Displaying items by tag: Michel Rodriguez Cintra

“Don Quixote of La Mancha” is considered the oldest European novel, but it gets a fresh and exciting new treatment in “Circus Quixote." This is Lookingglass Theatre’s inaugural reopening after a year off while it retooled its much loved Water Tower Pumping Station location at Michigan and Pearson in Chicago.

In “Circus Quixote,” Cervantes’ beloved novel and it’s timeless characters—the delusional knight errant Don Quixote; the farmer turned squire Sancho Panza; the target of Quixote's courtly services Dulcinea (Laura Murillo Hart); his niece Antonia (Andrea San Miguel) who burns the books on chivalry that led to his madness—all spring to life.

The script by David Catlin and Kerry Catlin, who share director credits, brings in Spanish and latin-inflected English, but holds to the core of the tale—updated with added visions of quests that are now ever more familiar in our age of the revitalized renderings of Lord of the Rings.

Unlike Broadway’s 1965 musical “Man of La Mancha,” this version incorporates acrobatics, courtesy Evanton’s Actors Gymnasium—circus and movement choreography by Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi— along with stunning puppetry (remarkable creatures large and small designed by Grace Neediman) and dashes of slapstick. The show includes sword fights aloft on ropes (kudos to Micah Figueroa as 
Quixote's frequent adversary Sansón Carrasco), members of the troupe "jousting" with windmills by climbing the blades in arial feats, and riding Don Quixote's famed Rocinante, an engineered baroque steam punk rocking chair which at one point holds seven of the troupe in motion.  

Eddie Martinez as Sancho Panza

The newly coined English word “quixotic” (for impractical or foolish causes) was drawn from the novel soon after its publication in 1605. And the cogent notes of this tale of the hopeless aspirations maintains the poignancy as eventually even taking those he loves on a fool's errand, jousting at windmills and battling an imaginary giant.
Eddie Martinez as the faithful but questioning Sancho Panza (and a stand-in for Cervantes) is remarkable.

But the highest accolades must be given to Laura Murillo Hart, an absolutely stunning performer on multiple levels. As Dulcinea, in whose service Quixote launches his quest, Hart casts a spell on the theater whenever she appears, vocalizing in haunting melodic strains (composer Kevin O’Donnell’s music is arresting), sometimes accompanying herself on guitar.

In Act II Hart is transformed into a mustachioed, hoop-skirted clergyman, her clerical garb becomes an elaborate puppet showcase, a half-dozen or more characters appearing variously in a mini stage at the skirt front, and from her billowing sleeves. It’s an endlessly entrancing performance, and Hart demonstrates an incredible range in her many roles. At Lookingglass, a star is born with Hart’s performance.

Laura Murillo Hart

The relaunch of Lookinglass Theatre has provided "Circus Quixote" a generous run through March 30, 2025 at 163 E. Pearson at Michigan Avenue. 

Founded in 1988, Lookingglass has been on hiatus for a year while it reset its business model. Founding member David Schimmer of “Friends” fame has joined the board, and appeared last month along with Governor JB Pritzger to dedicate the rejuvenated space, with a redesigned lobby, bar and cafe open for business at 163 N. Pearson. Funding by the Illinois Arts Council and Joan and Paul Rubschlager made possible the return of Chicago’s dreamiest theater that has years of memorable shows under its belt, including (to site just one) director Mary Zimmerman’s 1988 “Metamorphoses” which went on to win her a Tony in its 2002 Broadway transfer, and returned to Lookingglass multiple times.

Lookingglass has over the years offered a balance between inventively staged serious drama such as the 2009 Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town,” the Jackie Robinson story “Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting” (2012) or “Death Tax” (2014); and more energized spectacles like “The Little Prince” (2013)  and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (2018)  Lookingglass also develops an in-between type of show embodied in 2016’s “Thaddeus and Slocum” (2016), and like all its work, presented with verve, powerful dramatics, and incisive illumination of our condition as humans.

(Updated Feb. 17, 2025.)

Have you ever wondered what would happen if a group of washed up superheroes decided to put their powers to use in a new way – a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the world in a slightly less fantastic way? And, what if they were modern dancers? Well so did Julia Rhoads, the artistic director of Lucky Plush Productions (LPP).  Along with her ensemble cast, they combine dance, theater, comic book style video graphics and tons of creativity to tell us the story of seven oddball super heroes, with powers ranging from audio control to lactation, who are working with a marketing company to define the brand and mission statement for their do-gooder non-profit organization. In each of their working sessions, they open with an invocation of the space, go on a training mission and complete individual introductions, each time getting closer to a purpose and forming as a team.

LPP strives to create works that are both dynamic and complex, as well as accessible to a wide audience. Both of those were achieved in this show and despite some slow moments, it was overall an enjoyable twist on a modern dance performance. In all of their works, LPP focuses on experiences that can be shared in the moment between the audience and the performers. In this performance, all of the dancers/actors are mic-ed and as they dance, they also chat with each other or add in the unexpected element of singing, having the effect of bringing the audience into the performance and making it feel more casual – as if they audience were sitting in on the sessions. By breaking down the wall between the performers and the audience, and introducing breaks in the dancing for theatrical moments, it allows the audience to feel more connected to the story and the characters, something often challenging for audience members who are new to the modern dance scene.

The choreography was expressive, moving and energetic. As each character introduces themselves, the choreography style changes to match their personality and super power. All of the styles merged into one representing the strength of the group as they combined forces by the end of the show. The entire ensemble brought vibrant energy to the dancing. The performances of Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Benjamin Holliday Wardell stood out the most. Michel, whose character acquired the powers of the frog after ingesting a frog smoothie, seemed to spring off the floor with powerful and distinctive jumps. Michael is performing in his third season with LPP. Benjamin, a five-season LPP veteran, brought graceful and classical movement to his character inspired by beauty and art. 

The theater element allowed them to make some clear and strong statements about environmentalism, racism, feminism and privilege, and also brought some lightheartedness and humor to the performance as well. As the crew went through session after session, the patterns became a bit repeatable which created moments that dragged due to predictability. On the upside, as they returned for each new session, their costumes evolved into more proper superhero costumes – starting out as basic t-shirts and pants and progressing to full outfits embellished to match their characters. It was a subtle but fun addition to the costuming for the show.

Bringing it all together was the clean and simple set design, comprised of 10 white square panels set up along the back of the stage. The bottom row of panels was on wheels and could be moved to accommodate the needs of the performance. Both live video and pre-arranged graphics were projected onto the screens throughout the show, bringing some excitement to an otherwise simple set. In the scene where we become introduced to Glitch, who has the power to control sound, the combination of perfectly coordinated video projections, sound and movement demonstrated the strong impact that can be achieved with all the elements working together.

Overall, the show was an imaginative combination of dance, theater and video that lowers the barrier for entry to modern dance. The story is clear and easy to follow; the dancing is clean, rich and artistic; the set design and costumes as well integrated into the overall show and it invites the audience in to the journey of the making of Super Strip! 

Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of Superstrip is being performed at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. For more information visit www.LuckyPlush.com or www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org.