The picaresque tale of eccentric Don Quixote and his manservant Sancho Panza gets a dual- layered treatment, depicting not only the adventures of its leading characters but also examining the life and philosophy of its author Cervantes, during a time period when the writer is imprisoned for acts against the church. Man of La Mancha was a surprising Broadway hit in 1965, due primarily to its leading character’s idealistic habit of seeing life and people in their best possible light, and also due to the enduring popularity of its signature song “The Impossible Dream.”