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Actor Hub know how difficult choosing a musical theatre audition song is. There are so many shows and so many songs, it can be overwhelming.
We have a series of articles with some ideas and choices, these are some of our favourites and are songs which we think can show off both your range and singing ability, but more importantly can demonstrate your acting ability, you joy at building a character and creating a performance.
It is vital that when you choose a song you really look at it in the context of performance. Read the whole script, try to get an understanding of the character and why they are singing this particular song.
A musical director will be listening to your voice, seeing if it can fit in with the show, they will be able to spot your vocal ability it is what they are trained to do. Chances are you wouldn’t be there if you couldn’t sing.
What I always think is more important is that you can act, and this is what the director is looking for. They want actors who can bring life to a show and to characters, they want to know you can act and sing. If they just wanted singers, then they would hire a singer. You are an actor, you have trained in acting, in bringing alive a character, so make sure you choose a song which can demonstrate that.
Here is a list of Soprano songs which we feel would work well at any audition. Click on the title or image to watch a video of the song.
Soprano Songs for Musical Auditions
These are songs which will hopefully guide you when looking for a musical theatre audition song, have a watch of the video, listen to the song and if you like it then try and read the script or watch the show and get a feeling for the character, if you can do the character and the song justice … then go for it … if not keep looking and if you find something else let us know via Twitter @actorhub and we can add your choice to the list.
Click on title to view the video
Click on image to buy from Amazon
Click on title to view the video
Click on image to buy from Amazon
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My White Knight (click to view video)
The Music Man
My White Knight is from The Music Man and is a classic ‘dreamer’ songSung by librarian Marian Paroo near the end of Act One. She is being wooed by con man ‘Professor’ Harold Hill, but she will have nothing to do with him. In the song she sings of her ideal man and why she is not interested in Harold.A lovely song full of character and emotion. The song needs to be played and sung with innocence and truth and it can be a real heartbreaker. -
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So Many People (click to view video)
Saturday Night
Saturday Night was Sondheim’s first musical which was written in 1954 but was never produced until 1997 due to an unfortunate set of events!Set in 1929 in Brooklyn a group of friends spend their Saturday Nights restless because they have no dates. Gene, who works in Wall Street in a menial job dreams of escaping Brooklyn and becoming a member of the exciting Manhattan society. He crashes a party and meets Helen (also a gatecrasher).As the weeks go by, Gene is so desperate to impress Helen and climb the social ladder that he invests his friends money and even sells their precious automobile.Helen tells him that she hates what he is doing but admits that she is in love with him with this song.“So many people in the world, And what can they do, They’ll never know love, Like my love for you”This ballad requires support due to some of the long phrasing, although for sopranos it is worth noting that this song will use their lower notes which need to be expressive. -
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Dreams To Dream (click to view video)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 sequel to An American Tail – the films tell the story of a family of Jewish-Russian mice who emigrate to the Wild West.This song is sung by Tanya, sister to the film’s hero Fievel, who dreams of being a singing star. She sings this song as she daydreams in an under construction saloon. It is also heard over the end credits sung by Linda Rondstadt.Dreams to Dream is based on a melody heard in the first movie An American Tail. James Horner went on to write the Titanic mega-hit lovesong “My Heart Will Go On”.The song is all about following your dreams and having faith that if you believe them then your dreams can come true. Perfect for an audition!“There is a star
Waiting to guide us
Shining inside us
When we close our eyes” -
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Once Upon A Dream (click to view video)
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 Disney animated musical fantasy film. It was the last fairy tale produced by Disney for some years; the studio did not return to the genre until years after Disney’s death with the release of The Little Mermaid.In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist.‘Once Upon A Dream’ is sung by Aurora as she dreams of being with a Prince Charming, it is a perfect panto audition song for a soprano wanting to play the Princess. It lacks some of the ‘spunk’ of some of the other Disney heroines, but is perfectly girly. -
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That’ll Show Him (click to view video)
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
That’ll Show Him is from the Stephen Sondheim show A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The ForumA rare thing in most soprano songs … this is funny, very funny!Sung by Philia, the virginal love interest in this farce. She promises Hero, her true love, that even though she has to marry someone else she will always love him. The song is her reassurance to him that when she makes love to Miles (her new husband) she will be thinking of Hero, when she makes love to him she will actually be making love to Hero …, so she’ll make love even more intensely!Lots of room for comedy, timing and character play in this song. A lovely choice. -
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Follow Your Heart (click to view video)
Urinetown
Follow Your Heart is from the hilarious show Urinetown.The show is a satire on the legal system, capitalism and bureaucracy and it is itself a parody of lots of musicals.Follow Your Heart is sung by the romantic leading lady Hope Cladwell, the daughter of the dastardly CEO of the Urine Good Company, a mega-corporation controlling the public toilets in a world raged by a twenty year drought! Hope sings Follow Your Heart to the dashing leading man Bobby Strong, it speaks of their belief in the power of the heart and their hope for a new world.The humour of the song will come from playing it completely straight, any ‘knowing-ness’ that the character is a caricature and that the song is a pastiche will not work. Like all good comedy, really play it straight and the humour will come from the audience not from you. -
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When She Loved Me (click to view video)
Toy Story 2
The ‘Toy Story’ movies are complete favourites of mine and they are movies which really touch adults hearts and emotions. Perhaps the most beautiful moment of Toy Story 2 is this heartbreaking song by Randy Newman.The song is sung by Jessie the Cow Girl toy who sings about how she was once loved but is eventually forgotten by her owner Emily.Although the song is sung by a Toy about her owner growing old and losing interest in her and eventually throwing her out as rubbish, the emotions in the song are completely human and ring true about any relationship breaking down and ending.If you sing the song with complete honesty and really try and connect with those feelings of loss and lonliness you will really connect with the hearts of any audition panel.“So the years went by
I stayed the same
But she began to drift away
I was left alone
Still I waited for the day
When she’d say I will always love you” -
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It’s a most unusual day (click to view video)
A Date With Judy
Its a most unusual day is from the 1948 film ‘A Date With Judy’Its a very sweet song with lots of range. The song is sung by Judy in the move and is the swing number she is planning to sing at the high school dance. The film is worth watching for the fantastic Carmen Miranda!It is a really classic song, and has been covered by everyone form Andy Williams to the Muppets! The song is a celebration of the exuberance of life. -
Be bold, daring and creative and you can’t go wrong.
Musical Theatre Actor Hub Advice
