More about Don Quixote of Bethlehem
Jul. 13th, 2005 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyjadwigaRemember my Don Quixote pilgrimage? Well, I've gotten more info about the theme of the play. This is from the Morning Call article on it:
"''It's the idea of turning your community into a theatrical space, of looking at your community as your paint, your pen,'' [scriptwriter Bill George] says. ''We're allowing the community to be the page for our poetry.''
Yes. Definitely.
"Originally, the production was going to focus on the ''privileged'' residents of north Bethlehem and the more working-class South Side...A key counter-proposal came from Sis-Obed Torres Cordero, executive director of the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley. During a walk-through of the envisioned route last fall, Cordero reminded Touchstone leaders that ''Don Quixote'' the novel is cherished by many Spanish-speaking immigrants on the South Side. To really reach this audience, he said, ''Don Quixote of Bethlehem'' needed to travel way beyond Fourth and Webster, deep into the heart of the Hispanic community. It had to break the invisible barrier between the Anglo and Latino business districts — the same parking lot at Pierce and Buchanan streets where the bulls stampede Quixote."
This was a key, no a great, artistic decision, and a needed one. This play was so much better because it focused on the Latino community and the ethnic and other issues of the South Side. It was much better because it was bilingual, blending the really graceful Spanish (Damas y Caballeros , for instance, as well as Ladies & Gentlemen) with English; because it brought in the nature of the South Side. As the newspaper said, "The ''Don Quixote'' script was created as a patchwork quilt, with George arranging contributions from ensemble members and citizens. Elementary schoolers in the Chorus of the Future, for example, recite their own lines about saving the planet by reducing pollution and eating ice cream. Maria the Librarian's monologue about the power of literacy comes from Maria Delgrosso, a Bethlehem librarian from Mexico who learned English one step at a time, the way her grandmother taught her to sew."
In a lot of ways, that's part of the Touchstone tradition. It did mean that some of the dialog was rough rather than polished. But the chant of the kids for Quixote, which seemed a bit liberal-tacky at the beginning of the play, was, by the time they chanted it to the dying Quixote at the end, heartwrenching. The story of Maria the Librarian sucked me in. People playing themselves, such as the priest, brought life and urgency to the production.
"''Don Quixote'' is designed as a lively tour of a lively corridor of bars and restaurants, churches and row homes, barbershop dens and stoop living rooms. Residents of Fourth Street have fully participated in rehearsals, enhancing the party atmosphere. They've cheered the bull stampede, danced to the music of a traveling band, even shared a chant meant to revive the dying Don." You could see that as they all hung out of the windows to watch, cheer, etc. For the first time in 14 years, I felt part of a group endeavor with Latinos on the South side. Because these Latinos had claimed this play as their own and were sharing it with us.
I agree with Mark McKenna: "''I don't really worry about significantly increasing the size of our audience,'' says McKenna. ''If there's any worry, it's that we're not listening enough. We're bringing English-speaking and Spanish-speaking people together. We're giving people an experience of hearing a play in two languages. We're giving the perspective of all these different voices who speak to Quixote, saying we need this, we need that. I hope people crave those difficult conversations about cultural understanding. "
Wow. I think it did. I hope it did. It brought people to the table of understanding in a way that us white liberal do-gooders seldom do. It celebrated a culture in a way that didn't set it apart. We all love Don Quixote and loved what he stood for. Black, white, cappucino or otherwise. We were in it for the love, and for the city, and for the community. It was really, really great.
All quotes from:
Geoff Gehman, "End of the quest: Quixotic performance project set to realize its impossible dream." Morning Call, July 3, 2005
"''It's the idea of turning your community into a theatrical space, of looking at your community as your paint, your pen,'' [scriptwriter Bill George] says. ''We're allowing the community to be the page for our poetry.''
Yes. Definitely.
"Originally, the production was going to focus on the ''privileged'' residents of north Bethlehem and the more working-class South Side...A key counter-proposal came from Sis-Obed Torres Cordero, executive director of the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations of the Lehigh Valley. During a walk-through of the envisioned route last fall, Cordero reminded Touchstone leaders that ''Don Quixote'' the novel is cherished by many Spanish-speaking immigrants on the South Side. To really reach this audience, he said, ''Don Quixote of Bethlehem'' needed to travel way beyond Fourth and Webster, deep into the heart of the Hispanic community. It had to break the invisible barrier between the Anglo and Latino business districts — the same parking lot at Pierce and Buchanan streets where the bulls stampede Quixote."
This was a key, no a great, artistic decision, and a needed one. This play was so much better because it focused on the Latino community and the ethnic and other issues of the South Side. It was much better because it was bilingual, blending the really graceful Spanish (Damas y Caballeros , for instance, as well as Ladies & Gentlemen) with English; because it brought in the nature of the South Side. As the newspaper said, "The ''Don Quixote'' script was created as a patchwork quilt, with George arranging contributions from ensemble members and citizens. Elementary schoolers in the Chorus of the Future, for example, recite their own lines about saving the planet by reducing pollution and eating ice cream. Maria the Librarian's monologue about the power of literacy comes from Maria Delgrosso, a Bethlehem librarian from Mexico who learned English one step at a time, the way her grandmother taught her to sew."
In a lot of ways, that's part of the Touchstone tradition. It did mean that some of the dialog was rough rather than polished. But the chant of the kids for Quixote, which seemed a bit liberal-tacky at the beginning of the play, was, by the time they chanted it to the dying Quixote at the end, heartwrenching. The story of Maria the Librarian sucked me in. People playing themselves, such as the priest, brought life and urgency to the production.
"''Don Quixote'' is designed as a lively tour of a lively corridor of bars and restaurants, churches and row homes, barbershop dens and stoop living rooms. Residents of Fourth Street have fully participated in rehearsals, enhancing the party atmosphere. They've cheered the bull stampede, danced to the music of a traveling band, even shared a chant meant to revive the dying Don." You could see that as they all hung out of the windows to watch, cheer, etc. For the first time in 14 years, I felt part of a group endeavor with Latinos on the South side. Because these Latinos had claimed this play as their own and were sharing it with us.
I agree with Mark McKenna: "''I don't really worry about significantly increasing the size of our audience,'' says McKenna. ''If there's any worry, it's that we're not listening enough. We're bringing English-speaking and Spanish-speaking people together. We're giving people an experience of hearing a play in two languages. We're giving the perspective of all these different voices who speak to Quixote, saying we need this, we need that. I hope people crave those difficult conversations about cultural understanding. "
Wow. I think it did. I hope it did. It brought people to the table of understanding in a way that us white liberal do-gooders seldom do. It celebrated a culture in a way that didn't set it apart. We all love Don Quixote and loved what he stood for. Black, white, cappucino or otherwise. We were in it for the love, and for the city, and for the community. It was really, really great.
All quotes from:
Geoff Gehman, "End of the quest: Quixotic performance project set to realize its impossible dream." Morning Call, July 3, 2005
