Sondheim audition question.

[wishiwerehere2]

Posted: 5/11/11 at 3:46pm

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, it is a bit of an emergency.
I have an audition lined up for a university musical theatre course in a few days. I had chosed 'Left Behind' from Spring Awakening and 'Love, I Hear' from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as my two pieces.
However, I was blisfully unaware of the difficulty of sight reading Sondheim for the accompanist. I'm just wondering if anyone is aware that Love I Hear may be exception to the rule or should I find myself a new song?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Updated On: 5/11/11 at 03:46 PM

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 5/11/11 at 5:28pm

The reasons Sondheim's work appeals to auditioners (technical complexity, strong characterization) are the exact reasons I caution against using his work for auditions. Unless you're certain of the accompanist and his ability to render Sondheim's block chords, large intervals, enharmonic spellings and ocassionally erratic rhythms, it may be wiser to choose something easier and plainer that you can sing the hell out of rather than risking it all on what could turn out to be a musical trainwreck (Cole Porter is my go-to for not-quite-Sondheim audition pieces as the piano parts tend to be easy while the vocal melodies can be interesting, range-y and feature witty, interperatable lyrics).

And we haven't even touched upon the potential perils of going into an audition with a strongly-realized character--something most Sondheim songs tend to do for you.

Regardless, a college-level accompanist should be able to cope with most anything in Forum. You should be especially assured if your copy of the music features chord symbols (i.e. NOT the P/V score), since many accompanists can fake it from those in a pinch. Be prepared and break a leg! :)