Auditions for The Fantasticks

The Fantasticks is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and their two fathers who try to keep them apart. The narrator, El Gallo, asks the audience to use their imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic. The boy and the girl fall in love, grow apart and finally find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallo’s words that, “without a hurt, the heart is hollow.

*Age, and in many cases, gender, are not necessarily pre-determined.

The casting information provided below is consistent with the original casting of this musical in
1960. These details may be altered, based on the actors who audition, at the
discretion of the director. Your task in the audition is to show us that you could
portray one of these characters, regardless of their age or gender, as written.

El Gallo (Male, High Baritone, 30-45*). As the narrator of the piece, he is the liaison between the
audience and the action onstage. He is warm, cordial, and inviting to the audience, yet with darker
moments. His attitude toward the rest of the cast reveals a decidedly mysterious side. Above all he is
grand and must command attention.

Matt (Male, Baritone, 16-26*). As a young lover, he is deeply in love, particularly with the idea of being
in love. He lacks experience in the world so, while not stupid, he is naive and perhaps even foolish at
times. His image of a young man in love is one of a gallant protector, meaning that he approaches some
decisions with a falsified bravery that is little more than bravado.

Luisa (Female, Legit Soprano, 16-26*). As a young lover, she is in love. She is in love with love, the idea
of love, the idea of being in love and indeed everything remotely romantic. Her dreams are more fanciful
than those of Matt. Because of her particular vision of romance, she deals with the world on a
particularly naive level.

Hucklebee and Bellomy (Males, Baritone, 45-60*). Blustery and Boisterous. Duo and team. Strong
comedic timing a must. Fathers of Matt and Luisa. Always arguing and bickering, but secretly plotting
together for the marriage of their children.

Henry and Mortimer (Males, 30-60*). Foolish comic actors who move the action while not seeming to
contribute anything of substance. As performers their day has long past. Henry can play grand
characters and recite Shakespeare, but with very little success these days. May be asked to speak in an
English accent. Mortimer’s specialty is dying on stage in the manner of great adventures and
melodramas. May be asked to speak in a cockney accent. Henry and Mortimer function as a unit and
rarely appear apart from each other. They are entirely theatrical and theirs is the world of the stage.

The Mute (Male or Female, age open). The Mute serves many functions—setting props as characters
need them, assisting El Gallo, and becoming the wall separating the families. While omnipresent the
character must also have the ability to fade into the background. This is a functional character that
sometimes interacts with the others.