Creatively staged musical produced by Fuller’s Brehm Center draws sellout crowds
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04/29/09
The Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts of Fuller Seminary sponsored an overwhelmingly successful production of the musical Man of La Mancha over the last weekend in April, drawing sellout audiences at each of four performances in La Canada and Laguna Beach. The play, innovatively reimagined and staged by professional theater director, playwright, and Fuller student Valerie Mayhew, was performed over three days at the Worship, Music and Arts Theater at La Canada Presbyterian Church, with a fourth and final performance at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach.
The production involved members of the Fuller community both on stage and in support roles, and was a first-time theater production effort for the Brehm Center. “This is a great new beginning for the Brehm Center’s dramatic institute,” says Brehm Center Executive Director Fred Davison. “Spontaneous applause, ready tears, standing ovation, and impassioned lobby conversations evidenced audience transformation,” writes filmmaker Lauralee Farrer in her review of the performance.
One of the most enduring works of musical theater, Man of La Mancha tells the story of "mad" knight Don Quixote as a play within a play, performed by playwright Miguel de Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition.
For a full review of the Brehm Center production, click here.