Costume Design
Man of La Mancha
by
Dale Wasserman, Joe Darion
and Mitch Leigh
University of North Carolina
School of the Arts
Graduate Costume Design
Cervantes and his Manservant as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
Cervantes
Quixote's Horse and Sancho's Mule
Halter-cut leather vests transition to harnesses as two prisoners become Quixote's horse and Sancho's mule.
I had used crown masks in a children's theatre production of the play, allowing the children's faces to be seen when their heads were lifted.
Prisoner #10 becomes Maria, the InnKeeper's Wife
Inspiration
The concept for Maria was inspired by The Old Peasant Woman by Giacomo Ceruti
Sketch and Swatch
Final Rendering
Prisoner #15 becomes Aldonza
Aldonza, the strumpet of the inn, (costumed in peelable layers) becomes the pure and virginal Dulcinea in Quixote's eyes.
Her fiery orange and rose palette is exclusionary with bits of cerulean that tie her to the world of the inn.
Prisoner #17 becomes the Barber
As other characters with competing agendas take sides, the palette for
the Barber reflects his neutrality.
The Knight of the Mirrors and his Attendants
The Knight of the Mirrors and his attendants, in icy grays and blacks, razor sharp emblems, and pointed armor, destroy Quixote's fantasy by forcing him to see the reality of his life, "in black and white."
The palette returns full circle to the that of Cervantes captors from the beginning of the play.
