Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com:
Brian Stokes Mitchell belongs to a rarefied species: a male lead who can steal scenes from his female counterparts in a Broadway musical. As if his impossibly rich and evocative voice weren't enough, Mitchell is a charismatic actor who inhabits his roles with panache. After turns in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime, and Kiss Me, Kate, he is back in the popular 1965 show about Cervantes and his fictional alter ego, Don Quixote. The show has become a bit creaky over the years. The revival probably wouldn't have a chance without Mitchell, and he does turn in a spectacular performance. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's Aldonza feels a bit forced--compare the smooth way in which Mitchell's songs flow with her sometimes choppy delivery--but she also possesses a welcome old-timey quality, never more so than in "What Does He Want from Me?" As for "The Impossible Dream (The Quest)," well, Mitchell injects something that feels emotionally fresh into the chestnut. And that may be the greatest achievement of all. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Rating : - Best version but
This is the best recording of this score; the cast sings and acts the material as well as it can be done. Two caveats - the sentimentality is shied away from, which has its rewards but results in a performance that is a bit dry. The recording is bit dry as well. It does take the curse off the cuteness of some of the songs, but it also erases some of the humor. A bit of earnest in a musical goes a long way. It should be possible to create a production with all of the above. Mitchell is amazing, as he usually is. He and Brent Barrett are the Alfred Drakes of this era, able to sing and act with a brain working behind the voice and the heart. The orchestrations evoke the Spanish sources with simplicity. But a bit of the drama and heart is lost, at least on the recording. You never have any doubt where it's going; and even with - especially with - a tale told many times it's the duty of the production to recreate the drama, not cede that you've heard it all before. But no production could ever give depth to the lyrics, which are as simple and lacking shade as nursery rhymes.