Synetic Theater offers a different kind of magic from the kind they provide in their “wordless” productions in their current production of “Don Quixote.” Yet even though this play has a text, its success still depends on the things Synetic does so well: mime, movement and physical transformation. “Don Quixote” is Paata Tsikurishvili’s adaptation of a play by Roland Reed, which in turn is based on Miguel de Cervantes’ novel. Don Quixote is still an aristocrat, Alonzo Quexana, whose habit of reading chivalric novels primes his imagination, inspiring him to leave the world of reason and set out to change the world for the better.
Although “Don Quixote” is set in the past, Tsikurishvili emphasizes its timelessness. The play begins with Quexana/Quixote (Dan Istrate) inspecting his beloved books. As he opens one, the evil spirit Freston (Alex Mills), appears. Quixote understands that he must ride abroad with his faithful squire, Sancho Panza (Ryan Sellers), becoming a knight errant and achieving his ambition: ending cruelty and selfishness wherever he finds them.
| Onstage |
| ‘Don Quixote’ |
| » Where: Synetic Theater, 1800 S. Bell St., Arlington |
| » When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; through July 3 |
| » Info: $40 to $50, 800-494-8497, Synetictheater.org |
Under Tsikurishvili’s inspired direction, “Quixote” develops in short, episodic scenes, each one revealing the extent of the knight’s fantasizing. Quixote and Sancho ride past a pig farmer’s daughter, Aldonza (Natalie Berk), and the knight sees her as Dulcinea, the lady of his dreams.
They save a young shepherdess, Andrea (Brittany O’Grady) from a beating, although Quixote foolishly believes her master will stop hurting her. They free a group of chained prisoners who then turn on them.
It’s essential that Quixote be seen as a sympathetic character, not a madman, and Istrate exudes empathy and fellow-feeling. With his wide-eyed expression and arms akimbo, he is an entertaining character and the epitome of unworldly idealism.
Sellers is equally charming as the faithful Panza, who tries to save his master from his delusions. Mills is darkly brilliant as the taunting, cruel personification of evil and also makes a unique appearance as an imposing Damsel.
Much of the story is told through Andrew Griffin’s lighting design, as it pinpoints parts of the stage where the action occurs. Georgi Alexi-Meskhishvili’s set is a bare stage dominated by a huge, moveable pyramid structure that is used, among other things, to portray the windmills that Quixote battles.
Irina Tsikurishvili’s choreography provides muscular energy to this production, particularly in a sprightly dance sequence at the palace of the Duke (Dallas Tolentino) and Duchess (Jessica Wilson) and in a powerful black-light number.
Konstantine Lortkipanidze’s music in the past has combined atonal pieces of music and sound. In this production, Lortkipanidze adds some recognizable modern tunes and even Pachelbel’s Canon. It’s a fitting score for a production about a knight of the past and present, trapped by his magnificently unrealistic ambition.
