Performances for Young Audiences is made possible by

A U.S. premiere as part of the Kennedy Center festival

Ron Lalá Theater Company

An inspired adaptation of the novel by Miguel de Cervantes

Directed by Yayo Cáceres

Performed in Spanishwith projected English titles

Presenting UnderwriterHRH Foundation

Somewhere in QuiXote

IBERIAN SUITE: global arts remix

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A Man and His oovel CoDe Alive on StageA Novel PerformanceNo matter how familiar you are with the story of Don Quixote (pronounced kee-HOH-tee), prepare to experience it in a whole new way. A Spanish theater company of five male actors will recreate some of Don Quixote’s comic exploits but also introduce a new character on stage—the author himself, Miguel de Cervantes (mi-GEL dey ser-VAN-teez), writing in his Spanish library in the 1600s. Oh, and he’s not just sitting behind a desk, either. The ever-critical writer pauses and speeds up the action and enlists the help of his friends (and you, the audience!) to shape his tale. In this theatrical adventure, the performers weave together words from the book, live music, and lots of humor to tell the story and explore some of the novel’s themes like nobility, honor, and morality.

The Story of Don QuixoteAlonso Quixano, a middle-aged hidalgo (hi-DAL-goh, a man of lower nobility) from La Mancha, Spain, has read so many books about chivalry—the customs of medieval knighthood, including courtesy, valor, and generosity—that he goes insane and believes they are true. He sets out as a knight-errant (a wandering knight) to defend the helpless and defeat the evil, renaming himself Don Quixote, dubbing his horse Rocinante (raw-thee-NAHN-te), and naming a peasant woman his lady love Dulcinea (duhl-SIN-ee-uh), even though they have never met.

Alas, Don Quixote’s first adventures end poorly, and while he recovers at home, his housekeeper and others burn many of his chivalry books. But after he recruits his neighbor Sancho to be his squire, more comic adventures ensue when they meet innkeepers, disappointed lovers, escaped convicts, slaves, farmers, a mischievous Duke and Duchess, and more. Through it all, despite his madness and numerous humiliations, Quixote proves himself to be good and honorable. After losing a battle, Quixote returns home and to his senses and disclaims his adventures.

Other Characters

in the Performance

Cide Hamete Benengeli, a fictional

author of Don Quixote’s adventures

Sansón Carrasco, a friend who disguises

himself in attempts to get Quixote to

return home

Knight of the Mirrors

Knight of the White Moon

Tomé Celial, neighbor of Sancho and

squire to The Knight of the Mirrors

Montesinos, a legendary hero whom

Quixote believes he saw in a cave

Teresa Panza, Sancho’s wife

Micomicona, a fictional princess

Plus a boy, shepherd, housekeeper,

priest, soldier, barber, biscainer

(a man from the region of Biscay),

and goat herder.

A Man and His oovel CoDe Alive on Stage

MADRID

SPAIN

FRANCE

AFRICA

UNITED

KINGDOM

PORTUGAL

ALL PRODUCTION PHOTOS BY CEFERINO LÓPEZ (CNTC)

The writer, Miguel de Cervantes

A Soldier Turned AuthorBefore he wrote novels, Miguel de Cervantes had quite an adventurous life of his own, which influenced his storytelling. He was born in 1570 near Madrid and struggled financially most of his life. As a young man, he became a soldier known for his bravery fighting Spain’s battles against Turkey and Italy. In 1575, pirates kidnapped him and sold him to the Moors (Muslim enemies of Catholic Spain at the time) as a slave. After five years and several failed escape attempts, he was freed and returned home. Soon after, he began writing. He published part one of Don Quixote in 1605 and part two in 1615.

The First BestsellerDon Quixote became the world’s first modern novel—and bestseller. People loved its parody of chivalry romance books and its many misadventures. Ever since, the story has inspired imaginations and influenced artists of all kinds. Among others, it is referenced in French writer Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s art, German composer Richard Strauss’s music, and more recently in movies and the 1965 Broadway hit musical Man of La Mancha. The book spawned a new word, quixotic (kwik-SOT-ik), to describe something Quixote-like or the impractical pursuit of idealistic goals. It also made popular the expression “tilting at windmills,” which means attacking imaginary enemies as Quixote does when he charges windmills he mistakes for giant knights.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. RutterPresident

Darrell M. AyersVice President, Education

Alicia AdamsVice President International Programming and Festival Curator

Somewhere in QuiXoteWatch for…

✷ how three of the five male actors perform multiple characters (including women)

✷ how all the performers act, sing, and play musical instruments

✷ quick costume changes and one key costume piece for each character

✷ how the knight and squire first burst forth from the stalls

✷ how the costumes and sets reflect the colors, shapes, and textures of parchment (old writing material) and ink

✷ creative use of props, like an elastic band for a horse’s reins or a musical instrument becoming a helmet

EXplore More!

Listen for…✷ recorded music that helps set

the mood

✷ live music performed on Spanish guitar, shaker, tambourine, African kalimba (a plucked percussion instrument), and Asian gourd

✷ how sound effects such as a crackling fire and rain are produced live on stage

Think about…

✷what words you would use to describe Cervantes and Quixote

✷ which characteristic of Quixote’s you admire most, and why

✷ why Don Quixote has been such a popular literary figure for hundreds of years

✷ what the title, Somewhere in Quixote, means

A Few More ThingsAbout the PerformersSpain’s Ron Lalá Theater Company aims to offer engaging theater performances with humor and live music. The award-winning “Ronlaleros” (as company members call themselves) describe Somewhere in Quixote as their “greatest adventure: staging the funniest, most entertaining, moving, and profound novel in history.”

And remember:✷be ready to participate in telling the story

✷ turn off and put away your phones and electronics

✷finish talking before the performance begins

Go to KC Connections on ARTSEDGE

artsedge.kennedy-center.org/students/kc-connections

IBERIAN SUITE: global arts remix is presented in cooperation with the governments of Portugal and Spain.

Festival Leadership CommitteeHonorary Chairman, His Majesty King Juan Carlos José Andrés, Natalia and Carlos Bulgheroni, Helen Lee Henderson, Amalia Perea Mahoney, Former President Felipe González Márquez, The Honorable Luis Alberto Moreno, and David M. Rubenstein

Festival Benefactors include the Portuguese Secretary of State for Culture, Ambassador Elizabeth F. Bagley, Natalia and Carlos Bulgheroni, Amalia Perea Mahoney and William Mahoney, and David and Alice Rubenstein.

Major Sponsors include Arte Institute, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Camões – Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, EDP, Fundação Luso-Americana, Marca España, SPAIN arts & culture, and ThinkFoodGroup.

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; Kaplan, Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program, the National Committee for the Performing Arts, and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

www.kennedy-center.org/artsedge

Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about education at the Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2015 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts