MEET THE LEADS
Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta ’25
Cervantes / Don Quixote
“Getting to take on the role of Don Quixote … has been truly inspiring and a dream. It feels like an accumulation of four years of hard work here at school,” says Ortiz-Villacorta. “Having Henry as the director, as a professor, has been a gift,” he adds, noting that he chose Northwestern in large part because Godinez was chair of the theater department.
Isadora Coco Gonzalez ’25
Aldonza / Dulcinea
“To be one of seven graduating seniors in this show and to share this last hurrah with all of them is really special,” says Gonzalez, adding that playing Aldonza, a Hispanic character “who shares my identity, is the cherry on top.” Like her character, Gonzalez is daring to dream big. “I’ve decided that I cannot be shy about cannot be shy about what my dreams are. I want to be on Broadway.”
CUE THE MUSIC
Led by music director Andra Velis Simon, eight student musicians provided live musical accompaniment from a dressing room backstage for Man of La Mancha.
Several actors, including junior Alexa Núñez Magaña, co-president of Mariachi Northwestern, also played instruments onstage. Magaña is pictured here playing the vihuela during a dress rehearsal in the Barber Theater.
CUE THE LIGHTS
Lighting designer Sierra Walker ’25 MFA wanted to create a stark contrast between the cold, inhospitable detention center and the more dynamic, colorful world of Don Quixote.
Seventeen prop surveillance cameras hung from the ceiling of the theater to enhance the detention center atmosphere. But during the nighttime courtyard scene in Quixote’s story, the cameras lit up, mimicking starlight, and a circular vent became the moon, providing a tranquil backdrop as Ortiz-Villacorta sang “The Impossible Dream (The Quest).”
By contrast, red, pink and orange lights emphasize the fiery nature of Quixote’s love interest, Aldonza, played by Coco Gonzalez, during her song of defiance.
But each time an ICE agent disrupts the story, harsh, white industrial lights suddenly flash on from the trusses above, shocking the characters — and the audience — out of their illusory world. “When we jump from this beautiful, heightened reality back to the detention center, we feel the shift — not only on the stage but in ourselves,” says Walker, who operated 250 individual lights during the show. “There is power in every single choice you make onstage.”
ON WITH THE SHOW!
From her control table, stage manager Audrey Michael calls places for Northwestern’s production of Man of La Mancha. Michael, a senior, was responsible for ensuring that all musicians, actors and crew were in sync during performances.
With several sold-out shows and nine performances overall, the knight errant and his fellow cast of characters put on a truly memorable musical. Enjoy a slideshow of the final performance, below, including backstage shots. Congratulations to the cast and crew!
Diana Babineau is senior editor and writer for Northwestern Magazine. She enjoyed spending 6 months following this cast and crew, accompanied by digital videographer and photographer Shane Collins and video producer Jude Appleby to document this production.
