{alltv} Robert Newman of 'Guiding Light' to star in Barn's 'La Mancha'

Before his 28-year run as Joshua Lewis on the CBS-TV series "Guiding Light," actor Robert Newman came from his Los Angeles home to the Barn Theatre in Augusta in 1981 to earn his Equity card.

Since then, he has sporadically returned, starring in plays with his wife, Britt, from "Barefoot in the Park" to "Sylvia."

Now Newman is back to perform the leading role in "Man of La Mancha."

"I'm just connected to this place," Newman said. "A lot of people who have worked at the Barn come back to the Barn."

This is the third time that the Barn Theatre has put on the Cervantes-inspired show, the first being in 1970 and the second in 1992. The musical, which won a Tony Award for Best Musical in 1966, is what co-owner and actress Penelope Alex calls "glorious" and "striking." Alex said Newman is perfect for the leading role of Cervantes.

The play follows the life of "Don Quixote" author Miguel de Cervantes as he is imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition. When he is put on trial, he uses the defense that he is a dying man who believes himself to be the protagonist of his own tale.

The show begins Tuesday and runs from Tuesday through Saturday at 8:30 p.m., with a second Saturday show at 5 p.m. and a Sunday show at 5 p.m., for the next two weeks. Tickets are $34, which Newman sees as a quite a bargain, considering that plays on Broadway sometimes cost hundreds of dollars.

Though he spent nearly three decades on "Guiding Light," which remains the longest-running show in broadcast history, Newman said he's captivated by the mystique of live performance on stage.

"For me, there's something really quite extraordinary about people gathering together in the darkness of a theater to observe not something on film, but live actors performing a slice of life," Newman said. "Sometimes that could be extremely entertaining, and sometimes it could be something where you actually learn some things about life. I think La Mancha is both, actually."

His time involved with both the soap opera business and theater has shown him that both industries are struggling with similar foes. There is so much online entertainment and cable-related entertainment competing with theater and soap operas that fan bases are shrinking.

"I've worked in theaters all over the country and there's a fight going on to keep theater alive and lucrative," Newman said. "I know the Barn has been fighting quite a battle."

The Barn Theatre took the 2010 season off when it was clear that they wouldn't have been able to complete the season because of the state of the economy. Alex -- who stars opposite Newman as Aldonza -- and others involved said to do a partial season would be unfair to fans. Now that they have returned, the Barn has been doing a little more outreach and is hoping for a successful year.