The Best Musical Theatre Male Audition Songs for a Baritone

The Prince of Eygpt is a 1998 animated epic from Dreamworks which tells the biblical story of Moses and the Book of Exodus. The story follows Moses from being a Prince of Eygpt through to his destiny leading the children of Isreal out of Eygpt. The songs are written by the Wicked and Godspell composer Stephen Schwartz.

This wonderful uplifting song is sung by Jethro a high priest and father to Moses’ wife, Tzipporah. Moses has gone into hiding and journeyed many miles across desert ro reach the land of the Midiantes – who worship the Hebrew God.

Jethro sings a song of thanks to God and welcomes Moses into the tribe. The song is a celebration of life and noticing and celebrating all that the world has to offer.

Stephen Schwartz has this to say about the inspiration for this song:

That was actually the third song written for its spot the other two had more to do with the tribe welcoming Moses into their midst. It was Jeffrey Katzenberg’s suggestion that the song be more about the philosophy of Jetthro, the spiritual leader of the tribe. One of the directors, Steve Hickner, found a well known poem called “The Measure of a Man” which helped to inspire some of the specific ideas in the song.

“So how can you see what your life is worth
Or where your value lies?
You can never see through the eyes of man
You must look at your life, look at your life through heaven’s eyes”

The Wild Party takes place in the roaring twenties and tells the story of a ‘wild party’ one night in the apartment shared by the vaudeville performers Queenie and Burrs. They have a volatile rocky relationship and this party is intended to be the party of the decade!

Queenie has been flirting with Mr Black, a strapping young guest at the party, much to the annoyance of the overbearing possessive Burrs. He has scolded her physically for this behaviour, and in the song What Is It About Her he confesses his rage and sadness at her affection for another man.

Burrs is a violent brutal possessive man, and is a joy to get your teeth into for any performer. This song is a gift for any musical theatre performer, it is full of emotion, full of repressed feelings finally getting voiced. If you can discover the truth and let the emotions burst out of you with feeling then you will stand out for all the right reasons.

Big River is a musical version of The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, it is a great show full of bluegrass and country music which might make a nice change for any audition panel to hear.

Waitin’ For The Light To Shine is sung by the leading role Huckleberry Finn, an iconic American character, a vagabond child from pre-civil war Missouri.

Like a lot of terrific audition songs for young men, this is a ‘dreamer song’ just like Corner of the Sky from Pippin. Huck is thinking about the confines of his life and how one day he will be able to find meaning in his life.

Country music doesn’t need to be belted. This song is all the better if it is played softly and with lots of heart. I say it all the time, but find the truth behind the lyrics. Great for drama school auditions.

Sweet Smell of Success is a musical based on the 1957 movie of the same name telling the story of the powerful newspaper columnist J J Hunsecker and how he uses his connections to ruin the life of a man who he deems inappropriate for a relationship with his siter.

Sidney Falcone a struggling press agent has met JJ’s sister Susan, Susan is hiding her real relationship from her brother JJ and introduces Sidney as her new “partner in her acting class”. JJ appears to take Sidney under his wing and befriend him. He buys him a new suit, get’s Sidney’s girlfriend a fancy job and introduces Sidney to the movers and shakers of NYC. JJ gets Sidney clients, and urges his new friend to “keep the ‘O’ and change his name to Falco.” Sidney can’t believe his luck, he has the life he has always dreamed of and he sings ‘At The Fountain’

“Yes, go with your gut and your heart,
It’s time to tear through that door,
It’s time now to soar,
So let my life story start.”

‘A Little Night Music’ is a deliciously funny comedy of manners and ‘In Praise Of Women’ is my favourite song from this show.

It is sung by the wonderfully self-important Carl-Magnus and is just perfectly clever as he sings all about both Desiree his lover and Charlotte his wife.

Fidelity is more than mere display; It’s what a man expects from life. Fidelity like mine to Desiree And Charlotte, my devoted wife.

The song also ends on a belting F-sharp, which could win over any audition panel (if you get to the end of the song, of course!?)

Nine is a musical based on the Federico Fellini film 8 1/2. It tells the story of film director Guido Contini who is having a midlife crisis as his 40th birthday approaches. The musical has found recent fame as a movie starring Daniel Day Lewis.

Guido’s Song comes early on in the show and is when we first see Guido’s crisis as his interior world starts to become indistinguishable from the real objective world.

The song is only to be tackled by the brave baritone as it is a bit of a masterpiece, if you trust yourself and your accompaniest then you will have a lot of fun with it.

Meet The Robinsons was released in 2007 and is loosely based on the book ‘A Day With Wilbur Robinson’. The films has twists and turns as the characters travel back and forth through time.

The central character, an orphan, Lewis is desperate to be able to find out why his mother abandoned him and perhaps even stop her doing it. This song is sung at the very end of the movie when Lewis has come to a realisation that he must appreciate what life has given him and the family and friends he already has – and keep moving forward.

The song is more pop-rock than traditional broadway musical, but could really suit the right voice and the right audition. I love it, I think it tells a story about living for the here and now, living for today and appreciating the ‘little wonders’ of life.

“Our lives are made,
In these small hours,
These little wonders,
These twists and turns of fate,
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain.”

Greenwillow is a musical by Samuels and Loesser based on the novel by B.J Shute.

The show takes place in the magical town Greenwillow, the eldest child in each generation of Briggs men must obey the ‘call to wander’ and leave behind their family.

Gideon Briggs is desperate to break this spell and settle down with his sweetheart Dorrie.

Never Will I Marry is a powerful baritone showpiece where Gideon reflects on his life and the path that the superstitous village has for him.

Interestingly Anthony Perkins was not available for the filming of the infamous shower scene in Psycho due to rehearsals for Greenwillow.

Anything Goes by Cole Porter is a 1934 show which is still a crowd pleaser today and has recently been on Broadway with Sutton Foster and Joel Grey.

The story is a wonderful madcap journey aboard the SS American ocean liner from New York to London and is full of brilliantly witty, clever and winning songs such as Anything Goes, You’re The Top and I Get A Kick Out Of You.

Billy Crocker is a stowaway who is madly in love with the heiress Hope Harcourt. In Act Two he has been imprisoned in the brig and sings of his love for Hope.

A perfect love song great for auditioning to play romantic or juvenile lead roles. Remember that with Cole Porter a lot of fun can be had with the lyrics so make sure you hit every syllable as well as every note.

Carnival is a 1961 musical with a book by Michael Stewart and lyrics by Bob Merrill based on the 1953 film Lili. Interestingly the show was originally called Carnival! but the director made them drop the exclamation mark as he said the show is “not a blockbuster, its a gentle show”

Lili a lonley orphan runs off with a travelling carnival and works the puppet act. the puppeteer Paul, and the magician Marco The Magnificent are in love with Lili and engage in a fierce rivalry for her love.

I’ve Got To Find A Reason is sung by Paul early on in the show before he meets Lili. At this stage he is a lonely, bitter and crippled man unhappy with his life.

The musical is an odd one with lots of singing to puppets! This song is a classic “I Wish” song which is usaully the domain of the tenor, so it is great to find a baritone I Wish song as they are perfect for auditioning as they help channel the emotions you will be feeling at an audition.