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Joffrey creates enthralling, magical world premiere

(Catey Sullivan, Chicago Theater Beat)  Those looking for a strict interpretation of Don Miguel de Cervantes’ densely plotted, two-volume classic might be disappointed with the Joffrey Ballet’s take on the 16th-century saga of Don Quixote. In choreographer Yuri Possakhov’s world premiere, the darker elements of the story have been largely excised – there is no Spanish inquisition, Aldonza is not a whore, and the title character doesn’t declare chivalry dead with his final breaths.

And if, by some slim chance, you’re expecting a pas de deux to the strains of “The Impossible Dream,” this isn’t that show. Ludwig Minkus’ elaborate score may not be as well known as Broadway’s Man of La Mancha, but it should be. Under the baton of music director Scott Speck, the Joffrey’s orchestra creates a soundscape that is rich and stirring, a vibrant musical mood-ring that keeps the emotional tone of the tale ever-changing in a hundred fresh and subtle ways