--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not exactly what the world was looking…" description: "\"Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school.\" — Mitch Leigh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/812/mitch-leigh-27194_don-quixote_not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-f_34347.jpg" --- # Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on… ![“Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school.” quote by Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/812/mitch-leigh-27194_don-quixote_not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-f_34347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/812/mitch-leigh-27194_don-quixote_not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-f_34347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/812/mitch-leigh-27194_don-quixote_not-exactly-what-the-world-was-looking-f_34347.jpg) > “Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' It was required reading in high school.” [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The work is a misaligned adaptation, offering a musical take on Don Quixote that fails to meet audience expectations, yet it becomes a staple in education. **In simple terms:** A poorly received musical that ends up in curricula. Key Takeaway Even flawed art can gain institutional value. Themes adaptation misalignment cultural reception education literary reinterpretation Mood ironic reflective critical Type observation analysis When to use this quote - school literature classes - theatre studies - cultural criticism Key Concepts musical theatre Don Quixote high school curricula Practical Applications - teaching adaptation challenges - examining canon formation Questions to Reflect On - Why do schools retain works that audiences dislike? - What does this say about cultural authority? A Different Perspective Some argue its inclusion perpetuates low standards, but it also sparks critical analysis of adaptation fidelity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Quixote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quixote/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Inside every Sancho Panza there's a Don Quixote struggling to get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/inside-every-sancho-panza-there-s-a-don-quixote-struggling-to-get-out/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I don't despise 'Don Quixote,' but it is a book I don't... get. I'll have to come back it. Maybe there'll be a gateway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-don-t-despise-don-quixote-but-it-is-a-book-i-don-t-get-i-ll-have-to/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single handed, he is trying to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-don-quixote-is-the-most-metal-fictional/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [“Quixote shines from Lorca and Picasso, From Dalí and El Greco, From the gloomy 'View of Toledo.' He was born before Cervantes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/quixote-shines-from-lorca-and-picasso-from-dal-and-el-greco-from-the/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [I'm not interested in being Don Quixote. I'm interested in running the City of New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-albanese/i-m-not-interested-in-being-don-quixote-i-m-interested-in-running-the/) [Sal Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-albanese/) > [“Those in Argentina, Mexico and Peru, Colombia and the Caribbean Bear La Mancha and Quixote in their hearts For he is an ultimate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/those-in-argentina-mexico-and-peru-colombia-and-the-caribbean-bear-la/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [If you read novels of the 19th century, they're pretty experimental. They take lots of chances; they seem to break a lot of rules.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/if-you-read-novels-of-the-19th-century-they-re-pretty-experimental/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [A 'Looking' musical would completely bring me back to Broadway. I would come back in a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/a-looking-musical-would-completely-bring-me-back-to-broadway-i-would/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [The only thing that everyone needs to look out for is keeping the students reading through high school and thereafter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/the-only-thing-that-everyone-needs-to-look-out-for-is-keeping-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Responding to the claim that not just reading but "high culture" in general is morally improving, Terry Eagleton points out that, during World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/responding-to-the-claim-that-not-just-reading-but-high-culture-in/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“In the whole world there is no deeper, no mightier literary work. This is, so far, the last and greatest expression of human thought...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky/in-the-whole-world-there-is-no-deeper-no-mightier-literary-work-this/) [Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky/) > [“Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reading-made-don-quixote-a-gentleman-believing-what-he-read-made-him/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [The greatest part of mankind labor under one delirium or another; and Don Quixote differed from the rest, not in madness, but the species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/the-greatest-part-of-mankind-labor-under-one-delirium-or-another-and/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) ## More by Mitch Leigh > [The old joke was Mitch Leigh, land baron, barren land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/the-old-joke-was-mitch-leigh-land-baron-barren-land/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [When you think of Mitch Leigh as a businessman, remember he's also a composer. And when you think of Mitch Leigh as a composer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/when-you-think-of-mitch-leigh-as-a-businessman-remember-he-s-also-a/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [If one wants to go on living, one must evolve. Before, when we composed, we would start by a series of music themes. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/if-one-wants-to-go-on-living-one-must-evolve-before-when-we-composed/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [You can't make money on advertising; you just have to seed the clouds. What you're after is word of mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/you-can-t-make-money-on-advertising-you-just-have-to-seed-the-clouds/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [It's still word of mouth that is going to make or break a show, and while critics can't help a show, they can hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/it-s-still-word-of-mouth-that-is-going-to-make-or-break-a-show-and/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [My advice to singers is always the same: 'Don't sing the song, sing the lyric.