“Circus Quixote” Clowns Around With Chivalry and Cervantes

“Circus Quixote,” a stage adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes’ opus, “El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha,” bends the 400-year-old novel on its back — literally.

Directed by David and Kerry Catlin, “Circus Quixote” is a reimagining of the Spanish classic, full of acrobatic actors, slapstick scenes and gut-busting gags. The show debuted Feb. 11 at Lookingglass Theatre Company’s Joan & Paul Theater at Water Tower Water Works — just a block east from Loyola’s Water Tower Campus at 163 E. Pearson St. 

The original epic tells the story of Alonso Quijano, a middle-aged man who reads so many books about chivalrous knights he believes himself to be one — Don Quixote. Throughout the two-part novel, Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza travel across Spain, causing chaos wherever they go, in the name of Don Quixote’s princess lover Dulcinea — who’s actually a farmhand.

The Joan & Paul Theatre is transformed into La Mancha, Spain, with the set being made completely out of stacked books. A large wooden rocking chair sits on ground level, flanked by strewn books and towered over by the life-sized blades of a windmill. 

Characters traverse the entire theater, sliding down poles, jumping into trapdoors and breaking through walls. One spectacle sees Don Quixote climb to the balcony, run across it and jump down to attack a herd of sheep — mistaken for an angry mob — below.

The show opens with Cervantes, played by Eddie Martinez, explaining he’s writing a story about a man amid a mid-life crisis, who turns to heroic stories about knights for comfort. Cervantes’ summary is disrupted by the titular character himself, played by Michel Rodriguez Cintra.

Cintra plays the character more comically than the source material. Rather than being a misguided, yet well-meaning man, he portrays Don Quixote as a klutzy fool, fitting with the show’s sheer absurdness. 

Laura Murillo Hart shines as Dulcinea — Don Quixote’s love interest. Throughout the show, Hart touts her acrobatic and aria skills, at some point even singing. Her first entrance sees her intertwined in a hoop, being lifted above the set, all while her haunting vocals add mythicism to her character.

The Catlins, along with circus and movement choreographer Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi, walk a tightrope, crafting slapstick that was Three Stooges-esque, yet not overly violent. Teeth spewing in punch-outs, slap fights and a full-fledged pillow fight all contribute to the brutal yet cartoonish nature of the show.

The stage stunts were complemented by vibrant lighting and sound design, turning the theater from the bright, sunny outdoors to a dark, eerie cave in a matter of seconds.

“Circus Quixote” features a myriad of antics, including mimed scenes, a life-sized puppet show and a final fight fought from free-hanging — and swinging — poles, resulting in a deathly dangling duel.

Apart from a few plot points derived from the book, much of the narrative is unique to the stage adaptation.

Don Quixote’s trusty horse Rocinante is replaced with his rocking chair, which he rides like a madman. This substitution solves both a logistical nightmare and adds to the show’s overt silliness.

However, not all artistic changes benefit the show. An aerial silk dance duet — while an impressive feat of strength and coordination — drags on for too long, seemingly prioritizing showing off over proper pacing. 

The addition of an underdeveloped romance between two added side characters feels lazily tacked on, with little romantic progression between the two. Their relationship is only explored in the bookends of the show, while abandoned for the majority of the runtime.

Fortunately, these missteps are only minor flaws in an otherwise magnificent production.

“Circus Quixote” is a refreshing interpretation of the Spanish Golden Age novel — one which not only doesn’t take itself too seriously but also juggles both theater and circus, creating a quixotic, hilarious show like no other.

“Circus Quixote” is now playing at the Joan & Paul Theatre inside the Water Tower Water Works building. The show plays Tuesday to Sunday at 7 p.m., with additional 1:30 p.m. performances on Thursdays and Saturdays, through March 30.