"Don Quixote de la Center" - by David Bareford - Quannapowitt Players (Reading, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Linda Burtt as "Alice" and Shawn Maguire as "Don" in "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" presented by The Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5, 2025. Photo Credit: Jon Sachs)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd!"
- ("Don") / David Bareford
The Quannapowitt Players
Presents David Bareford's
"DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER"
Written by David Bareford
Directed by Eric Roberts
Producer and Stage Manager Nick Gould
Cast Includes: Shawn Maguire as "Donald Quintero," Jon Nuquist as "Sam Quintero," Becky Ruccio as "Marta Kovalenko," Linda Burtt as "Alice Simms," Phyllis Uloth as "Doris," Victor Brandalise as "Eddie," Tofer Carlson as "Jimmy," Allison Rollings as "Sandy Cho," Ken Tucci as "Clark Simms," Samantha Moon as "Doctor Carrasco."
Additional Creative Team:
Designer - Chris Rose; Set Crew - Nick Gould, Ken Tucci, Tofer Carlson, Victor Brandalise, Eric Roberts, Allison Rollings, Jon Nuquist, Phyllis Uloth, Chris Rose, Glenn Wakeley, Nathan Prosperi; Properties and Set Dressing - Alison Neumann; Backstage Crew - Nathan Prosperi; Sound Design - Eric Roberts; Sound Operator - Heather Gay; Lighting Design - Richie DeJesus; Lighting Assistants - Heidi Fisher, Kathy Bedard; Lighting Operator - Nick Gould; Costume Design - Ange Florese; Hair and Makeup Design - Karen Burham; Don quixote De La Center Graphic - Jessica Mabanglo-Burgett; Production Photography - Jon Sachs; Publicity/Social Media - Donna Corbett, Angela Rossi; Program - Donna Corbett, Nick Gould.
Performances:
March 21, 2025 through April 5, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS, 55 Hopkins Street, Reading, MA. 01867-3917
TICKETS:
Contact QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS at # 781-942-2212 or email at boxoffice@qptheater.com www.qptheater.com
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COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
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(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Quannapowitt Players (QP) has transformed a nursing home into ancient Spanish trenches in a tender staging of "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER."
Written by David Bareford, the two-act play at first may seem like pure escapist fun, but in reality it is a story which comes with a sincere, heartfelt message.
A fairly new property, "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" was first staged in 2022 in Vancouver, Washington.
Now, QP has given us a chance to enjoy the story which contains no villain but plenty of conflict, mostly stemming from old age.
As the play begins, it is Halloween, 2015 and we find ourselves in the “La Center Adult Family Home” a group home for senior citizens located in the rural town of La Center, Washington.
The basic QP single set consists of an adjoining bedroom for one of the more “problematic” residents.
There is also a common area that includes a couch, dining table, and vending machine.
Director Eric Roberts has staged the QP production of "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" with a prevailing tone of compassion and sensitivity.
The scene changes are numerous, requiring some minor re-dressings, all of which are handled as expeditiously as possible, helping to keep the show fluid.
The story begins by introducing us to Don (Shawn Maguire), a retired landscaper who is now a resident suffering from dementia.
Maguire gives a tour de force performance as Don, an avid reader whose old novels with which he is absorbed are about to absorb him from reality, taking him, the staff and residents along for the ride.
The center throws a Halloween party and Don, ardently reading a copy of “Ivanhoe,” has been given an improvised “suit of armor” to wear by a benevolent young aide named Sandy (Allison Rollings).
If the “armor” looks like a baseball catcher’s chest protector and facemask both covered with scraps of tin foil…that's because it is.
The rest of Don’s “noble attire” is simply sweats and sneakers.
However, as soon as he is put into this makeshift shoddy looking “armor,” Don comes to believe that he is a knight of old (a la "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER").
Gone is his more basic contemporary way of speaking, replaced by a more eloquent (if not downright flowery) discourse saturated with a plethora of “pithy proverbs” and “inspirational quotes.”
(Photo: Allison Rollings as "Sandy" chats with Shawn Maguire as "Don" in "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" presented by The Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5, 2025. Photo Credit: Jon Sachs)
What makes the story work is Bareford’s sensitive text and Maguire’s ability to transform from the reticent Don, seemingly defeated by life, to his more “robust” alter ego, a man determined to live life filled with adventure.
Don perceives the world around him as a place where he seeks out noble quests, and where adventures abound with ghosts, giants, fair ladies and evil sorcerers.
