Under Nelsito Gomez’s direction and Nonie Buencamino as Don Quixote, the audience is treated to a story that is well-lived and very connected to the story of our times.
On gala night for Repertory Philippines’ Man of La Mancha, Artistic Director Jeremy Domingo paid a short tribute to how the musical has shaped the company’s history — and the theater icons who starred in it.
Think along the lines of the late, great Miguel Faustmann, Baby Barredo and Junix Inocian in 1987, and theater icons Audie Gemora, Michael Williams and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo in 2005. It is also a full-circle moment for Nonie Buencamino, who played the Padre in the 1987 production and now steps into the shoes of Don Quixote himself — and wears them and the matching suit of armor, so well. That alone is reason to go and see this show.
At first glance, Rep’s Man From La Mancha may feel like one of those older musicals that only those of my parents’ age would have loved. It is a 60-year-old show after all — one that’s been staged in a certain way every time.
Until this one. Or until director Nelsito Gomez laid his hands and creative mind to it, and as they say on MTV Cribs, “This is where the magic happens.”
He zeroes in on the show’s central themes, character journey and their individual conflicts. In his director’s notes, Gomez says the crux of his approach was to bridge the gap between the then and now, setting up that tension with antiseptic, white-tiled walls and a wire-mesh gate of modern-day detention centers, with his actors in Victorian dress behind it.
This approach serves the material well, delivering a show that is intelligent in its staging, witty in its repartee, and sparse of unnecessary frills. It does run for almost two hours, sans intermission, but you do get caught up in it and barely notice the time.
Perhaps La Mancha’s biggest handicap is this — it is not the most memorable of musicals, despite many of us knowing the story of Don Quixote quite well.
Many parallelisms have been drawn between Miguel de Cervantes’ work and William Shakespeare’s works — exploring similar themes and literary devices, like the “play within a play” that figures prominently in this one and in the latter’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which also happens to be Rep’s next production!).
The narrative is compelling — of a man whose delusional thoughts have him wandering between fantasy and reality, all in his noble pursuit of justice, beauty and, most importantly, love.
As he defends his honor in front of his cellmates and the Spanish Inquisition, we are witness to a masterfully written piece of theater. But alas, beyond The Impossible Dream, that oft-sung anthem of unwavering hope (and also a karaoke favorite), and the eponymously named “Man From La Mancha,” the rest of the Spanish-inspired soundtrack doesn’t quite stick to your ribs.
But that is not this staging’s fault, because with this iteration, both Gomez and Buencamino leave us with something worth remembering.
If there was only one word to describe Nonie Buencamino in Man From La Mancha, it would be “beast.” Nothing short of a force of nature, he seamlessly shifts between the rational writer Miguel de Cervantes, the eccentric Alfonso Quijana and the errant knight Don Quixote — with his body morphing along with each character. Buencamino completely loses himself to the mad musings of Quixote, and you are invested in his mission of bringing beauty and love back into the world.
There is a purity in his pursuit of his Dulcinea, the maiden Aldonza (Katrine Sunga) — undeterred by her recoil and resistance. In some way, the ease by which Buencamino shifts between his different personalities mimics his work in the acting vehicle that was Tanghalang Pilipino’s Balete, where he played his character at all ages and his tyrannical father. He won the Gawad Buhay Award for it — and deservedly so.
Perhaps what stands out in Buencamino’s performance is that we are reminded acting is a hard-earned skill — one that is honed and perfected over time. The ease that he shows in this portrayal is representative of the years he has spent on stage and film, living and embodying all the lives written within the lines of those scripts.
As Rep’s co-founder, the late Zenaida Amador once said (which is fitting since the second time Rep staged La Mancha was in tribute to her), “There is no one who has the privilege of living more lives than an actor does — there is their own life, and also the lives of all the characters they get to play.”
In Buencamino’s case, we see proof of that idea in his portrayal of Don Quixote — emotionally lived-in, layered and moving. As he sang The Impossible Dream, it was akin to a prayer to be allowed to stay the course.
Without a doubt, acting alongside an actor like Buencamino sets a high bar — and suffice it to say, the entire ensemble delivered. Marvin Ong, as Quixote’s loyal sidekick Sancho Panza, was comical yet charming, making for a great counterpoint to his quirky master. Throwing in some needed levity were Tarek El-Tayech, Alfredo Reyes and Steven Hotchkiss in a number of roles.
If you’re looking to escape the real world, even just for a couple of hours, then running off with The Man From La Mancha may just be the prescription you need. The Repertory Philippines production runs until 28 June. Shows are at 8 p.m. from Friday to Sunday, with weekend matinees at 3:30 p.m. Ticket prices start at P2,575, and you can get them via TicketWorld.