Help for D's Musical Theater audition

ctyankee
Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:55:46 +0000

All the points above are truly wise. There will be songs that your daughter can pull off that someone flat out better will not do as well, so song selection is key. I also think that researching songs can be a lot of fun, like looking in an old attic for overlooked treasure.

As the protagonist in High Fidelity observes about selecting music … “there are a lot of rules.” An audition needs a standout song, yet not overly done, that gets the listener to be concentrating on the singer versus the song selection, yet complements the singer’s range versus raising questions about her range, yet doesn’t play it too safe and allows the singer to show a sense how they could grab a stage and hold it, yet doesn’t stereotype someone as another Liza, Babs … sounds easy doesn’t it. ;)

Another treasure trove is albums by mezzo-soprano singers. Sometimes, they will select a song originally written for a male that can be a terrific cross-over song. Another possibility is to listen to some favorite countertenors as this can be a treasure trove of songs that could be cross-over selections.

I’ll PM you with a truly upbeat song that truly fits the mezzo-soprano range that comes to mind. It’s from an available cast album but the musical was never on Broadway. Really upbeat, stage taking number of a song, that the theatre crowd will have heard, but not often. It is at least a conversation starter with your daughter as she makes her own selection.