Follow the cast and crew of Man of La Mancha as they create an unforgettable experience.
By Diana Babineau
Image: All Photography by Shane Collins
There’s no shortage of imagination at Northwestern. Students pursue music, literature, dance, visual arts and more, creating a robust artistic environment with many avenues for expression. For theater department chair Henry Godinez, though, the magic happens when all those artistic disciplines come together to realize one vision: a theatrical performance. Last December he gathered a team of students and staff and read from the script of the famous 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha:
When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. … And maddest of all, to see life as it is, and not as it should be.
With these lines, Godinez kicked off the first design meeting for the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts’ production of Man of La Mancha. Students would go on to build a set from scratch; design unique costumes, props and lighting rigs; and rehearse for hours on end to make this dream a reality.
One of the world’s most frequently staged musicals, Man of La Mancha is set in a prison in late 16th-century Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. When Miguel de Cervantes, author of the seminal novel Don Quixote, and his trusty sidekick are imprisoned there, they convince their fellow prisoners to participate in a theatrical retelling of the novel. Cervantes becomes Don Quixote, knight errant, and his friend, the devoted squire Sancho Panza. It is a “play within a play,” Godinez explains.
But Northwestern’s production had a timely twist. Directed by Godinez, the Carlos Montezuma Professor in the School of Communication, the play was set not in a Spanish prison but in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center on the U.S.-Mexico border, where prisoners await deportation. The idea, says Godinez, came from his daughter Gaby Godinez ’21, who had planned to produce the play during her senior year at Northwestern. (The COVID-19 pandemic indefinitely postponed those plans.)
The show, which ran at Northwestern’s Ethel M. Barber Theater this spring, was just one of 40-plus productions during the Wirtz Center’s 2024–25 season. With myriad opportunities to gain professional-level experience onstage and behind the scenes, students are empowered to take leading roles where they can experiment and find their artistic voices. And when the lights go down, the magic begins.
“Theater gets right to the core of who we are as human beings,” says Godinez. “It has the power to make us think. But more importantly, it has the power to make us feel. And right now, we … need to know what it feels like … to be human. We all have so many more things in common than things that divide us. That’s why we need theater right now.”
Inside the Costume Shop
Inspired by the play’s reimagined setting — at the U.S.-Mexico border — costumer designer Josie Everett ’25 MFA incorporated Mexican textiles into her costumes, along with elements from El Teatro Campesino (a Latino theater company founded in 1965 in California, the same year Man of La Mancha debuted at the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut). She sourced fabrics from local thrift shops and the Wirtz Center’s extensive collection of materials.
Costumes play an important role in the story, says Everett. When Cervantes enters the detention center, he brings along a chest full of costumes and props and introduces himself as a “poet.” Director Henry Godinez also notes that Cervantes was a playwright and a contemporary of Shakespeare.
“A lot of the costumes from Cervantes’ chest are inspired by late 16th-century and early 17th-century Spanish silhouettes,” says costume designer Josie Everett.
DESIGNING THE SET
Scenic designer A Inn Doo, a third-year MFA student, wanted the set for this production to “metaphorically tell the relationship of the United States to immigrants — where they import people as needed and then throw them away like commodities,” she says. Doo researched photographs of defunct box stores that have been repurposed as detention centers along the U.S.-Mexico border, then incorporated those elements into her set design.
Doo created this 1/4-inch scale model of the Barber Theater to map out her vision, complete with tiny props.
Doo worked with staff and students to construct the set, using the Wirtz Center’s paint and scenic design shops. She came up with clever modifications to adapt the play to its modern-day setting. In the show’s final scene, for example, Cervantes and his friend are loaded into the back of a truck to be deported — but a real truck would not fit inside the Barber Theater. So Doo got creative.
With limited space backstage, Doo designed this large wooden box with a metal frame and black interior to create the illusion of a truck extending far into the distance.
Sound effects, a garage door and red brake lights completed the illusion in the final production.
Doo’s set design was intentionally bleak, to convey the hopelessness of the detention center environment. But the atmosphere changes when Cervantes invites his fellow detainees — and, by extension, the audience — to imagine the vibrant world of Don Quixote. As they act out Quixote’s story, grocery carts become noble steeds, an industrial ceiling fan becomes a windmill, and a dolly becomes a confessional booth. “Imagination is the only thing that people cannot take away from us,” says Doo.
FIRST REHEARSAL
Director Henry Godinez cast 20 undergraduate student actors, who put in over 160 hours of rehearsal time from February through April. While the set was under construction, students practiced their roles in one of the Wirtz Center’s black box theaters. Scroll for an inside look at the rehearsals.
