The musical version of the classic Cervantes tale is filled with songs, dancing, passion and pathos. It's the story of the noble but demented knight, Don Quixote, and his loyal servant, Sancho Panza -- who is just as likely as his master to mistake a windmill for an adversary! Don Quixote's mission of salvation is to find compassion for all; along the way he encounters both a fair maiden (or so he assumes) and the darkest of foes.

The Tony Award-winning musical originated on Broadway in 1965. Its setting is the 16^th-century Spanish Inquisition. Author and tax collector Miguel de Cervantes has been thrown into a dungeon along with his servant Sancho Panza for an offense against the church. Their rowdy fellow prisoners treat them roughly and subject them to a kangaroo court. His completed manuscript of “Don Quixote” is at stake. Seeking to save it, he offers a novel defense in the form on an enactment of the story. Donning costumes and makeup from the trunk they have brought into the prison, Cervantes and Panza proceed to cast their fellow prisoners as players and the story of the legendary “Knight of the Woeful Countenance” rolls on.

Quixote, a brave but demented man, tries to restore the age of chivalry, battling evil and righting all wrongs. In a roadside inn, which he sees as a castle, he finds the serving girl Aldonza, a part-time prostitute whom he mistakes for his “Dulcinea,” the woman of his dreams whom he will serve evermore. Aldonza cannot understand why Quixote does not see who she really is. He shares his credo in the famous song, “The Impossible Dream.” Aldonza catches the fever of his idealism but fails to be able to put it into practice.

The play within a play is funny, dramatic and inspirational. It examines some very mature themes, and in the end, it is a story of redemption and hope.

“Man of La Mancha” was given musical form by Dale Wasserman, playwright; Mitch Leigh, music; and Joe Darion, lyrics. It was originally written by Wasserman as a non-musical play for television but only reached blockbuster status when it became a musical, running on Broadway for seven years.

The Wimberley Players production was directed by LeRoy Nienow, an original member of the Players with 40 years of experience in the performing arts; he also directed the original Players performance of the play in 1983. Producer was Judith Laird, Artistic Director of the Players, most recently seen as Madame Acarti in “Blithe Spirit.” Calvin White, a frequent Players actor, was Assistant Director and Linda Sriro was Musical Director.

David Bisett, president of the Players, recently seen in “Divorce Southern Style,” played Cervantes and Quixote. Lee Coleé, director, actress and singing coach who leads “Summer Camp” at the Playhouse, was Aldonza and Dulcinea. Talented singer, actor and director Nathan Villarreal played Panza and Dan Stephens, Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Wimberley, was Padre Perez. Carol Hoffstad, pianist for St. Stephens Episcopal Church, played the housekeeper. Many of the 30 actors were cast in double and triple roles.