[Ariadne]

Hey,

I have an audition on Thursday, and have to prepare a song from a musical to sing unaccompanied in front of the casting peeps. Only problem is, I have a lowish voice (I say lowish in that I can't go very very high without sounding screechy, yet I also can't really hack v.low notes). I usually sing poppy/jazzy stuff and haven't really tried 'showtunes' before, so this is an experiment!

Can anyone suggest a song for a female voice that would suit? At the moment I'm thinking about I Still Believe from Miss Saigon, but it's a duet so I could only do parts of it.

Thank you! xxx

[Doodahdoo]

Dude, I didn't even know this forum existed.

I'm a mezzo-soprano, so (I think) I'm a similar range to yours. The songs I suggest are ones that I've done in auditions or my singing lessons - but check the key, because obviously different versions are in different keys.

- On my Own (Les Miserables)
- Castle on a Cloud (Les Miserables)
- Memory (Cats)
- I could have danced all night (My Fair Lady)
- Tonight (West Side Story)
- Somewhere (West Side Story)
- Home (Beauty and the Beast)

If you need the sheet music, musicroom.co.uk tends to have downloadable sheets.

Joanna x

[vector]

Tonight would be a good one ;yes;

[baby_emmy]

Belle, The Sleeping Car from Starlight Express (the original version)

-x-

[Acaila]

I Could Have Danced All Night goes pretty high, and you need to be able to nail the money notes if you want to impress with your song.

Could you say what you're auditioning for Ariadne? Just that might help with some suggestions. Tbh, I'd avoid Les Mis as On My Own is officially the most overdone audition song, and the other female songs are much the same. Also a lot of the big Andrew Lloyd Webber female solos.

The first ones that come to mind (as an alto who can sing all of these):
Maybe This Time from Cabaret
U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. and Next Time You Fall In Love (duet again) from Starlight Express
If They Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity
Take That Look off Your Face from Tell Me on a Sunday
Good Morning Baltimore and I Can Hear the Bells from Hairspray
Whistle Down the Wind from Whistle Down the Wind

If you're used to poppy stuff Hairspray might be a good idea and Kander/Ebb stuff (Cabaret, Chicago, etc.) is usually pretty jazzy.

[Angelil]

"Tonight", "Somewhere" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are all quite high really.

What song did you choose in the end Ariadne? And was your audition successful?

(And since I know Exeter, which group were you auditioning for? Was it Footlights?)

[BabyBee]

Try les mis songs
I'd reccomend 'on my own'
I can't sing high, so that was my audition piece for a musical (and i got the part )

[BeautifullyTragic]

'Hey Big Spender' and 'All That Jazz' are good low ones. Although All That Jazz is way overdone

[Angelil]

You're a bit late DancingSpleen

(though I do like your username )

[ormaybeitsjustnarcissism]

Old news, been and gone, dead thread I know but just throwing in, Somewhere That's Green from Little Shop Of Horrors or Pirate Jenny from Threepenny Opera?

[stacebarr]

I know this is an etremely late reply but it will be useful to any future Musical Theatre goers who look up songs for auditions etc, like I just did, in future.
For a start, never sing a Les Mis song in a Musical Theatre audition. You may be able to sing it perfectly and have a great character for it, but panel's are sick of hearing these songs and you therefore create competition between yourself and whoever else sings that song (which trust me, will be quite a few people).

Somewhere that's green as mentioned before is a beautiful song to sing but it's not really any use for an audition, it doesn't show off a lot.

You should really take a look at some less known or off stage shows to pick your audition piece. For example, Another Night at Darryl's from Witches of Eastwick is perfect for an alto audition as it has no notes you can't hit, yet it shows off a wide range in this area of your voice. It is also full of character and the panel will remember you as you will likely be the only person to sing this.

The main thing I'm pointing out here is that to have a good audition you must do something different from the crowd or else you will look as though you have taken the easy option and picked the song everybody knows.

[UnashamedLiberal]

I think "Cabaret" from Cabaret if that's not too cliched, or "Don't Tell Mama" from the stage version as that isn't too common.