Audition piece

[LitesofBway89]

Posted: 10/31/11 at 2:51am

Im auditioning for Damn Yankees in a few weeks and I need some suggestions for songs. I'm going for the part of Gloria Thorpe, the female newspaper reporter. I'm a mezzo soprano belter. One requirement is to sing a show tune between 1940 and 1960. Preferably upbeat. Any and all suggestions would be great!

Posted: 10/31/11 at 3:44am

I Can Cook Too from On The Town would be perfect, I think. It can be a bit hard to pull it off but if done well enough, is killer.

Something like Some People from Gypsy would work as well. Often I think it's a good idea to do something from the same team--and since Yankees was so much a carbon of Pajama Game in formula, it could be worth doing something from there, but I can't think of anything similar. *Maybe* I'm Not At All In Love, but it has a different vibe than Gloria's songs do.

Posted: 10/31/11 at 4:24am

Or it's slightly cheating--but from Sondheim's unperformed till 30+ years later, What More Do I Need from Saturday Night, which was meant for 1956-58...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs6p8AIAK3U

In case you randomly don't know I Can Cook Too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv9pwY-Npw4

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 10/31/11 at 10:04am

Eric's suggestion of I Can Cook Too makes me think of another wonderful Nancy Walker song, Adventure, from Styne, Comden and Green's DO RE MI (1960). I love this song and I don't think it's done all that much for auditions.

Here someone quite young doing it on youtube. And actually she's not bad (jn fact she reminds me of my friend Faye Lane)

If you are cutting it, my suggestion would be to keep the irresistible lyric "So dear Mrs. Milleh! Go keep your chinchilla"

Melba's Zip from Pal Joey or any of Ruth's songs from Wonderful Town might also be worth considering as Melba and Ruth are also reporters.



ADVENTURE! Updated On: 10/31/11 at 10:04 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/31/11 at 10:15am

"Give It All You Got" from Oh, Captain! Is brassy and upbeat.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/31/11 at 3:41pm

I love I Can Cook Too, though it can be a bitch to get those lyrics down and spit them out. The other catch is relying on an accompanist who can pull it off. Some other ideas:

Hostess With the Mostess - Call Me Madam
Tom, Dick or Harry - Kiss Me, Kate
You Can't Brush Me Off - Louisiana Purchase
What's Going On Here? - Paint Your Wagon
It's Me - Me and Juliet
Shopping Around - Wish You Were Here
The Beast in You - Goldilocks
It's a Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair - Plain and Fancy
Give It All You Got - Oh, Captain!
I Enjoy Being a Girl - Flower Drum Song
I Hate Him - Destry Rides Again
Shy - Once Upon a Mattress
Gentleman Jimmy - Fiorello!
What Did I Ever See in Him? - Bye Bye Birdie
Hey, Look Me Over! - Wildcat