Making Theater Magic

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 — costume 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.

Josie Everett stands before a table scattered with fabrics. She is looking down at a piece of fabric she’s holding in her hands. Beside her is a pink skirt draped on a mannequin.

“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.

(Left) A Inn Doo points at a tiny dolly model within her ¼-inch scale model of the Barber Theater. (Right) A Inn Doo holds a miniature shopping cart between her index finger and thumb above a ¼-inch scale of the Barber Theater.

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.

Doo sits in a large wooden box in the Wirtz Center’s scenic design shop, looking up at the ceiling.

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.

Onstage, Cervantes and his friend hold either end of a large wooden chest as they prepare to step into the back of what appears to be a truck. Other detainees look on from the sidelines.

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 historical context about the Spanish Inquisition.

Phoenix Gonzalez, a PhD student specializing in medieval and early modern drama, served as dramaturg, providing context about the Spanish Inquisition.

Three students sit together in the block box theater with scripts on their laps.

Gonzalez asked the actors to develop origin stories for their characters, to help them connect more deeply with their roles.

Actors stand in a black box theater blocking out a scene using props. A person in a white top and blue jeans holds a sword, body tilted toward the camera. A laundry basket is on the ground in front of them. A person in a striped sweater and blue jeans gestures toward the actor with the sword, holding a script in their other hand. Another actor stands in the back holding a script, while two additional people watch.

While the set was under construction, students used makeshift props to block out each scene. Junior Grace Morley, left, played the Governor.

A three-ring binder is propped up on a piano’s music stand. It shows the musical score for the Prison Scene of Man of La Mancha, along with scribbled notes.

Led by music director Andra Velis Simon, students memorized song lyrics and warmed up their voices.

Two actors stand on stage in the Barber Theater. One points a wooden sword at the other, who wears a helmet and carries an accordion.

After a few weeks, rehearsals moved into the Barber Theater. Nicholas Portella ’25, right, played the accordion for his role as the Barber.

Audrey Michael sits at a table in the audience seating area of the Barber Theater, facing away from the camera. Henry Godinez is a few rows below her, gesturing with his hands.

Stage manager Audrey Michael, a senior, ensured all musicians, actors and crew were in sync. Here, she chatted with Godinez from her control table.

From left, Veronica Bazan Garrubbo '25, junior Mackenzie Kirkwood and Anne-Sophie Lacombe Garcia '25, practice their roles as Antonia, Padre and the housekeeper, respectively.

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 Coco Gonzalez sits on stage dressed as Aldonza. On either side of her are actors wearing horse head costumes.

“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 Nathan Hiykel stands on stage dressed as Sancho Panza.Nathan Hiykel stands on stage dressed as 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.”

(Left) Sierra Walker wears a purple Northwestern sweatshirt while operating her lightboard from the seating area in the Barber Theater. (Right) An actor in a dress stands with their back to the audience, facing Don Quixote. Above them, cameras light up, mimicking starlight.

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).”

Coco Gonzalez stands on stage, gesturing toward the audience with her hands while singing. There are tables and other actors on either side of her. 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.
A wide shot of the Barber Theater during a final performance of Man of La Mancha. The stage is lit with industrial white lights while people in army uniforms check the detainees’ wrists for bracelets. Nearly every seat in the audience is filled.

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!

Henry Godinez stands with his back to the camera, overlooking the audience in the Barber Theater.

Director Henry Godinez looks out over the crowd, just before the first show begins, wearing a sweatshirt signed by the entire cast.

A woman strums a vihuela while sitting on a shelf that has been repurposed as a bunk bed. Her eyes are closed while she sings.

Alexa Núñez Magaña, a junior and co-president of Mariachi Northwestern, plays the vihuela onstage to open the show.

Don Quixote pushes a grocery cart on stage. Inside the cart is an actor wearing a horse head.

Don Quixote (Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta ’25) sings “I, Don Quixote” while pushing a grocery cart, aka, his noble steed (junior Yehuda Zilberstein).

Don Quixote holds a lance on stage and runs forward while Sancho looks on. The audience watches the scene from the seating area in the Barber Theater.

Don Quixote (Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta ’25) charges forward with his lance to attack a windmill (ceiling fan), while Sancho looks on.

Aldonza sings while surrounded by five muleteers. In the background are folding tables with plates on them.

Aldonza (Coco Gonzalez ’25) sings “It’s All the Same,” surrounded by hungry Muleteers in the inn.

Sancho sings on stage. He holds his right arm up high while his left hand holds a piece of paper.

Sancho (Nathan Hiykel ’25) delivers a missive from Quixote to Aldonza.

Sancho sits on a folding table, looking upward wistfully, while Aldonza sits on a chair at the table, looking at him with a concerned face.

Sancho sings “I Really Like Him,” a crowd-pleaser.

Carrasco points his finger at Padre while speaking to him.

Carrasco (Theo Gyra ’25), left, who is engaged to be married to Quixote’s niece, consults Padre (sophomore Mackenzie Kirkwood) about Quixote’s sanity.

