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...

This is the story of how one of the greatest books ever written, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, became one of the most successful musicals in broadway history, which of course was The Man from La Mancha by Dale Wasserman.

The year is 1579, and a solider being held in an Algerian prison, and he’s about to make his 4th, and failed, attempt to escape. And this is only one of a multitude of life mishaps that makes it very unlikely the solider even survived. And it wasn’t until the age of 58 that the solider, then prisoner, then tax collector, would write the world’s first novel.

What utterly impossible set of circumstances had to happen for this prisoner to even get out of prison, much less become one of the greatest writers of all time.

Flash forward 350 years to the mid-1960s where a playwright is looking to convert a stage play into a musical, he has an acquaintance who is a psychic, so the writer asks whether the musical will be a successful endeavor. The psychic predicts not only that it will, and will soon overwhelm the writer’s life.

Both predictions are entirely accurate.

This is a 3 part dive into Don Quixote. In part 1 we looked at the impact of the book and what made it so important. Take home points are that it is a really big deal, and it had a lot of important ideas wrapped around a really funny and accessible story.

In this part we’ll look at the star-crossed life of Cervantes, including the ominous predictions surrounding 1588, his deeply ironic relationship with the greatest playwright of his day, and try to answer the question of how someone with his life could possibly write comedy.

In part 3 we’ll ask how that narrative, 350 years later, get translated into one of the most successful musicals in broadway history?

What series of impossible and unlikely events had to happen for the world to inherit Don Quixote?

This is the story of how one of the greatest books ever written, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, became one of the most successful musicals in broadway history, which of course was The Man from La Mancha by Dale Wasserman.

The year is 1579, and a solider being held in an Algerian prison is about to make his 4th escape attempt. It will fail, and there’s a very real chance that although he’s escaped severe punishment the first 3 times, this failure could be fatal. (McKendrick 82) His foiled attempt will not result in being put to death, but will leave him utterly without hope of escape.

What utterly impossible set of circumstances had to happen for this prisoner to even get out of prison, much less become one of the greatest writers of all time?

The year is 1615, and a very conventional playwright is writing the second part of a very unconventional book. Really wanted to be a playwright, seemed almost ambivalent about being an author of books. In it he pens the phrase “My guess is that there is not a nation or language into which the book will not be translated.” This prediction will prove to be entirely true.

What about this book is so compelling that it makes its own equivocal author an accurate prophet, beyond his own wildest dreams?

The time frame is now the mid-1960s a playwright is looking to convert a stage play into a musical, and he’s having a meal at small restaurant where the cook is also the sole proprietor and the menu has one item. The cook is also a psychic, so the writer asks whether the musical will be a successful endeavor. The psychic predicts not only that it will, and will soon overwhelm the writer’s life.

Both predictions are entirely accurate.

Not only are these 3 events connected, but they are connected by a straight line and by the exact same narrative.

In this 3-episode series I pursue the history Don Quixote, and episode 1.1 starts with the book -- how did it get written, what's it about, and why has it become such a class? Episode 1.2 will explore the life of the author, MIguel de Cervantes, and episode 1.3 will get to how the author and the story got woven into a musical.