Synopsis:

don1Jack Jones earned raves for portraying Don Quixote in a national tour of “Man of La Mancha”.

Cast:

Jack Jones (Don Quixote/ Miguel De Cervantes)

Reviews:

MAN OF LA MANCHA CAST BRINGS ‘MAN OF LA MANCHA’ TO LIFE

– Rebecca Coudret for Evansville Courier and Press

Before “Man Of La Mancha” opened Friday at The Centre, a friend lamented that “Vegas” headliner Jack Jones would be incapable of carrying the lead role. Jones, my friend said, would be too much a perpetual lounge singer to bring the nuances and subtleties the role demanded.

He needn’t have worried.

Jones showed so much versatility in his two-plus hours on stage that there’s little chance he’s ever done better on any stage in any city—including Las Vegas.

From his first appearance walking down the steps into the “holding room” of the Turn-of-the-16th- century prison, Jones gave the audience of about 1800 a Don Quixote with depth; whether he was brave and courageous, heart-wrenchingly sad or optimistically joyous, Jones punctuated his songs with feelings of hope, and anger, and anguish.

As you would expect with this show, the highlight was the song everyone knows-“The Impossible Dream”. My naysaying friend worried that Jones would sing it “just the way he does in Vegas.” Nothing could be further from the truth. From the opening words, Jones filled every syllable with the hopes and beliefs of the beleaguered knight; he Implored more than sang, asking “Dulcinea” to believe as deeply as he did in his Quest. All of the sniffling in the
Marilyn Caskey & Richard Ruiz audience after the prolonged applause wasn’t from winter colds.

Bottom line: You aren’t likely to find anything else to do this weekend that will be so fulfilling.

Jones’ rich performance delivers nobility, resolve of Don Quixote

Walton arts Center audience simply could not get enough of his bold performance in the Park Avenue Theatrical Group production of Man of La Mancha that opened Friday.

Jones brings a strong sense of nobility and determination to his role as Quixote. Rather than acting like a fresh escapee from the local insane asylum, he seems to simply be a fine knight who was just born a few hundred years too late. Jones’ strong speaking voice completes his noble if confused character and refuses to release the audience’s attention.

– Arkansas Democrat Gazette

Jack Jones brings much more than his ability as a singer to the title role. He displays range as an actor in a role that can be a confusing blend of three in one. Jones clearly delineates the three men in this production directed by Jeffrey Moss.

– The Dayton Daily News

For two hours Wednesday night, he was Don Quixote, Knight of the Woeful Countenance. He played before a full house as “Man of La Mancha” launched the Broadway at the Paramount series.
Jones, a Grammy-awards recording artist with more than 50 albums to his credit, has aged gracefully, perfectly for the title role.
His voice is strong and flexible, able to leap high notes and rumble on low, with a resonance that quakes through powerful bursts of emotion. He is tall and elegant, giving a regal stance and gleam in his eye as he declares: “I am I, Don Quixote…destroyer of evil am I.

– Cedar Rapids Gazette

Star Jack Jones, who plays the double roles of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) and his famous creation Don Quixote de la Mancha…earned a standing ovation.
His ringing final note on the word “stars,” did, indeed, seem to touch the sky

– Springfield News Leader

Jack Jones is superb in his role as the playwright-become knight. Jones has an easy nature on the stage, as if he really is a prisoner of the Inquisition acting out a story before his fellow prisoners.

– The Saginaw News

Pop singer Jack Jones was a surprise in the lead role. Known to many for his skillful way around a ballad, it was a pleasure to see him slip into the eccentricities of Don Quixote with such ease , and meet the near operatic demands of “The Quest” without faltering… Jones’ Quixote was comic, pathetic, inspirational.

…a moving night of theater which the audience acknowledged with a standing ovation.

– Naples Daily News