In addition to Sandra, the staff at the center includes Jimmy (Tofer Carlson), a caregiver, Marta (Becky Ruccio) who runs the La Center Adult Family Home and Dr. Carrasco (Samantha Moon), a geriatric psychologist.
Rollings, Carlson and Ruccio spend the most time with Maguire as their characters (Editor's Note: we are not introduced to Moon's character until the second half of the second act, although Dr. Carrasco does play a major role in Don's treatment) and there is noticeable chemistry among them all in their respective scenes as the staff working with Don.
We not only learn about Don but also about everyone with whom he interacts…and touches individually on an emotional level.
(Photo: Jon Nuquist as "Sam" with Shawn Maguire as his father, "Don" in "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" presented by The Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5, 2025. Photo Credit: Jon Sachs)
As the staff fervently attempts to keep Don and the other patients happy, each tries in their own way to maintain a peaceful calm within the center.
However, there is tremendous chaos Don brings that is far too great to manage as his persona or “alter ego” becomes even more dominant.
To all of the staff, at first, Donald’s antics seem relatively harmless, even therapeutic for the other residents, which include Alice (Linda Burtt), Doris (Phyllis Uloth) and Eddie (Victor Brandalise).
Burtt, Uloth and Brandalise all give insightful portrayals, working to not perpetuate the stigma or stereotype of their characters’ respective behaviors as they contend with their own age and mental health - and very human - struggles.
One by one, Don runs to the rescue of the “dangers” facing the above residents, unexpected destructive situations as a result of his actions, but also yielding some unexpected benefits.
(Photo: Allison Rollings as "Sandy," Linda Burtt as "Alice Simms" and Ken Tucci as Alice's husband "Clark" in "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" presented by The Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5, 2025. Photo Credit: Jon Sachs)
Don’s actions begin causing inadvertent harm, including wheelchair jousts against giants (a vending machine) and battles against infidels (cardboard Thanksgiving pilgrim decorations).
All of the above becomes a major concern for Don’s son, Sam (Jon Nuquist) who wants the staff to stop "enabling" by encouraging the outrageous behavior of his father.
Nuquist gives a steadfast performance as Sam, who is also contending with a recent separation from his wife while dealing with the incidents involving his father.
During one such incident, Don convinces fellow resident (Linda Burtt) that she is his paramour “Dulcinea.”
As a result, the usually crass Alice forsakes her real identity, assumes a much more ladylike persona in “Dulcinea” and no longer recognizes her husband of 60 years, Clark (Ken Tucci).
The exchanges between Tucci and Burtt will certainly resonate with many, especially those who know of couples who, while joined at the hip for most of their married lives, seem to be meeting for the first time as strangers...daily.
(Photo: Linda Burtt as "Alice" and Shawn Maguire as "Don" in "DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" presented by The Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5, 2025. Photo Credit: Jon Sachs)
The staff must decide on the best therapy to get through to Don, even if ripping him away from the fantasy might prove catastrophic to his mental well-being in the end.
"DON QUIXOTE DE LA CENTER" continues from Quannapowitt Players in Reading, MA. through April 5th, 2025 and is one show one should make it their mission to see.
Coming up next at Quannapowitt Players will be David Lindsay Abaire's "RABBIT HOLE" beginning May 23rd, 2025.
For tickets and information, contact the Quannapowitt Players at # 781-942-2212 or email boxoffice@qptheater.com
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Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
It’s Halloween at a group home for senior citizens in the rural town of La Center, Washington.
Donald Quintero, an aging resident with dementia, is dressed in an improvised suit of armor for a Halloween party.
He embodies a knight from the olden days, seeing the world around him as a land of castles, giants, fair ladies, and evil sorcerers.
Initially, his behavior is harmless and even therapeutic for the other residents, and the staff goes along with Don’s fantasy, much to the concern of his practical-minded son, Sam.
However, Don’s delusions of knightly valor start causing unintentional harm, such as engaging in wheelchair jousts against imaginary giants and battling non-existent foes.
This leaves us pondering whether the remaining fragments of Donald Quintero’s identity are genuinely better than the fantasy of Don Quixote.
Content warnings: the play has references to dementia and loss.
ABOUT THE QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS
THE QUANNAPOWITT PLAYERS has provided quality community theater for over 85 years in a converted historic 1853 Little Red School House in the town of Reading, Massachusetts. Our delightful black-box performance space, with intimate seating for 150 patrons, has full handicap accessibility and parking.
55 Hopkins Street
Reading, MA. 01867-3917
# 781-942-2212
