Man of La Mancha Tickets Continued
Man of La Mancha, first opened as a musical at the Goodspeed Opera House in
Connecticut in 1964. Rex Harrison was to be the original star of this production, but soon lost
interest when he discovered the songs must actually be sung. Michael Redgrave was also
considered for the role.
The play finally opened on Broadway on November 22, 1965. Richard Kiley won a Tony
Award for his performance as Cervantes/Quixote in the original production. The role made Kiley
a bona fide Broadway star, but the role went to Peter O'Toole in the less-successful 1972 film.
The only member of the original cast to reprise his role in the film was Conforti, repeating his
hilarious portrayal of the amazed barber, whose shaving basin is mistaken by Don Quixote for
the Golden Helmet of Mambrino. Although the bulk of the film was made on two enormous sound
stages, the use of locations was much more explicit - Don Quixote is actually shown fighting the
windmill, while onstage this had been merely suggested by having Quixote run offstage to
agitated music, and then crawl back onstage a few seconds later, with his lance broken and his
sword twisted. The film was produced and directed by Arthur Hiller, and photographed by
Federico Fellini's frequent cinematographer, Giuseppe Rotunno. The play version of Man of
La Mancha has been run on Broadway five times.
