Aug 27 2024 51 mins
In the early 1970s and a writer for plays, movies, and television is holed up in Palm Springs at one of the most unusual restaurants in operation. There was a sole proprietor, the menu has one dish, and there is no advertising or tourists because there are only 4 tables. The topic of conversation is whether to turn a stage play into a musical, and the server, cook, owner, and sole employee is also a psychic.
The cook is consulted about the project and predicts: “It will be extremely successful,” she says, “In fact, it will overwhelm your life.”
Two years later, in 1972 the production would open as a musical.
The playwright was Dale Wasserman, the project was converting The Man From La Mancha into a musical, and it would go on to play over 2,000 shows
There was something mystical afoot: “Facts cannot explain the success of the Man from La Mancha. Something more was at work…”
Part 1 looked at the significance of the book Don Quixote. Part 2 looked at the life of Miguel de Cervantes. This episode, part 3, looks at how the book was converted into a musical that went on to be one of the most successful musical theater productions ever. And the crazy coincidences that were necessary to bring it about...