By Gail Siegel, WSU Performing Arts
PULLMAN, Wash. – Saddle up for stirring adventure and hilarious mishaps when Washington State University Performing Arts Black Box Classics presents “The Wonderful Adventures of Don Quixote,” adapted from Cervantes’s famous novel by Conrad Seiler.
The family-friendly play will run for six performances – 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3, 5, 10 and 11 with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 12 – in WSU’s Wadleigh Theatre in Daggy Hall under the direction of Benjamin Gonzales and Bryce Park.
General admission costs $10 adults, $8 seniors (ages 60+) and $5 non-WSU students and youth. Free admission for WSU students with valid ID is made possible by support from the WSU CougParents Program.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1821012 and locally at the Brelsford WSU Visitor Center (150 E. Spring St. in Pullman) and at BookPeople (521 S. Main St. in Moscow, Idaho). Additional fees apply to Web orders, and free WSU student tickets are not available online. Same-day tickets will be available at the Daggy Hall box office beginning one hour before each performance.
Whimsicality emphasized
With a thirst for gallantry but only a tenuous grasp on reality, an old man imagines himself to be a knight by the name of Don Quixote de la Mancha and embarks on a series of (mis)adventures with his faithful squire Sancho Panza.
“Seiler’s version … emphasizes the more whimsical aspects of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza’s journey,” said Gonzales. “From shepherd wizards and iconic windmills to an epic showdown between good and evil, there is adventure for everyone.
“Masks and pantomime, as well as crossgender casting from Commedia dell’arte, are all employed,” he said. “In Commedia, the characters reside within the mask, and the actors are the personification of the character created by the mask.”
Black Box Classics is an annual program staging timeless and beloved plays in Wadleigh Theatre, an intimate “black box” theater allowing audiences to feel closer to the story.
“The Wonderful Adventures of Don Quixote” is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.
Contact:
Gail Siegel, WSU Performing Arts, 509-335-8522, gsiegel@wsu.edu
