October 30, 31 November 1, 6, 7, 8
Auditions August 23 and 24
Man of La Mancha is one of the world’s most popular musicals. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th-century masterwork Don Quixote and set during the Spanish Inquisition, the original 1965 production won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Cervantes is in prison awaiting trial during the Spanish Inquisition. He and his fellow prisoners perform a play-within-a-play, telling the story of the elderly Alonso Quijana, who renames himself “Don Quixote” and goes on a quest to right all wrongs in the world. The rousing, Spanish-inflected score includes the classic numbers “The Impossible Dream,” “I, Don Quixote,” “Dulcinea,” “I Really Like Him” and “Little Bird.”
Directed by Kathleen Hill
Assistant Director Jay Sydow
Man of La Mancha is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concordtheatricals.com
Audition Information
Auditions are Sunday, August 23 and Monday, August 24,
starting at 6:30pm at The Village Players Theater.
Please use this link to schedule a five minute audition appointment.
Book appointment here.
Audition Requirements
Vocal: Please prepare a musical selection that showcases your voice’s character and incorporates acting and emotion into your performance.
Bring sheet music (a pianist will be provided) or a backing track (no vocals).
You may Bluetooth to our stereo or bring a CD.
Monologue: Please prepare a monologue that incorporates emotion into your performance.
If you do not have a monologue, you may use one of these from the show (click here).
Character Breakdown
LEAD
Miguel de Cervantes/ Don Quixote/ Alonso Quijana (Baritone) – The aging, idealistic country gentleman (Quijana) who loses his mind reading chivalric romances and believes he is a heroic knight (Quixote). Played by Cervantes, an actor and poet defending his life and work in a Spanish dungeon.
Cervantes’ Manservant/Sancho Panza (Tenor) – Loyal, pragmatic, and sweet-tempered. He serves as Cervantes’ helper in prison and transforms into the devoted, humorous squire who accompanies Quixote on his misadventures.
Aldonza (Dulcinea) (Soprano) – A rough, cynical scullery maid and prostitute at a roadside inn. She is transformed in Don Quixote’s distorted vision into the pure, exalted lady Dulcinea, a belief that eventually forces her to find her own self-worth.
SUPPORTING
Antonia (Mezzo-Soprano) – Alonso Quijana’s practical niece. She is deeply embarrassed by her uncle’s mental collapse and worries about how it affects her upcoming marriage to Dr. Carrasco.
Padre (Tenor) – A gentle spiritual figure from Quijana’s real life who genuinely cares for his well-being and questions the ethics of stripping away a madman’s happy illusions.
Dr. Sanson Corrasco (The Knight of the Mirrors) (Baritone) – Antonia’s self-important fiancé in the real world. He plays the cynical “Duke” in the prison and later disguises himself as the cruel Knight of the Mirrors to shatter Quixote’s delusions, ultimately destroying him.
Innkeeper (Bass) – Rules the prison yard with authority as the Governor, and plays the pragmatic yet oddly compassionate master of the roadside castle/inn who humorously dubs Quixote a true knight.
FEATURED
Fermina – Fermina is the servant girl at the inn. She helps the innkeepers wife, Maria, clean up after “Aldonza”. She also has a small part to sing in “Little Bird.” May double with the Moorish Girl Dancer.
Maria – Maria is the innkeepers wife in the Quixote story.
Housekeeper (Mezzo-Soprano) – Quijana’s long-time, high-strung domestic worker who fusses over his health and mental state.
Barber (Tenor) – Quixote will mistake his shaving basin for the mythical Golden Helmet of Mambrino.
Captain of the Inquisition – The Captain of the Inquisition is played, like all the other characters, by a prisoner in Cervantes’ prison. An actor cast in this role should definitely understand something about the historical backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.
The Duke – One of the prisoners in Cervantes’ prison, The Duke is the sidekick and second-in-“command” to the Governor. May double with Dr. Carrasco (the Knight of the Mirrors) in the Don Quixote story.
Attendants to the Knights (Silent) – When the “Knight of the Mirrors” appears before Don Quixote, he is accompanied by four attendants in livery, holding mirrors. As such, Don Quixote (Quijana) sees his image refracted, everywhere.
Jose – Jose is a muleteer in the Quixote story. He is played by one of the prisoners in Cervantes’ prison.
Tenorio – Tenorio is a muleteer in the Quixote story.
Paco – Paco is a muleteer in the Quixote story.
Juan – Juan is a muleteer in the Quixote story.
Anselmo – Anselmo is a muleteer in the Quixote story.
Pedro – The head muleteer, Pedro is a mean and vicious man. He leads an attack on Aldonza.
Guitar Player – The Guitar Player in the Quixote story is a muleteer who plays guitar.
ENSEMBLE
Synopsis of the Story
Man of La Mancha is a tale of hopes and dreams!
Miguel de Cervantes, aging and an utter failure as playwright, poet and tax collector, has been thrown into a dungeon in Seville to await trial by the Inquisition for an offense against the Church. There he is dragged before a kangaroo court of his fellow prisoners, who plan to confiscate his few possessions—including the uncompleted manuscript of a novel, Don Quixote.
Cervantes, seeking to save the manuscript, proposes his defense in the form of a play. The “court” agrees, and Cervantes and his manservant don make-up and costumes, transforming themselves into Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. They then play out the story with the prisoners taking the roles of other characters.
Quixote and Sancho take to the road in a quest to restore the age of chivalry, battle all evil, and right all wrongs. The famous battle with the windmill follows, with Quixote blaming his defeat on his enemy, the Great Enchanter.
In a roadside inn—which Quixote insists is really a castle—Aldonza, the inn’s serving girl and part-time prostitute, is being propositioned by a gang of muleteers. Quixote sees her as the dream-ideal whom he will serve forever and insists her name is Dulcinea. Aldonza is confused and angered by Quixote’s refusal to see her as she really is.
The padre and Dr. Carrasco arrive at the inn and are frustrated by Quixote’s lunatic logic. They are interrupted by the arrival of an itinerant barber, and Quixote confiscates his shaving basin, believing it is the “Golden Helmet” of Mambrino.
Later Aldonza encounters Quixote in the courtyard where he is holding vigil, in preparation for being knighted by the innkeeper. She questions him on his seemingly irrational ways , and Quixote answers her with a statement of his credo, The Impossible Dream. Aldonza catches the fever of Quixote’s idealism but, attempting to put it into practice, is cruelly beaten and ravaged by the muleteers.
Not knowing Aldonza’s plight, Quixote and Sancho leave the inn, encounter a band of Gypsies, and are robbed. They return to the inn, only to encounter the disillusioned Aldonza who sings her denunciation of Quixote’s dream in the dramatic Aldonza. The Knight of the Mirrors enters and defeats Quixote by forcing him to see himself as “naught but an aging fool.” The knight reveals himself as Dr. Carrasco, sent by Quixote’s family to bring him to his senses.
At home again, the old man who once called himself Don Quixote is dying. Aldonza, having followed, forces her way into the room and pleads with him to restore the vision of glory she held so briefly. Quixote, remembering, rises from his bed to reaffirm the stirring Man of La Mancha, but collapses, dying. Aldonza, having glimpsed the vision once more, refuses to acknowledge his death, saying, “My name is Dulcinea.”
Back in Cervantes’s dungeon the prisoners have been deeply affected by his story and restore to him his precious manuscript. Cervantes is summoned to his real trial by the Inquisition. The prisoners unite to sing him on his way with The Impossible Dream.
If you have questions about auditions or would like more information, please get in touch with the director, Kathleen Hill at teacheractress@gmail.com.