With battle calls and show tunes reverberating through the stage, students sang and acted the “Man of La Mancha” in Spanish for the student body, April 29.
Beatriz Foth, Spanish teacher, selected the play, based on Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra?s Don Quixote, to teach her students about classic Spanish literature.
?We did this play because I love Man of La Mancha and took the class to Roger Rocka’s Theater earlier in the year to see the play,” Foth said. ?After seeing it I got the idea of performing a short version of the play.”
Don Quixote, a noble countryman familiar with knights and chivalry, and Sancho, his squire, embark on an adventure “to roam the world in search of adventures… to right all wrongs, to mount a crusade… to raise up the weak and those in need.”
During their journey, Don Quixote chooses Aldonza, a kitchenmaid, as his lady and swears eternal fealty to her while bestowing on her the name Dulcinea.
“We (a group of muelleters) were served by Dulcinea (played by Ellie Mullins) and watched as Don Quixote wooed her to be his lady,” Haybay Olsen, ’09, said. “It was a funny scene because we over-exaggerated our song and Ellie slapped one of the muelleters on stage. I was nervous at first but after a minute I just forgot about it and had a blast acting it out.”
After many adventures, including the main character’s fight with a windmill, his fear of mirrors and being knighted, the play concludes with Don Quixote singing a song and dying.
The Spanish class practiced every Monday since February to perfect their performance.
“It was difficult knowing what tone to have for the lines,” Matthew Andreatta, ’09, said. “However, my mom is Mexican so she speaks fluent Spanish and sat me down and made me memorize my lines.”
Not only was the play a first for the Spanish class, but also the first partial musical in school history.
“This is the first time I have ever done something like this with my Spanish class,” Foth said. “The play is not 100% in Spanish because if it was some of the songs would lose their meaning.?
In an effort to limit the lines for students to memorize, Foth separated the play into three main segments featuring different actors and actresses.
The main characters in the play consisted of Don Quixote: Coleton Hutchins, ’08, Matt Nickel, ’08, and Scott Orcutt, ’09; Sancho: Shane Darakjian, ’09, Andrew Rurik, ’09, and Matt Andreatta, ’09; Aldonza: Ellie Mullins, ’09, and Abby Schoettler, ’09; and the Great Enchanter played by Alfredo Garzon, ’10.
?I though being in the play was a lot of fun because it is something I would not normally do,? Garzon said. ?Performing on stage was nerve-racking because I have never been on stage and I didn?t remember all of my lines.?
During the play, English subtitles were provided for those who could not understand the commentary.
?I thought the play shown in chapel was really funny even though I did not understand anything they were saying,? Nathanial Nyberg, ’10, said. ?For not being in drama, I thought they did pretty good on their acting and memorizing their lines.?
