Having performed a goodly segment of this script during an ill-fated production from hell, I must say that it was quite good to have a copy of the script that was what I was looking for. Man of La Mancha is most certainly NOT the original (Don Quixote), but it doesn't need to be. If you want the original book, you may as well read it in it's original, Spanish text (as I have). Have fun with the story, it's one of the more referenced, when dealing with insanity.

Whenever I would teach "Don Quixote" I would take one class period and play the "Man of La Mancha" album for my students. Of course, "Don Quixote" is really a story told in two parts, and there are some significant differences between the first and second parts written by Miquel de Cervantes. If you have read both parts of the first great novel then I think you have an appropriate perspective for looking at the script of "Man of La Mancha" with a critical eye. The big question is whether this version by Dale Wasserman and company achieves a creative synthesis of the two parts of "Don Quixote" or whether this constitutes a totally new and different telling of the tale. There is probably enough evidence from reading the synopsis of the play and listening to the soundtrack, but having this script in hand can really facilitate your analysis. Of course, having an entire class read this script in addition to the entire novel (or a decent abridged version) is probably a bit much. But if I were to convince a teacher to use the synopsis/album as a starting point for discussion, then I would certain urge such teachers to pick up the script for their own personal reference, especially if they have never had the opportunity to see "Man of La Mancha" in performance (and this does not mean having seen the fairly wretched film version). Ironically, the framing device of "Man of La Mancha" makes the story of Don Quixote an extremely personal work to Cervantes, while the musical attempts to craft a unique version of the character and his life's story. Just be warned that becoming familiar with each version is ultimately going to require you to make a choice between the two (or three) versions.

I was introduced to Hidalgo Quixote, Knight of the Woeful Countenance in high school and was overtaken by the power of the music and the story. Two years later, I was living in Portugal. Though it wasn't Spain, I still felt the same breeze, and saw the same type of windmills that Quixote tilted in his tilted reason.

Joseph Smith once observed that, "by proving contraries, truth is made manifest," (History of the Church 6:428), and Aristotle once said that if you want to find truth, invert. Cervantes follows this pattern of putting things upside-down to show right-side-upness. He accentuates reality by taking an insane man as his lead character. The paradox, however, is that Quixote seems to be the sanest person in the story.

"The Man of La Mancha" has two advantages over its parent-text "Don Quixote." The first is that Wasserman, et al. did a marvelous job of pairing down Cervantes' two part book into a one act play. A lot of Quixote's adventures are funny parody, but it at times becomes a bit over-done. The play captures the essence of the Quixote-Idea without any gas. "Brevity is the soul of wit," as Shakespeare testified.

The second advantage is the music. "The Quest (The Impossible Dream)" is a triumph not only for Wasserman et al, but it is a triumph for humanity. So this book needs to be read with the soundtrack. The original Broadway is my favorite, since it captures the Iberian wind that blows over the story. The Peter O'Toole film is too produced and had too many sweet strings that drench out the Spanish guitars.

You know how good a work of art is by seeing how it is parodies. Quixote has been copied on "Quantum Leap," and Alf, and Jim Neighbors sung "The Quest" on Gomer Pyle. There is even a cartoon "Don Coyote and Sancho Panda." And, of course, there is the classic Mr. Magoo (Jim Baccus) version of Don Quixote.

So buy, and enjoy this play. Read along with the movie, and ponder reality through the eyes of an insane man.

This is an amazing book; I honestly wish that I would have read it long before I saw the movie. Try as I might, I still cannot help but picture Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher whenever McMurphy or Nurse Ratched were "on stage."

Much more complex than the movie, the novel works on many levels. The characters are gripping, and the psychological undertones amazing. I read this first in high school, again in college, and twice during adult life, and each time I see something new in it that I hadn't seen before. In short, it is a modern masterpiece.

The book is told from the Chief's viewpoint. Chief deeply troubled psychotic, and pulling this off is Kesey's tour-de-force. Every utterance of this schizophrenic character rings true as he moves from the "fog" of fear into the real world. Not only does this progression make the novel more interesting than the movie, it makes you question certain elements of the movie.

