Ponca Playhouse’s current production of Dale Wasserman’s 1965 Tony-award winning musical “Man of La Mancha”, inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th century novel “Don Quixote”, is a magical immersion into a tale within a story that places you, the audience, inside the stone prison where it takes place. Right when you walk into the theater, you are surrounded by director Ryan Brown’s vision, and John Kuhlmann’s design and development of the set, a stone prison vault surrounding the common room in Seville, Spain. You never leave this setting until the production is over (never, for an hour and fifty minutes, so make sure to take care of business before the production begins; there is no intermission, but you will not miss it with the show in which you are about to be immersed).

“We found so many magical moments in the script,” says director Brown. who had previously performed the role of Sancho at UCO and was familiar with the material. “This story is timeless, and its beauty is more poignant now than ever. Watching these incredible artists both on and off stage come together to make such a gorgeous piece of art all the more powerful was incredibly humbling and awe inspiring.” Chad Anderson plays a superb Cervantes/Don Quixote in this production, and we are pulled into his dreaminess, and we desire all he wants for the world even when we know much of it is only an illusion. I will be singing “The Impossible Dream” for weeks, and every song his sang to his lady melted the hearts of everyone listening.

Blake Brown is the ultimate sidekick to Anderson as Sancho, and we should all be so lucky to have such a companion. Brown is believable, likeable, and lovable throughout the entire production, but maybe most so when he sings “I Really Like Him” in response to Aldonza asking about his devotion to his master.

Who can say enough about the tumultuous rollercoaster of emotions Aldonza, expertly played by Taryn Pruett, takes the audience on. Playing her toughness, contrasted by her internal hurt, beautifully, she takes the audience with her as she struggles to figure out who she really is inside the hard exterior she’s built around herself. Her armor is harder to break through than Quixote’s own.

Chris Schelp, as the Innkeeper, portrays his alternating feelings as he beautifully responds to the many antics of his guests, and he entertains the audience every time he enters the stage, and we are glad to see Kuhlmann on stage after we’ve enjoyed his set design as he plays an at-first reluctant but then compassionate Padre.

Stephe Long is Carrasco, realistically playing a man we love to hate through most of the production, and Kaden Swords as the Barber (not his only role) and steals the scene when he enters with the energy of his “Barber’s Song.”

“Man of La Mancha” has a large and wonderful cast of women and men, and I’m not giving them all their due here. I truly hope you’ll come out to see them all. I cannot express the excellent job they did in each of their roles keeping us in the storyline as their characters developed. The rest of this talented cast include Mallory Stolhand and Janie Heitman (alternating as Antonia); Andrea Storm (Housekeeper); Caroline Homier (Maria); Dana Willoughby (Fermina); Ryan Taylor (Pedro); John Andrew (Captain of the Inquisition) Jodie Rodgers, JP Mays, and Noble Meneely (Muleteers); Jocely Kuhlmann, Willoughby, and Jaclynn Heitman (Gypsies/ Moores); and Lynna Storm (prisoner).

The list is long, and we benefited from these talented actors onstage. I must mention the staging, choreography, and fight choreography that added to the overall feel of this production, accomplished by director Brown, Jessica Swain, and Nathan Oesterle, respectively. They made a magnificent team, and this was a major part of what kept the performance moving in a way that made us not miss having an intermission (remember, there isn’t one, so you are prepared when you attend). The production flows, and the actors flow on the stage and off of it seamlessly. They enter and exit, they dance, and they fight, and the audience feels right there on the sidelines of all the action. I’d be remiss not to mention costumes since they enhanced this production and were beautifully done. Costume design was by Melodie Parman, with costume construction by Kat Long, Sam Stuart, Meghann Borum, and Emily Rose Parman.

Producers for the show are Corie Stolhand and John Andrew; Music Direction by Chris Schelp; Stage Management by Austin Nephew with assistants, Zoe Oxford and David Moore; Lighing Designer was Bentley Heydt, with Todd Stuart running the lightboard; Property Designers were Britany Lawrence and Roseanne Cockriel, with Stacey Danks working as backstage crew; Programs were by Corie Stolhand; and Photography by Ron Mordecai.

The music for the show was wonderful and is a track provided by The MT Pit. You’ll enjoy a true Spanish sound full of horns and all, and you can still hear the singers well. Pre-show music is by Paul Plama.

You’ve seen Ryan Brown onstage in numerous productions, and he’s directed others, but this is his first main stage production for Ponca Playhouse. Let’s hope it isn’t his last. He has brought a wonderful vision to life for all of us to enjoy.

Performances will be May 14-16 and May 20-23, with Friday and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. There will be a streaming performance on May 22. Remember, there is no intermission. Get your tickets online at www.poncaplahouse.com or call 580-765-5360. You don’t want to miss this one.

As we are, hopefully, coming out of this pandemic and into less stressful times, let me leave you with a few lessons learned from “Man of La Mancha.” My hopes for you as we move into the summer are that you can believe in seemingly impossible dreams like Don Quixote, have at least one friend as loyal to you as Sancho is to Cervantes/Quixote, and even, when life has treated you as harshly as it has Aldonza, grab hold of your inner Dulcinea with everything you have because you are valuable to the world around you.