ensure that no insolent breeze will disturb the cobwebs. Or so it would seem. The same goes for the fact that it takes place on a re-creation of the original set by original designer Howard Bay, and is decked out in costumes designed by the original costumers, Bay and Patton Campbell. It even has two original Broadway cast members: Marceline Decker (the housekeeper) and Antony de Vecchi (as a muleteer and Quixote’s horse) who do nicely, thank you.

There is nothing wrong with re-creating the original if it is done with vigor, class and spontaneity. But Marre’s direction here is flaccid and mechanical. With few exceptions (notably, David Wasson as the Padre and Ian Sullivan as Dr. Carrasco), the company performs by the numbers, and Easton, for all her good looks, is as stubbornly contemporary and out of context as a paragraph set in the wrong book.

To add injury to this heaping of insult, the orchestra played “The Quest (The Impossible Dream)” on opening night in a key different from the one Julia had been expecting. That much seemed clear. It’s unlikely the mistake happened the other way around, and Julia quickly recovered the fumble.

It was the low point in a performance by Julia that deserved better than the surrounding dross. Even Easton had her own brighter moments near the end, with full-throated renditions of “Aldonza” and “Dulcinea” that betrayed some feeling.

The opening attack on “Man of La Mancha (I Don Quixote)” by Julia, Tony Martinez (an agreeable and lively Sancho), and Hechter Ubarry and De Vecchi as a mule and a horse, respectively, is bracing and playful. As is Martinez’s “I Really Like Him.” But that’s about it. Particularly labored are the numbers that involve group movement if not dance. That’s where the cut-rate look of the production is at its most glaring.

What’s puzzling is that Leigh, who wrote this rousing score and conducted its overture under a spotlight opening night, can be satisfied to present such a sloppy production, and has the chutzpah to charge a top ticket price of $50 for it. Not only does the public deserve more bang for the buck, but Leigh should be trying for a much better class of impossible dreams.

“Man of La Mancha,” Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 and 7 p.m. ends next Sunday moves to the Orange County Performing Arts Center Dec. 23-Jan. 5. $17-$50; (213) 480-3232. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

‘Man of La Mancha’ Raul Julia: Cervantes/Quixote Sheena EastonL: Aldonza/Dulcinea Tony Martinez: Sancho Chev Rodgers: Governor/Pedro/Head muleteer. David Wasson: Padre Ian Sullivan: Dr. Carrasco David Holliday: Innkeeper Valeria dePena: Antonia Marceline Decker: Housekeeper Ted Forlow: Barber/Anselmo Hechter Ubarry: Paco/Mule Antony De Vecchi: Tenorio/Horse Jean-Paul Richard: Juan Bill Santora: Jose Tanny McDonald: Maria, the innkeeper’s wife Joan Susswein Barber: Fermina/Moorish dancer Jon Vandertholen: Captain of the Inquisition Robin Polseno: Guitarist Darryl Ferrera: Guard Michael Ruhl: Guard

A presentation of the Mitch Leigh Company. Executive producer Manny Kladitis. Director Albert Marre. Book Dale Wasserman. Music Mitch Leigh. Lyrics Joe Darion. Sets Howard Bay. Lights Gregory Allen Hirsch. Costumes Howard Bay, Patton Campbell. Sound Jon Weston. Musical director Brian Salesky. Dance arrangements Neil Warner. Production stage manager Patrick Horrigan.