Two women in costumes kneel on either side of a dolly, with their hands clasped in prayer. On the dolly, a person dressed as a friar clasps his hands in prayer.

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.”

A woman dressed as a housekeeper kneels beside a dolly with her hands pressed together in prayer while she sings.

Anne-Sophie Lacombe Garcia ’25, playing the housekeeper, sings alongside Padre and Antonia.

Aldonza stands alone on stage singing. Audience members are visible in the background.

Aldonza sings “What Does He Want of Me?”

Don Quixote points a sword at the Barber, who wears a wash basic as a hat and is holding an accordion.

Quixote demands that the Barber (Nicholas Portella ’25) hand over his hat, which Quixote believes is the magical Golden Helmet of Mambrino.

Don Quixote, Sancho and Aldonza sit on the ground together. Quixote and Sancho appear shocked. Aldonza smiles.

After fighting off a band of muleteers in defense of Aldonza, Quixote takes a breather.

Sancho, Quixote and Aldonza stand on stage together singing.

The dynamic trio sing a rendition of “I, Don Quixote.”

The actors stand together on stage, some raising a fist, some holding flags from different countries.

In the very last scene, actors hold up national flags representing their ethnic backgrounds as they receive a standing ovation.

Sancho carries Quixote in his arms in one of the dressing rooms.

Backstage, students bond with one another and share laughs.

Theo Gyra and Mackenzie Kirkwood pose in costume for a picture in one of the dressing rooms backstage.

Theo Gyra and Mackenzie Kirkwood pose for a picture.

Coco Gonzalez and Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta hug each other in a dressing room backstage.

Coco Gonzalez and Esteban Ortiz-Villacorta pose for a picture.

Three people dressed in black and wearing headsets pose for a picture in a dressing room.

Stage manager Audrey Michael, center, poses for a photo with assistant stage managers Julia Marshall, left, and Zoe Davis, right.

A group of musicians pose for a picture with their instruments in a dressing room.

Student musicians provided live musical accompaniment for each performance from a dressing room backstage.

A wide shot of the Barber Theater, packed with audience members watching the play.

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.

Reader Responses

I was so inspired by the article and video “Theater in the Making” that took us behind the scenes of last spring’s production of Man of La Mancha.
This kind of work is what makes Northwesern stand out as an incubator for the arts and a comprehensive place of learning. As theater department chair Henry Godinez said, “They don’t come here just to be an actor. They come to become outstanding human beings. That’s what the world needs.”
For all of us who missed the chance to see this production, the article was a wonderful reminder of the importance of theater and dreaming dreams that aren’t just possible, they change people’s lives.

—Jane Kelley '76, Mequon, Wis. , via Northwestern Magazine
Diana Babineau’s fascinating story about the recent production of "Man of La Mancha" at Northwestern brought back memories of the 1972 Dolphin Show production of that classic. A fraternity brother recruited me to help build the set for the show and then to work backstage during performances. Two other fraternity brothers were part of the cast, including John Reeger '72, who went on to be a mainstay of Chicago regional theater, as Don Quixote and Fred Applegate '77, who has frequently appeared on television and on Broadway, as the Barber. Although I didn’t continue with theater at Northwestern, being part of that production was a great experience.

As brilliant as the musical is, it sounds as though the recent production, set in an ICE detention center, went far beyond its original message to raise critical questions about troubling contemporary issues. I wish I could have seen the show, and I applaud Professor Godinez, the cast and crew for expanding the meaning of this masterwork.

—Clifford Garstang '75, Staunton, Va.
I was moved to tears by Northwestern’s production of "Man of La Mancha" when I saw it live. The reinvention of the story to reflect the detention of immigrants in America in 2025 — Cervantes and his fellow prisoners transformed to modern-day cast outs — was astute and sobering, and the performances lovely and illuminating. Without straining the play that is so well-known and beloved, Henry Godinez and his staff and cast gave viewers a reason to look inward and ask if history is repeating itself and if we’re the villains this time.
The “making of” documentary about the production that was created for Northwestern Magazine brought the production to life for me again. And the coda to the piece, when the cast unfurled the flags of their native countries, was a tribute to the diversity of the Northwestern community.
Bravo to everyone involved.

—Peggy Walter '82, Washington, D.C., via Northwestern Magazine
I recently read the article "Making Theater Magic" in the fall issue of Northwestern Magazine. I was fascinated and so very impressed by the depth of the article. Henry Godinez is a brilliant director (and actor who played Quixote himself at Writers Theatre in 2017). The interviews with undergraduate student actors and graduate student designers in the article and documentary were captivating. My only regret is that I somehow missed seeing what surely was a fantastic production. Setting it in an ICE detention center was brilliant and looked to be very moving. The flags at the end made me weepy.
This article made me proud to be a graduate of Northwestern, even if I wasn’t in theater. And it also made feel fortunate to be a part of the vibrant Chicago-area theater community. Thanks, Henry!

—Nancy McDaniel '69, Chicago, via Northwestern Magazine
Will this travel to NYC? Please? Thanks!

—Claudio Barbosa '89 MBA, New York City
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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