Four Humors makes the unreal real in Don Quixote

Photo by Dan Norman

Considering I picked up about 20 feet of Star Trek books last week, it was fitting that I would take in a show about the power of stories and the desire to have beloved characters live beyond the confines of their original tale.

In Four Humors' The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, Cervantes' tale goes through the wringer, with modern nods and a fluid interpretation of the original material.

After all, as noted near the end of the production, few have read the original work. (I haven't, though I'm pretty sure a copy has been on my bookshelf for a couple of decades.) We know the story from the endless remakes and riffs; from Man of La Mancha to the documentary about Terry Gilliam's failed attempt to film the story.

The company, who has tackled the likes of Candide and Lolita in the past, in absolutely in their element here. Don Quixote's fantastical adventures are brought to life through simple puppetry, video projections and lots of guts and guile by the actors.

Don Quixote (Ryan Lear) is a bookish middle-aged man who is drunk on tales of knights and chivalry. The fictional adventures have poisoned his brains and he decides to engage in some 17th-century cosplay, as he roams the Spanish countryside in search of castles, giants and battles.

Instead, he finds grungy inns, the famous windmills and flocks of sheep. No matter, Don Quixote, along with his faithful servant Sancho (Brant Miller),  sees what he wants to see and is ready to defend the honor of his beloved by doing grand deeds.

All the while, the man's nephew (and his trusty companion, Scott) attempt to bring don Quixote home,  but it seems that Sampson is falling to his own kind of obsession and madness as he takes on the role of our hero's tormentor.

There are plenty of delights here, from Lear and Miller's terrific double act to the clever way puppets and the projection screens are used. A few cotton balls on sticks turn into massive flocks of sheep, while a puppet lion represents a massive, caged beast.

Despite the humor, we don't lose sight of the characters or the idea that stories can be bigger than any one person to contain or control. But never mind that, I've got some Star Trek books to read.

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha runs through May 22 at the Guthrie Theater.