Edgy/serious soprano songs?

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:23am

I'm having trouble coming up with a piece for my school's class A play festival for solo musical theater competition. I'm usually type cast as the lovey-dovey soprano ingenue, and most of the songs I've sung for competition are in that genre. But I really want to show everyone that I can be more serious/edgy, which I can, and blow everyone away. Any good suggestions for a soprano, or even mezzo/belter? Nothing alto, because I can't sing low in head voice to save my life.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/3/08 at 12:31am

Look at some of the material from Porgy and Bess, particularly Summertime and My Man's Gone Now.

[Magical_Ms._Mistoffeles_72]

Posted: 3/3/08 at 11:58am

I always enjoyed take that look off your face

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 3/3/08 at 9:24pm

Ok, here's the ultimate list of mezzo/belter songs. This is basically my rep book haha

When Hope Goes or Shine, both from The Spitfire Grill
All Grown Up from Bare
Disneyland from Smile
Anytime from Infinite Joy
I'm a Star from Dreaming Wide Awake
Always True to You from Kiss Me Kate
The Spark of Creation or Stranger to the Rain from Children of Eden
Way Back to Paradise from Marie Christine
I've Learned to Let Things Go from It's Only Life
I'm Not Alone from Carrie
Now That I've Seen Her from Miss Saigon
Never Neverland from Piece
Waiting For Life from Once On This Island
You Don't Know This Man from Parade
Say the Word from the Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown
A Way Back to Then from Title of Show
Come to Your Senses from Tick Tick Boom
Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie
Astonishing from Little Women
Anyone Can Whistle from Anyone Can Whistle
Everybody's Girl from Steel Pier
Gorgeous from The Apple Tree
Hold On from The Secret Garden
Anything from Triumph of Love

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 3:52am

ahhh. Hold On is one of my favorites. I just used it for an audition, it's just too bad the pianist there ignored my tempo and played it at a racecourse pace. Meh. What can you do.

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 8:06am

Thanks for the suggestions! I know a few of them, I'll check out the others. Also, I have to act out the song and everything and sort of look the part (I'm 17 and blonde-that's me in my avi).
Updated On: 3/4/08 at 08:06 AM

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 4:14pm

Well of course you have to act out the song. Acting is a huge part of musical theatre, I don't think anyone should ever get up and sing a song from a musical and not act. But all the songs I suggested are appropriate for your age, I've sung them all...you just have to make them your own and everything.

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 9:11pm

Yeah I know, that was more toward the Porgy and Bess suggestions.

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 9:14pm

Oh ok hahah that makes complete sense now

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 11:48pm

Do you actually belt or sing in your head voice only?

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 9:10am

I can belt....I've just never got to show it off because I'm a soprano and I've been trained more in that type. There just really aren't a lot of soprano musical theater songs that I know of that aren't ingenue or cutesy songs, so I could sing something in my lower belt register, I've always wanted to show that off because I've been developing it for a while with my amazing voice teacher and I've gotten a lot of compliments for it so far at my last voice lesson recital, so I'd like to surprise everyone.
Updated On: 3/5/08 at 09:10 AM

[Pippin]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 4:15pm

Look at "Mistress of the Senator" from "Hello, again"

runner up: "Tom" from the same show.

you can hear both of these songs on Audra's "Way Back to Paradise" album. Mistress is one of my personal faves.

[chinto1984]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 5:47pm

Just check out "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife

[lovelyspotlight]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:36pm

chinto, I was just going to suggest "Meadowlark." Like, literally, I ONLY came onto the student boards to do that. That was a little creepy.

I'm adding another, though.

"Natural High" from I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road.

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 12:39am

Yes, I third Meadowlark, love that song!

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 8:49am

It's really beautiful, but it's so damn long hahah

[lovelyspotlight]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 7:13pm

Hah, yeah, it's like six minutes long.

How about "I've Made Up My Mind" from Bingo?

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 1:28pm

I'll have to check out Meadowlark! But if it is six minutes long, I would have to trim a minute or so off because the entire piece plus introduction can only be five minutes.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 3/9/08 at 5:47pm

Here's my friend's amazing performance of Meadowlark. It's only four minutes long.
Meadowlark

[fairygodmother]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 7:07pm

isn't Meadowlark done to death tho???

try the Jason Robert Brown book - Dreaming Wide Awake is incredible.
also look at things from light in the Piazza - a lot of meaty stuff to get into - statues and stories...ooh

Green Finch and Linnet Bird (Sweeney)
much More (Fantasticks)
Migratory V (Myths and hymns)
Songs for A New World - the flag song, christmas lullaby

i second listening to Audra's stuff, maybe by the book of that - Way Back To Paradise, chock full of fab stuff for a sop.

also look at kristen Chenoweth albums - Girl from 14G is great for showing versatility

and absolutely look at Porgy and bess, My Man's Gone Now is heart breaking.

[Juliash]

Posted: 3/12/08 at 7:09pm

No, Much More is done to death. No one I know really does Meadowlark because they're afraid of an accompanist butchering it because its too CRAZY...

Posted: 3/13/08 at 8:13am

Meadowlark and most of Jason Robert Brown (especially The Last five years and Songs for a new world) is extremely overdone (in professiona circles). I would really try and find something a bit different. Piazza is also very popular, as is Much More and Green finch (even more so since the film came out). Girl in 14g - another overdone piece but if you can do it justice...

[dramatothemax]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 10:15am

I would stay away from Sondheim and JRB. At my junior year unifieds, my friend sang from Parade, the song "This is Not Over Yet" and it's a pretty quick song, and the pianist played it like a ballad because it was so hard. Unless you're auditioning for a Sondheim or JRB show, try not to sing it. There are plenty of beautiful songs out there to sing instead, and then if they ask you to sing a Sondheim song, go for it.

I will say however when casting people hear that someone is going to sing Meadowlark, the general reaction is a long sigh and a drawn out ooook. I've seen it actually happen 3 or 4 times. It is pretty overdone, and generally done badly.

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 3/14/08 at 9:28pm

The thing is, I live in a midwestern state (North Dakota) who is oblivious to most musicals. I sang the title song from the Light in the Piazza for my recital last month and no one, even my voice teacher, had heard it before I started working on it. The most overdone I saw last year were Wicked, Phantom,Les Mis, Rent, pretty much all the commercial musicals, so I know to stay away from those, but some choir students in my state don't even know who Sondheim and JRB are.

[typecastme22]

Posted: 3/19/08 at 6:31pm

A good portion of Dreaming Wide Awake is HARD. It's the type of songs where if you can do it well, then by all means go for it because you will blow everyone out of the water. But if you are iffy, then maybe you should stay away. I am specifically thinking of "I'm a Star" which requires this crazy mix/belt. But if you can do it, then go for it because Scott Alan writes AMAZINg stuff.