Spiner, Migenes bring different talents to 'La Mancha'

Broadway, TV and opera experience give new staging a unique look.

http://www.ocregister.com...me-2307189-mancha-quixote

Brent Spiner wants to get Don Quixote right this time. And he's hoping the role brings him the same kind of attention it did the first time around.

"I did a half-hour version of 'Man of La Mancha' when I was in high school," said the Texas-born actor, who is best known for portraying the android Data in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "I played Don Quixote then, too. I'm only hoping that I'm better this time.

"But I do remember that a girl who was snubbing me suddenly wanted to talk to me."

Spiner stars with opera singer Julia Migenes in a Reprise production of "Man of La Mancha" that opens Feb. 14. It's a slightly different version of Dale Wasserman's 1965 masterwork about a delusional Spanish man who thinks he's a knight - one that should intrigue "La Mancha" fans, Spiner said.

"This version has little changes here and there that were run by Wasserman before his death; he also rewrote a little bit. So it's slightly different - but not in any major way."

Spiner is no stranger to musicals. His three-decade Broadway experience includes major roles in "Sunday in the Park with George," "Big River" and "1776." But playing the errant knight is a special challenge, he acknowledged.

"It's about stamina, really. Once you're on stage, you're never off. You never stop talking and singing."

Spiner plays a double role: he's the author Miguel de Cervantes, imprisoned in a Spanish jail; he's also the object of Cervantes' fertile imagination, the madman who, believing himself to be a knight, launches a tragicomically wrong-headed quest for honor and glory.

"He's mad, completely mad," Spiner said of Don Quixote, "but there's nobility in his madness. And then we have on top of that the voice of Cervantes as the narrator. He filters his own philosophy through this mad creature."

Crucial to a successful portrayal, Spiner believes, is the sense that Don Quixote's intentions and beliefs are worthy despite his lunacy.

"Even though he's completely out of his mind, what he believes in is right: the idea of fair play and trying to be the best you can. Cervantes and Quixote both believed in trying to remake the world as it should be, not accepting it for what it is. I think it's a vital message for our world today. We're fed up with the status quo and this 'There's nothing I can do about it' attitude."

STAYING IN A DREAM WORLD

Unlike Spiner, Migenes had no prior experience with "Man of La Mancha."

""I'd never seen it, had no ideas about it," said Migenes, who broke through to mainstream fame when she played Carmen in a 1984 film version of the opera.

Migenes doesn't often tackle musical theater, but it's not because she disdains it.

"Very often I've been asked if I could come and do a musical somewhere. I always had to say no because of the time commitment and performing eight times a week. But I happen to be in Los Angeles at the time that they're doing it and I thought, 'I have to say yes!'"

Playing the rough-around-the edges Aldonza isn't much of a stretch for her, Migenes said.

"It's a type of role that's close to me, a temperament and personality that I understand; perhaps that's why my Carmen was so good. I have a tendency to like these types of women - Salome, Tosca, Lulu - very complicated, visceral, strong. I like playing the gypsies, the maids, the whores."

Still, Migenes found there are hurdles to deal with when switching from opera to musical theater.

"It's difficult to sing and then do a lot of dialogue. In the opera house, a singer will usually not talk at all. When you're singing with an operatic voice, you're using the fine edge of the vocal chords. With Broadway singing it's a completely different sound - it's produced in a different way. And (talking) brings the voice to another place in your throat. That's something which is difficult for me."

Migenes, like Spiner, thinks there's something special about "Man of La Mancha," though she finds it hard to put her finger on the secret behind the show's magic.

"I think that like anything that has a touch of genius to it, you can't explain it. Why is 'La Bohème' the most famous opera of all time, even though a lot of people say that Puccini was just a simple melody maker?

"I'm not the kind of person who likes to 'logicalize' art; I don't want to think too much about things like that. I like to uncover the magic instinctively - stay in a sort of dream world while I'm performing it. Which is appropriate for this show, isn't it?"

Contact the writer: 714-796-7979 or phodgins@ocregister.com