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/my-advice-to-singers-is-always-the-same-don-t-sing-the-song-sing-the/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [When I left Yale, I was prepared to write anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/when-i-left-yale-i-was-prepared-to-write-anything/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I applied to Yale, and I got in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/i-applied-to-yale-and-i-got-in/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I grew up in Brownsville; most of the kids I grew up with went to jail, not Yale. If they had heard of Yale,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/i-grew-up-in-brownsville-most-of-the-kids-i-grew-up-with-went-to-jail/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I was in the army, and I had given up the thought of being a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/i-was-in-the-army-and-i-had-given-up-the-thought-of-being-a-composer/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [You have to do what is real and what is right and what is good and what you believe in. It doesn't mean it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/you-have-to-do-what-is-real-and-what-is-right-and-what-is-good-and/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [There's more musical freedom on Madison Avenue than anywhere else. It's an Eden for a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/there-s-more-musical-freedom-on-madison-avenue-than-anywhere-else-it/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [If I do what I really want to do, I'm not going to do a typical commercial Broadway show, so I'm going to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/if-i-do-what-i-really-want-to-do-i-m-not-going-to-do-a-typical/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [I think if you see that no one is going to laugh at you for it, I think the concept of living nicely will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/i-think-if-you-see-that-no-one-is-going-to-laugh-at-you-for-it-i/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) > [If you're not a nice person, don't call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-leigh/if-you-re-not-a-nice-person-don-t-call/) [Mitch Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) [Explore all 21 Mitch Leigh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-leigh/) ## More Don quixote quotes > [The greatest part of mankind labor under one delirium or another; and Don Quixote differed from the rest, not in madness, but the species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/the-greatest-part-of-mankind-labor-under-one-delirium-or-another-and/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/don-quixote-followed-nature-and-being-satisfied-with-his-first-sleep/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [I think a fictional invention grows according to its own development, not the author's. Characters in fiction are not simply as alive as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-think-a-fictional-invention-grows-according-to-its-own-development/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I don't despise 'Don Quixote,' but it is a book I don't... get. I'll have to come back it. Maybe there'll be a gateway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-don-t-despise-don-quixote-but-it-is-a-book-i-don-t-get-i-ll-have-to/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [As far as I am concerned, Don Quixote is the most metal fictional character that I know. Single handed, he is trying to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-don-quixote-is-the-most-metal-fictional/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [“Reading made Don Quixote a gentleman. Believing what he read made him mad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/reading-made-don-quixote-a-gentleman-believing-what-he-read-made-him/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I'm not interested in being Don Quixote. I'm interested in running the City of New York.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-albanese/i-m-not-interested-in-being-don-quixote-i-m-interested-in-running-the/) [Sal Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-albanese/) > [“A novel does not assert anything, a novel poses questions... The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. When Don Quixote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-novel-does-not-assert-anything-a-novel-poses-questions-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Don Quixote's misfortune is not his imagination, but Sancho Panza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/don-quixote-s-misfortune-is-not-his-imagination-but-sancho-panza/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Don Quixote is the best book out there on political theory, followed by Hamlet and Macbeth. There is no better way to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos-laura-castellanos/don-quixote-is-the-best-book-out-there-on-political-theory-followed/) Subcomandante Marcos Laura Castellanos > [“A good joke, that!" returned Don Quixote. "Books that have been printed with the king's licence, and with the approbation of those to whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/a-good-joke-that-returned-don-quixote-books-that-have-been-printed/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [If you look into your own mind, which are you, Don Quixote or Sancho Panza? Almost certainly you are both. There is one part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwel/if-you-look-into-your-own-mind-which-are-you-don-quixote-or-sancho/) George Orwel > [“And the first thing I have got to say is, that for my own part I hold my master Don Quixote to be stark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/and-the-first-thing-i-have-got-to-say-is-that-for-my-own-part-i-hold/) [Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes-saavedra/) > [Inside every Sancho Panza there's a Don Quixote struggling to get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/inside-every-sancho-panza-there-s-a-don-quixote-struggling-to-get-out/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-stupidity-of-people-comes-from-having-an-answer-for-everything/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) Browse all 99 Don quixote quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not exactly what the world was looking for, a musical on 'Don Quixote.' 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