Man of La Mancha

The show opens in a prison dungeon where actor-soldier-author and most notably tax collector, Miguel de Cervantes has just been locked away by the Spanish Inquisition. Accompanying him is his manservant and a large trunk that all of the other prisoners have their eyes on. The prisoners quickly attack in an attempt to get their hands on whatever goods may be hiding in the trunk. The fight is quickly quelled by a sympathetic prisoner referred to as “The Governor.” They decide to facilitate a mock trial, in which if Cervantes is found guilty he must relinquish the contents of the case. Another prisoner, who goes by the moniker of “the Duke,” decides to charge Cervantes with being not just an idealist but also a bad poet. Cervantes pleads guilty but wishes to make a defense. This defense he will deliver in the form of a play.

Cervantes opens his trunk and pulls out a makeup kit and a costume and begins to transform himself into an old man named Alonso Quijano. Quijano has lost his mind