"Angry" Male Audition Songs

#1

"Angry" Male Audition Songs

Posted: 9/17/13 at 5:52am

Hi Forums,

Looking for songs old and new that are male solo songs that have the central themes of anger. I've considered a few, but a song like "My Name" does not fit my physique or qualities in the slightest, and I have already learnt "I Don't Remember Christmas" before (and our lecturer would prefer something we're not entirely familiar with).
Anyone have any hints? Cheers!

#2

Posted: 9/17/13 at 6:23am

Highest Judge of All or Geraniums in the Winder from Carousel

Updated On: 9/17/13 at 06:23 AM

#3

Posted: 9/17/13 at 7:42am

"Grand Knowing You" from She Loves Me

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Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.

#4

Posted: 9/17/13 at 7:47am

"Funny" from City of Angels

Plenty of songs can be "angry" depending on the subtext you add!

#5

Posted: 9/17/13 at 7:52am

Before the Summer Ends from Dracula. Some say it is more sad in tone but I've always thought it had angry undertones.

#6

Posted: 9/17/13 at 11:35am

Some of the songs from Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies may fit your specifications, but both are overdone for audition pieces and the source material incredibly polarizing.

Most of these are overdone or the music is potentially difficult for an audition situation, but I thought it would be worth bringing them up.

"Aftershocks" from Next to Normal is more menacing than angry, but could be interesting.

"Halloween" from Rent can be performed angry.

"Don't Break the Rules" from Catch Me If You Can

"If I Didn't Believe In You" from The Last Five Years

"King of the World" from Songs For a New World

And of course, "Epiphany" from Sweeney Todd.

#7

Posted: 9/17/13 at 11:39am

"Back In Circulation" from Redhead.
"I Stayed" from A Catered Affair.

#8

Posted: 9/17/13 at 12:06pm

"Betrayed" from The Producers
"Pity The Child" is a symphony of rage, angst and self-loathing (depending on the production, it's either a genuine breakdown or a faked moment of vulnerability for the TV audiences)

#9

Posted: 9/17/13 at 12:44pm

"Funny" CITY OF ANGELS
"Epiphany" SWEENEY TODD
"Call from the Grave" THREEPENNY OPERA
"Amsterdam" JACQUES BREL...
"The Bulls" JACQUES BREL....
"Next!" JACQUES BREL...
"Is Anybody There?" 1776 (then again, perhaps not a great audition song)
"Piddle, Twiddle" 1776 (ditto)
(to some extent) "Molasses to Rum" 1776

Updated On: 9/17/13 at 12:44 PM

#10

Posted: 9/17/13 at 3:12pm

Where I Want to Be and Pity the Child from CHESS
Everybody Says Don't from Anyone Can Whistle
Oh What a Circus from Evita
The Road you Didn't Take from Follies
Johanna (Judge Turpin's Solo) from Sweeney Todd
I Don't Care Much from Cabaret
Heaven on their Minds from JCS
If I have to Live Alone from The Baker's Wife
Don't take Much, My Way or the Highway, Someday is for Suckers from The Life
All of these numbers can be sung with varying degrees of anger or frustration. Bear in mind you can also take a fairly mild mannered or even romantic lyric and interpret them in an ironic, angry or sarcastic fashion. Good luck.

#11

Posted: 9/17/13 at 5:00pm

I wouldn't confine myself to just songs written for male characters. Of course, it would help if the woman's song was written for an alto and not a soprano, then you wouldn't have to have it transcribed in your key.

"Sing Happy" from "Flora, the Red Menace"
"And the World Goes 'Round" from the revue of the same name.
"When It Ends" from "The Wild Party"

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"A coherent existance after so many years of muddle" - Desiree' Armfelt, A Little Night Music "Life keeps happening everyday, Say Yes" - 70, Girls, 70 "Life is what you do while you're waiting to die" - Zorba

#12

Posted: 9/17/13 at 6:36pm

"And the World Goes 'Round" doesn't strike me as angry. "Sing Happy" sort of does.

Funny, the first thing that came to my head when I saw this thread was "I Don't Remember Christmas." So much for that idea. My other idea was "Funny" (Coleman/Zippel), which has also been mentioned. That's a really good one, and I don't know how often it's done-- is it done a lot?

#13

Posted: 9/17/13 at 9:18pm

"Carefully Taught" from SOUTH PACIFIC is angry, hurt, requires a fair amount of vocal dexterity, and (if you can do it), the final "you've got to be carefully taught" can be sung up the octave, which makes it more "audition"-y impressive. And it's short.

#14

Posted: 9/17/13 at 10:14pm

"Disappear" from The Burnt Part Boys, maybe.

As far as "new" material goes, I've also got "Never Added Up" by Michael Patrick Walker, "More Than Just Sundays" by Scott Evan Davis, I guess "Cornerstone" from Drift by Jeremy Schonfeld, and "Plus One"* from The Making of Madeline Moore by Michael Walker and Kyle Ewalt.

*This one's a personal favorite of mine to sing. Very fun.

Updated On: 9/17/13 at 10:14 PM

#15

Posted: 9/18/13 at 6:08pm

"It's Always Love" from SUGAR

It works out of context and doesn't require a knowledge of the show.

(ETA I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the title song from SUNSET BOULEVARD.)

Updated On: 9/18/13 at 06:08 PM

#16

Posted: 9/18/13 at 6:26pm

"You've Got to be Taught" is a great idea. And I bet NO ONE does that outside of a production of the show and Mandy Patinkin's bizarrely schizo medleys.

#17

Posted: 9/18/13 at 9:00pm

Of course, there's "Angry Guy" from THREE GUYS NAKED FROM THE WAIST DOWN.

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"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” ~ Muhammad Ali

#18

Angry Songs

Posted: 9/18/13 at 10:52pm

I can think of LOTS of angry songs for women: "Your Majesty," (or whatever it's called) from "The King and I," and "Show Me," "Just you Wait," and "Without You," from "My Fair Lady" (although they're soprano songs).

Here's one for a male voice: "She is not Thinking of Me," from "Gigi." Another is the choral piece "Fie on Goodness," that was cut from Camelot.

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You alone can make my song take flight.

#19

Angry Songs

Posted: 9/18/13 at 11:31pm

"Agony" from "Into the Woods". The emotion is in the title.

Originally a duet, but much like other duets like "Who Will Love Me As I Am?" ("Side Show") can be sung as a solo.
"Agony"

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-Linnea Rose "You never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb."

#20

Angry Songs

Posted: 9/19/13 at 12:07am

The title your are looking for is "Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You?" Although "Your Majesty" is much easier to say.

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"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir

#21

Angry Songs

Posted: 9/19/13 at 9:45am

Heaven on Their Minds
Lonely Room

#22

Angry Songs

Posted: 9/19/13 at 9:55am

I've Heard It All Before from Shenandoah