Musical Theatre Audition Songs – More Duets

Neptune’s Daughter is a 1949 musical romantic comedy film starring Esther Williams and featuring the Academy Award winning song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser.

The song Baby It’s Cold Outside was not planned to be in this film. It took the place of Frank Loesser’s “(I’d Like to Get You on a) Slow Boat to China,” which the Hayes Office thought inappropriate

The lyrics in this duet are designed to be heard as a conversation between two people, marked as “mouse” and “wolf” on the printed score. Every line in the song features a statement from the “mouse” followed by a response from the “wolf”. The “wolf” part is sung by a male and the “mouse” by a female.

The song is a christmas staple and is performed at many a drunk xmas party on the Kareoke. It is interesting to reverse the gender of wolf and mouse and might be a unique choice when performing this number.

The song ‘Move On’ comes right at the end of the wonderful musical Sunday In The Park With George, and is quite simply one of my favourite songs both in and out of musical theatre!

The song talks directly to you when you need to make a decision in life, or are contemplating a change. It has helped me so much.

“Stop worrying where you’re going- Move on. If you can know where you’re going. You’ve gone. Just keep moving on”

Here is what Stephen Schwartz, the composer-lyricist of Wicked has to say about the song “I was at a very low point in my life and career and feeling extremely discouraged. When I heard it, I felt as if it had been written for me to tell me what I needed to hear, and it helped to bolster my will to continue writing”

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts. It’s a series of vignettes connected by the central theme of love and relationships. The play’s tagline is “Everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit.”

Tear Jerk is a sung by a couple at the movies, he has told her to choose the film and she has chosen a ‘chick flick’ a tear jerker.

He sings of how he would have preferred a Bruce Willis action movie with chainsaws and violence, as she comments on the film. He then gets swept up in the movie he is watching and fights his tears! If its performed well this can be a real showstopper. It needs really straight performances to work, no ‘mugging’ or knowing its funny. Again play it for truth and the humour will come.

Damn Yankees is a musical comedy from 1955. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Damn Yankees was choreographed by Bob Fosse and is the production where he met Gwen Verdon, his wife and dancer–collaborator–muse for whom he choreographed much of his work.

Two Lost Souls is sung by Lola, a demon who has been summoned to earth by the devil as “the best homewrecker on [his] staff”, and Joe Hardy, the hero of the piece who is stuck in Hell wanting to get back to earth and win a baseball match and break his pact with the devil! I know, its quite a story!

The song is sassy, classic and fun. And the video is worth watching for the great dance routine

Rent is a rock musical by the late Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.

Tango: Maureen is sung by Mark, an independent filmmaker and Joanne, his ex-girlfriend’s new lesbian lover.

Joanne and Mark overcome their awkwardness at meeting by singing of their affection for Maureen, and they connect over their feelings for her. In a very funny and lovely duet they air their chests about Maureen and her continuous cheating, Mark tells Joanne the signs despite he was the one dumped for her!

The song is a funny number and can really be performed with gusto and an awesome tango!

The Addams Family by Andrew Lippa is a musical based on the famously spooky and ooky family from the tv show, comic books and movies.

Crazier Than You is sung by Wednesday Addams and her ‘normal’ boyfriend Lucas Beineke.

Lucas and Wednesday want to announce to their families that they intend to get married, during the course of an evening they argue and question their love. To prove he loves her Lucas allows Wednesday to shoot an arrow off his head, blindfold, with a cross bow! They sing ‘Crazier Than You’, its a fun upbeat number with lots of patter and a lovely belting end, which of course is sealed with a kiss!

‘Barcelona’ is the ultimate ‘morning-after-the-night-before’ song!

Actually is it the only ‘morning-after-the-night-before’ song? Is this a new mini-genre? Trust Sondhiem to create a new genre of song and to do it so damn well!

This wonderful little song is perfection! Witty, concise, and beautiful!

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.

You’re the Top is sung by Billy Crocker and nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, old friends acknowledging their mutual admiration in You’re the Top. In Billy’s eyes they are just friends but in Reno’s eyes she wants him to be more than just her friend.

Its a lovely song, lots of fun and very popular.