Aspects of Love

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:14pm

LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING. Is this song over used at auditions
for men?

[Princeton78]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:16pm

I would think it would go over better than "Anthem" might.
Be sure you have that money note at the end.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:47pm

I have never heard Love Changes Everything at an audition. I'm not sure why anyone would use it. I like the song, but only in context of the show. On its own, it doesn't work.

I hope I never hear Anthem at an audition again.

[ozone20]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:03pm

why do u think it wouldnt work? not to sound corny but its a song about how nothing is the same once you fall in love. A theme that rings quite true for alot of people. As long as its not overdone and shows the voice, it seems you couldnt go wrong with a song where the theme is love. universal isnt it?
Updated On: 5/8/06 at 05:03 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:45pm

The melody is too repetitive and the lyrics are mostly a laundry list.

Love, love changes everything
This and this
This and this

Love, love changes everything
This and this
This and this

Love will do this
And this will happen

Yes love, love changes everything
It does this and this
Love will never never let you be the same.

And so on...

I do think it is a pretty song and I love it in the show, but for an audition, a song with a more defined emotion, objective, or character trait gives an actor more to deliver. The lyrics do not even connect the song directly to the singer. Love Changes Everything can be performed passionately, but it is nothing more than a brief comment stating the obvious. Love can change things in a good way or a bad way and those things will not be the way they were before and it may or may not have anything to do with me...I'm just sayin'. It's ambiguous and very uninteresting for a director to sit through. Clearly the song was meant to be a recurring theme in the show and all the ups and downs and turbulence caused by love is illustrated throughout the show, with the actual song bookending the show, coming full circle. If you try to add anything to the song for the purposes of an audition, it can only come across as cheesey or gimmicky. The director will sit through it until you get to the A-flat and that note will probably determine whether or not you get called back.

There are a plethora of love songs out there that are much wiser choices for the purpose of an audition. If I Loved You is a perfect example. It has LAYERS of subtext that could be played in a variety of ways when taken out of context, that could easily be defined and justified.

Updated On: 5/8/06 at 05:45 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:48pm

"The director will sit through it until you get to the A-flat and that note will probably determine whether or not you get called back."

Are you talking about the end of Act 1? Are you sure that's an A-flat? I think it's more a B or C.

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:55pm

Mister Matt seems to know his stuff..
might want to heed...just my two cents..

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:56pm

In my sheet music, I believe it is an A-flat. B-flat at most, I'd have to check. Definitely not B or C.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 6:01pm

I *think* it's a b-flat.

I agree, though, the only reason to sing that for an audition would be to hit that note.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 6:01pm

andrew - I spent many years as a casting consultant and have directed as well. I was also a musical theatre audition coach. I actually prefer those to performing, of which I have been on a three-year hiatus.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 6:04pm

"Definitely not B or C."

I'm just going by my own voice. Only on good days could I hit a B and when listening to the cast album, I could rarely hit that note.

[PottstownTeacher]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 6:19pm

Actually, I directed the show in a local production. It was a "revised" edition based on the 93/94 rewrites. Looking at my score in front me of, Act I ends on a G natural and Act II ends on an A flat. The orginal recordings with Michael Ball end with a A in Act I and a B flat in Act II.

[jo]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 7:29pm

Ahhhh - the "money note" -- as Michael Ball liked to call his B flat note which was sang in every performance of the show.

Love Changes Everything has also become his signature song in his concerts... and he has recorded it twice. The first one was in the cast CD ( although it was also released as a single, with a pop-sounding orchestration), where it sounded more like the young Alex's impassioned declaration of a love which eluded him ( in keeping with the character in the play). Almost 10 years later, Michael recorded the song again for his THE MUSICALS CD and gave it a different interpretation - it sounded like a man's wise and ironic ruminations of what love has done to him over time.

I also like listening to the song played in a full instrumental version. It was done by the Boston Pops Orchestra in its MUSIC OF THE NIGHT CD and it sounded quite exquisite.

[Hawker]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 8:53pm

How come no one ever takes a shot at "Pity the Child" from "Chess". If you can sell that you can sell anything.

[ALWrules]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 11:33pm

In the song version that was eventually recorded outside the show and published as sheet music, it ends on a Bb above the staff.

[rocky2428]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 1:33am

Wait, they changed the score and took it down a step? How about that. Do you think it was "revised" for its release to amateur groups? I'm just assuming that there's enough Broadway/professional tenors who could hit the B-flat, but maybe the show was too hard to cast outside of that?

As for "Pity The Child", you really need to have the voice to sell that song (I have no idea if it's actually an interesting song to hear outside of auditions; I only know it from the show). I've seen several productions of Chess and with the exception of one of them, the guy playing Freddie couldn't hit or otherwise sell the top notes (the C's and I think a D-flat), so I can imagine it's got to be pretty hard to pull off at auditions.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 1:52am

The "money note" wasn't even in the original version of the song, until ALW realized Michael Ball could sing it.

[sondwisenheimer]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 2:06am

Key.

Key changes everything.

[mrkringas]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 2:49am

One of his succesors in the West End couldnt hit the money note and had it "click tracked" in!!

Its a bitch to sing and yet singers like Michael Ball and Anthony Warlow make it sound so effortless and macho. Pity the Child is an even harder song imho.

It probably got enough material in it for an interesting audition but unless you have solid, safe, secure belt then give it a miss. The final note is a pain too cause its an aspirate onset for a belted high c#. You could always cheat it and falsetto that one and just belt the middle high c# instead. Or pick a better audition song

Issue in Question from Triumph of Love is my favourite.

[sondwisenheimer]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 2:52am

And I heard that one night the click track got played at the wrong time, so he did a little hoe-down and left the stage.

[mrkringas]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 2:58am

LOL!!!!!!!!

It was whathisface from Dallas or Dynasty wasnt it? The name escapes me but he was in the recent(ish) flop, Beautiful and Damned.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 3:02am

Michael Praed?

[sondwisenheimer]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 3:03am

Larry Hagman?

[mrkringas]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 3:30am

Michael Praed!

Yes thats the name. Although Hagman did a few shows back in the day didnt he? Productions that his mother was starring in yeah if memory serves me right

[jo]

Posted: 5/9/06 at 8:43am

I saw both Michael Ball and Michael Praed in ASPECTS OF LOVE. I couldn't understand why they cast Michael Praed in such a singing role - very disappointing performance.

How did Marcus Lovett ( he was THE MAN in WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND and sang Jesus Christ Superstar in the ALW CELEBRATION video) do as Alex, when he replaced Michael Ball on Broadway? Anybody see him in the show?

Talking about ALW changing notes for Michael B. The story goes that when he cast Michael as the second Raoul in Phantom of the Opera in London, Michael ( who says he doesn't read notes) happened to sing the " soprano lines" in ALL I ASK OF YOU. ALW was supposed to have liked it a lot and decided to retain the notes for Raoul.