NOONLINE

When Cervantes wrote

Don Quixote

in 1605, life was, for many, nasty, brutish, and short. On the 400th anniversary of the author's death in 2016, for those who watch the musical based on his novel, life has become boring, manufactured, and only as long as the lens of narcissism can fathom.

But Broadway Theatre of Pitman's production of Man of La Mancha points out that it doesn't have to be that way. In inspiring fashion, the well-sung rendition of Dale Wasserman's 1964 musical captures the essence of both Cervantes' novel and Wasserman's book: that one can dream of, and live, a more ennobling life.

Wasserman gives a rendition, not a reproduction, of Cervantes' work or life. It sets the Spanish author in a prison, put on trial by both the Inquisition and his fellow prisoners. In his defense, he enacts the story of Don Quixote (John Smitherman), a landowner turned mad by tales of chivalry and romance.

He employs his servant Sancho (Joel Guerrero) as squire and sets off for adventure, encountering life's rougher elements, but always envisioning people at their best. Quixote's quest can range from ridiculous to, yes, quixotic. Smitherman's direction and cast set a tone at once glorious, madcap, and moving.

A cartoonish, storybook set is replete with a working drawbridge of stairs descending into the dungeon. Shawn McGovern's lighting and a few props help transform this initial setting into an inn, a house, and a country road while giving a magical effect to the battles and events that take place solely inside Quixote's mind.

A 12-piece band gives rousing renditions of Mitch Leigh's Tony Award-winning guitar-and-woodwind-driven score, and the mostly male ensemble enlivens the choral numbers. Guerrero and Michael DeFlorio (as the Innkeeper) contribute most of the comic interludes, not to mock Quixote's ambition, but to balance the knee-jerk cynicism of the serving wench Aldonza (the excellent Erica Scanlon Harr) and the rest of the prisoners.

Smitherman's sweet, lyrical tenor shines through on the show's standards, and Andy Boettcher's honey-toned voice (as the Padre) lends sincerity in "To Each His Dulcinea."

Initially, the cast of criminals doesn't present a menacing-enough atmosphere, and the sound system kept fading in and out on Smitherman's body microphone. But these problems aside, this rarity of a musical tackles dense philosophical and ethical themes.

In this 21/2-hour musical, Wasserman captures hundreds of years of the human spirit, an age of chivalry that, while no longer needed to fight villains or defend damsels, still has much to say to our age. This production challenges us to discover how.

Through May 15 at the Broadway Theatre of Pitman, 43 S. Broadway, Pitman, N.J. Tickets: $28.

Information: 856-384-8381 or thebroadwaytheatre.org.