Cast stranded; 'Man of La Mancha' rescheduled
By Jesse Claeys Journal staff writer
Above everything else, the show must go on.
That is unless a blizzard strands the cast of "Man of La Mancha" in a small town in Minnesota.
"The show will go on under virtually any circumstance, except when the cast isn't there," explained Gary Zabinski, director of operations Jam Theatricals, presenter of Broadway at the Orpheum series.
And so was the case Thursday as the touring production of "Man of La Mancha" attempted to make it's way to Sioux City for a 7:30 p.m. performance at the Orpheum Theatre.
The performance went as planned Wednesday night in Duluth, Minn., Zabinski said. By midnight the set had been torn down and loaded into two semi trailers. A production crew of about five people then began the more than 400-mile drive to Sioux City. The "Man of La Mancha" cast of nearly 20 people stayed behind to get a good night of sleep in a hotel and leave on a bus in the morning.
By 10 a.m. Thursday the production crew arrived in Sioux City and set construction quickly began, Zabinski said. Things were not going so smoothly for the cast.
"We kept in touch with them by cell phone all through the morning as they were on the road. They knew interstates and roads were closing and they planned an alternate route. They reached a point when it became apparent far more roads had closed than they had thought and the headwinds and blowing snow made travel unsafe. They called around 2 p.m. and said they had to stop."
The cast stopped in Jackson, Minn., a town of over 3,500 people just northeast of Spirit Lake, Iowa, and spent the night at a hotel.
Fortunately, Zabinski said, "Man of La Mancha" has already been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m., March 12. Tickets for the original performance will be honored for the new date. Those seeking refunds are asked to contact the Tyson Events Center Box Office at 712-279-4850.
"It's always tough to cancel performance, but we are very glad and grateful a new date has already been scheduled. We're also happy everyone is safe."
"Man of La Mancha" was scheduled to perform in Lincoln, Neb., Friday night, but that show was also canceled due to the weather.