During the first rehearsal, Godinez spoke to the cast about the importance of the play’s modern-day setting in a detention center.
Phoenix Gonzalez, a PhD student specializing in medieval and early modern drama, served as dramaturg, providing context about the Spanish Inquisition.
Gonzalez asked the actors to develop origin stories for their characters, to help them connect more deeply with their roles.
While the set was under construction, students used makeshift props to block out each scene. Junior Grace Morley, left, played the Governor.
Led by music director Andra Velis Simon, students memorized song lyrics and warmed up their voices.
After a few weeks, rehearsals moved into the Barber Theater. Nicholas Portella ’25, right, played the accordion for his role as the Barber.
Stage manager Audrey Michael, a senior, ensured all musicians, actors and crew were in sync. Here, she chatted with Godinez from her control table.
Veronica Bazan Garrubbo ’25, junior Mackenzie Kirkwood and Anne-Sophie Lacombe Garcia ’25 practiced their roles as Antonia, Padre and the housekeeper.
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 Esteban 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 Coco 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 what my dreams are. I want to be on Broadway.”
Nathan Hiykel ’25 Sancho Panza
“Playing Sancho … was a turning point for me as an artist,” says Nathan Hiykel. “In the midst of a tumultuous period in current affairs, this production gave me a way to breathe and make an impact through storytelling. … I felt immense pride knowing we were doing something meaningful.”
CUE THE LIGHTS
Lighting designer Sierra Walker ’25 MFA wanted to create a stark contrast between the dynamic, colorful world of Don Quixote and the cold, inhospitable detention center. “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.”
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 emphasized the fiery nature of Quixote’s love interest, Aldonza, played by Coco Gonzalez, during her song of defiance.
Each time an ICE agent disrupted the story, harsh, white industrial lights suddenly flashed on from the trusses above, shocking the characters — and the audience — out of their illusory world.
ON WITH THE SHOW
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. For the full cast list and notes from dramaturg Phoenix Gonzalez and director Henry Godinez, check out the Man of La Mancha program. Congratulations to the cast and crew!
Director Henry Godinez looks out over the crowd, just before the first show begins, wearing a sweatshirt signed by the entire cast.
Alexa Núñez Magaña, a junior and co-president of Mariachi Northwestern, plays the vihuela onstage to open the show.
Don Quixote (Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta ’25) sings “I, Don Quixote” while pushing a grocery cart, aka, his noble steed (junior Yehuda Zilberstein).
Don Quixote (Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta ’25) charges forward with his lance to attack a windmill (ceiling fan), while Sancho looks on.
Aldonza (Coco Gonzalez ’25) sings “It’s All the Same,” surrounded by hungry Muleteers in the inn.
Sancho (Nathan Hiykel ’25) delivers a missive from Quixote to Aldonza.
Sancho sings “I Really Like Him,” a crowd-pleaser.
Carrasco (Theo Gyra ’25), left, who is engaged to be married to Quixote’s niece, consults Padre (sophomore Mackenzie Kirkwood) about Quixote’s sanity.
Quixote’s niece, Antonia (Veronica Bazan Garrubbo ’25), left, and her housekeeper, right, confide in Padre as they sing “I’m Only Thinking of Him.”
Anne-Sophie Lacombe Garcia ’25, playing the housekeeper, sings alongside Padre and Antonia.
Aldonza sings “What Does He Want of Me?”
Quixote demands that the Barber (Nicholas Portella ’25) hand over his hat, which Quixote believes is the magical Golden Helmet of Mambrino.
After fighting off a band of muleteers in defense of Aldonza, Quixote takes a breather.
The dynamic trio sing a rendition of “I, Don Quixote.”
In the very last scene, actors hold up national flags representing their ethnic backgrounds as they receive a standing ovation.
Backstage, students bond with one another and share laughs.
Theo Gyra and Mackenzie Kirkwood pose for a picture.
Coco Gonzalez and Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta pose for a picture.
Stage manager Audrey Michael, center, poses for a photo with assistant stage managers Julia Marshall, left, and Zoe Davis, right.
Student musicians provided live musical accompaniment for each performance from a dressing room backstage.
Performances were sold out. 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.
—Jenny O'Grady
Baltimore, Md.,
via Northwestern Magazine
Amazing production. Makes me proud again to have gone to Northwestern! Perfect for this time in our lives. The finale when the cast pulled out their flags was emotional. Thank you all.
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Reader Responses
Beautiful piece!! Wow!
—Jenny O'Grady Baltimore, Md., via Northwestern Magazine
Amazing production. Makes me proud again to have gone to Northwestern! Perfect for this time in our lives. The finale when the cast pulled out their flags was emotional. Thank you all.
—John Baumrucker '66, United States
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