For instance, was Mac a savior, or simply a dangerous whacko? The movie points towards savior, but the savior interpretation is merely the interpretation of a troubled mind yearning to be free in the novel. The nurse, too, seems less intimidating when you move back from the Chief's interpretation of her. I imagine that she was more humane than his inner fears and the fog that stands between him and the world would allow him to see. Once this is understood, the characters of Mac and Big Nurse become less "cut and dried," and more real, more vital and much more ambiguous. And Kesey's true purpose seems to surface. The actual characters of Mac/ Big Nurse are not important; how they react on the Chief's psyche is.

Seen in this way, the novel traces one of Joseph Campbell's grand mythic themes: The liberation of the masculine psyche from the chaotic rubble of the mother dominated chaos (can you tell this interpretation is based on my college paper?). This journey, which Campbell describes in his "Hero With a Thousand Faces," is a man's major mission early in life. To be free, a male must liberate himself from the feminine and establish himself in the real world. Mythic literature the world over teems with this theme. A man's inability to liberate himself from this dark, restraining yet safe world is a major cause of many psychoses. Kesey has managed to bring that myth into the modern world, and the effects are just as amazing and relevant as the original myths were.

By the way, I received an "A+" on my college paper, which took the novel apart along these lines. I hope that a student here or there stumbles on this. There is ample room for exploration in this book that seems so simple on the outside, but so deep and complex the deeper you dig. This is, after all, the mark of a truly great work of art.

At the same time, don't let all this "noodling" ruin such a perfectly enjoyable book. [Noodling (v)- The cursed blessing of a liberal arts and science education. :-}]

The longing to be free is an inherent human characteristic. So is distrust of authority. Author Ken Kesey weaves both of these essential human components into his masterpiece, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

The setting of this novel is an insane asylum, darkly and fearfully portrayed by Chief Bromden, the book's narrator. For it is within the wall's of this harsh, bleak institution that Authority--coined the "Combine" by the Chief--controls, directs, and manipulates every aspect of the lives of the patients. Nurse Ratched, who controls the Chief's ward, is the ultimate authority figure--a menacing, cold, callous, larger-than-life authoritarian who will stop at nothing to make sure the "Combine" stays firmly in power. Kesey, through the Chief's narrative, creates a gloomy, hopeless world, a world where the facility's patients have nothing to look forward to except the inexorable clutches of insanity.

Into this world appears Randle Patrick McMurphy. This character isn't insane, he's simply trying to beat a work farm rap. More importantly, McMurphy is a strong, self-willed individual; instantly, the "Combine" senses a threat to its control. The story subsequently becomes a battle of wills: McMurphy's relentless defiance against Nurse Ratched and the Establishment. Granted, McMurphy achieves a series of victories, but in the end, Authority prevails. Or does it?

Kesey's allegorical tribute to the indomitable human spirit is brilliant, fascinating, and timeless. His negative social critique of authority unchecked makes ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST one of the literary masterpieces of the 20th Century, a novel most enthusiastically recommended.
--D. Mikels

Ken Kesey brings the goods with this delightful and intense masterpiece. I read it in 2 days and will never forget it! This book has the power to change your life as it has mine. You must go into the book with an open mind and be willing to read between the lines as there is much depth and symbolism within the humor and drama.

Kesey, before he began his acid road trip as detailed in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, wrote this gem which focuses on the classic struggle between conformity and individuality, between good and evil, and tests the limits of sanity and insanity. Anyone who needs a shove telling them to stand up for themselves and what they believe in despite the overwhelming invisible forces of conformist society should read this ASAP. 1st person narration from the rather unique perspective of a dillusional 6 foot 8 Columbian-Indian, Chief Bromden, or Chief Broom as the orderlies refer to him as, who pretends to be deaf and dumb, makes the read flow smoothly.

Although not for the politically correct or faint of heart, this esoteric novella enlightens and entertains throughout the whole ride and shows why it's a timeless classic. It's in my top 5 best books of all time - period. Check it out - it will leave an indelible impression.

This book includes the songs Aldonza, Dulcinea, The Impossible Dream, I Really Like Him, Knight of the Woeful Countenance, Little Bird,Little Bird, A Little Gossip, and Man of La Mancha. Includes lyrics and chord markings in addition to piano score. I believe some of the songs have been truncated for the purposes of the book.