A new take on old story resonates in ‘Quixote’
¡Cuidado vatos! Quixote is on the loose. That crazy old man — only he’s not crazy, just demented. More than that — inspired, heartbreaking and very funny. The new Quixote, “Quixote Nuevo” by Octavio Solis, in its world premiere at Cal Shakes, transforms the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes into a moving, contemporary parable that reaches beyond just our times.
Veteran actor Emilio Delgado carries the soul of the production as Quijano, a retired literature professor living in the Texas border town of La Mancha, who transforms himself into Don Quixote. He calls himself an “out-of-print scholar” who observes, “The world makes you do your worst.”
Delgado is best known as Luis the Fix-it Shop owner on “Sesame Street.” He worked on the show from 1971 until 2016, when his contract was not renewed. Only an actor with the gravitas of Delgado could make this work. Solis’ brilliant stroke in reimaging the work casts Quijano as a cranky elder whose visions may or may not be dementia.
He’s cared for by his sister,
Magdalena (Michele Apriña Leavy), and her daughter, Antonia (Gianna DiGregorio Rivera), but they often cannot control him. He has increasingly violent reactions to his visions, which take the forms of Day of the Dead calacas. When Magadelena tries to put Quijano in an assisted-living facility, he escapes. While on the run, he becomes the modern-day Quixote, righting wrongs where he finds them. He conscripts his neighbor, the local ice cream man, to become his Sancho Panza. It’s a brilliant turn by Juan Amador as part of the lively, versatile eight-person ensemble, which includes fine performances in multiple roles from all, particularly Carlos Aguirre, Amy Lizardo, Sol Castillo and Hugo E. Carbajal.
Cervantes’ novel, published in two volumes in 1605 and 1615, ranks as one of the most influential works of literature of all time. Adaptations, references and homages in the work of writers who followed Cervantes are legion. Solis first worked with the material in 2009, for a period-based commission from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I saw that typically lush OSF production, which honored Cervantes’ often overlooked comic vision in a respectful adaptation. Solis modernized the piece for a Shakespeare Dallas version, but here he has truly made it his own.
It’s revelatory how seamlessly Solis integrates up-tothe-minute issues of our border with Mexico into the various episodes from Cervantes’ novel. The potential wall between the two countries looms as a specter throughout the production, while Quixote and Sancho see firsthand the often tragic consequences for those trying to cross over through the stretches of harsh, unforgiving desert lands. Solis also makes Quixote’s search for lost love Dulcinea (Sarita Ocón) a moving, melancholy coda.
Director KJ Sanchez skillfully guides the rich production, alternating anarchic pageantry with nuanced pathos.
The clever, evocative Tejano music and songs are composed by music director and sound designer David R Molina and music director Eduardo Robledo.
“Quixote Nuevo” presents Cervantes through a prism of contemporary Chicano culture that’s also the prism of all our lives. It’s the anxiety of anyone dealing with putting a relative into an assisted living facility. It’s also the deep ache of regret in love lost. Quixote rides “low and slow” triumphant in his dreams.