June 6, 2026
Poet and playwright Miguel de Cervantes (Nonie Buencamino) and his servant (Marvin Ong) were incarcerated in a holding area for people awaiting questioning by the Spanish Inquisition. He had been arrested because he had levied taxes on a church which he did in the spirit of social justice. A prisoner called the "Governor" (Tarek El Tayech) puts him on a mock trial, with another prisoner called the "Duke" prosecuting.
As his defense, Cervantes directs his fellow prisoners in a play about an old man Alonso Quijano, wanted to live out the fantasies he had read in books by becoming a knight-errant, calling himself Don Quixote of La Mancha. Together with his loyal squire Sancho Panza, Quixote mistook an old inn for a castle and entered it. Inside they met local drunkards being served by a woman named Aldonza (Katrine Sunga).
"Man of La Mancha" is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion, inspired by Miguel de Cervantes and his 17th-century novel "Don Quixote." The original 1965 Broadway production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Lead Actor for Richard Kiley. It has been revived four times on Broadway, the last one being in 2002, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
Rep had staged this musical two times before, both prestige projects with all star casts. The first was in 1987 at the Insular Life Theater, directed by Zenaida Amador. It had Miguel Faustmann as Don Quixote, Baby Barredo as Aldonza and Junix Inocian as Sancho. The second was in 2005 at Onstage Greenbelt, dedicated to Amador on the first year anniversary of her death. This was directed by Barredo, starring Audie Gemora / Michael Williams as Don Quixote, Menchu Lauchenco-Yulo as Aldonza and Robbie Guevara as Sancho.
This current production is staged at Rep Eastwood Theater at the Eastwood Citywalk in Libis, Quezon City. Director Nelsito Gomez opens his version with the stage transformed to look like a modern prison complex, with a motley group of prisoners inside, even including a mother nursing a child. Even when there was a Spanish guitar being plucked as the guards wearing bullet-proof armor, helmets and face shields brought Cervantes in to await his turn to be tried by a dictatorial governing body, tension certainly ran very high.
The 16th century era Spanish costumes came out to be worn when Cervantes was dressing up his cast for the play within the play. If you are not familiar with the story, you may just get lost at this point because it was not that easy to follow the delusions of Don Quixote, starting from that windmill episode. There were ruffians in the inn, led by the tall, brawny Pedro (Julio Laforteza) who were hassling Aldonza the whole night, until their drunkenness led to a long disturbing scene of shocking physical abuse and violence I did not expect in this musical.
Also potentially confusing were the numerous characters in the play, played by Cervantes' fellow prisoners. The "Governor" became the "Innkeeper," who reluctantly welcomed the strange visitor in. The "Duke" became "Carrasco," a doctor who wanted to break through Don Quixote's delusions. Aside from Aldonza, the other three women prisoners became Quijano's niece and Carrasco's fiancee Antonia (Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante), his Housekeeper (Sarah Facuri), and Innkeeper's wife Maria (Liway Perez).
Like most people, I only knew one song from this musical -- "The Impossible Dream," which encapsulated Don Quixote's unwavering idealistic quest to turn the world towards good, which many of us jaded with the world would interpret as foolish delusions, especially these chaotic days. The soundtrack revealed a lot of other catchy tunes sung by Don Quixote like the title song and "Dulcinea," and the irresistible group number "I'm Only Thinking of Him," sung by Antonia, Housekeeper, the Padre (Stephen Hotchkiss), then to be joined by Carrasco.
Nonie Buencamino essentially played three roles here -- Miguel de Cervantes, Alonso Quijano and Don Quixote. By his awards and reputation, there was no doubt that Buencamino can pull off the acting requirements of this complex role. Now the singing part was a very pleasant surprise for me because I have not heard him sing before. After he hit and sustained that soaring final note of his "The Impossible Dream," there was absolutely no doubt of his vocal versatility. For an interesting bit of trivia, this is a homecoming of sorts for Nonie Buencamino to this musical, as he played the role of the Padre in the 1987 Rep staging.
The role of Aldonza is a particularly challenging one, especially with the trauma this bitter character had to endure during the "Abduction" scene. She also had to hit high soprano notes in all her songs. This must have been Katrine Sunga's biggest role in a musical in her career and she absolutely nailed the part, both singing and acting parts. She may be a new face to most of us now, but this performance has certainly been a major coming-out event for her, considering that she had inherited this role from icons like Barredo and Lauchengco-Yulo.
Marvin Ong made for a delightful Sancho Panza with his cute physical features and bright strong tenor voice, that contrasted well with Buencamino's world-weary baritone. Tarek El Tayech again stood out with his towering heft, but his memorable moment came when he dubbed Don Quixote as the "Knight of the Woeful Countenance" while wearing a short white nightgown. Fresh from playing the comical dwarf King Farquaad in "Shrek the Musical" last year, Alfredo Reyes again plays the antagonist here, with his Knight of the Mirrors a blinding spectacle.
"Man of La Mancha" just turned 60 years old last year, so even I was apprehensive that the material may feel dated. However, the storytelling style of Nelsito Gomez gave this production an updated treatment that made it feel applicable to the tumultuous political times of the present. For those who are watching this for the first time like me, we may not completely understand every story point or figure out all the metaphors, but by the time the ensemble sang "The Impossible Dream" to Cervantes at the finale, we will get its clear message.
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Repertory Philippines' 2026 production of Wasserman and Leigh's "Man of La Mancha" runs from June 5 to 28, 2026 at the Rep Eastwood Theater. Tickets at P3000 (Orchestra Center) and P2500 (Orchestra Side), available from Ticketworld (LINK) and Ticket2Me (LINK).
The rest of the acting ensemble includes Dippy Arceo as Jose, Jasper Jimenez as Juan/Barber, Ralph Oliva as Paco, Khalil Tambio as Anselmo, Rafa Sumilong as Captain. with JV Fulgencio and Aly Wijangco as the swings.
The artistic team includes musical director Farley Asuncion, vocal coach Arman Ferrer, choreographer Jim Ferrer, set designer Julio Garcia, costume designer Hershee Tantiado, sound designer Kabaitan Bautista, and lighting designer D Cortezano.
