Can a guy sing "Glitter and be Gay" from "Candide"?

[LIOAVNE]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 8:19pm

Glitter and be gay goes up to a D#6. My guy friends has a killer falsetto and he has been working his falsetto range. Is it possible for him to get up there without hurting himself?

[Demitri2]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 8:26pm

Yes Lioavne. Just before the note cup your hand around his scrotum and twist hard.

[enjoyable2]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 9:17pm

This is as painful to my musical sensibilities as contemplating Babs in Gypsy.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 9:21pm

I would ask Ryan Lowe of CHICAGO and Matthew Deming and Chris Newcomer from THE VISIT. They are professional counter tenors.

[Bilbo3]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 9:22pm

Of course!

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:20pm

CAN a guy sing "Glitter and Be Gay"? - Sure.

SHOULD a guy sing "Glitter and Be Gay?" - ???

CAN a white boy play Effie in Dreamgirls? - Sure

SHOULD a white boy play Effie in Dreamgirls? - ???

[ggersten]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:27pm

There was a video of a guy singing Glitter and Be Gay - I think he was at Boston Conservatory - and he wore what looked like a mop as a wig - but part of the fun was not that he could hit the high notes (thank you Joe Gideon), but when the accompanist had some pages of the score fall off the piano. I haven't been able to find the video in some time, though.

[JustBe23]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:32pm

Depends. If his voice naturally sits that high - sure. If he can't hit it already, though, I wouldn't try. Honestly, even if he ends being able to get up there he'll likely be doing some wonky sh*t to his voice and there's no way it would be sustainable long term. Leave it to the coloraturas. Updated On: 3/30/15 at 10:32 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:35pm

Yes but only as a camp. He won't be taken seriously.

A serious countertenor would probably look for other repertoire, unless he were to do "Glitter and Be Gay" as a kind of dare, but that puts it into camp territory.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:41pm

I'm a countertenor and can sing up to a high B, and I've always wished I could sing this song (and would obviously have to change the key) but I've never been able to. It's a hard song.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 10:52pm

I agree that unless it's supposed to be for the purpose of pure camp, it would be completely ludicrous for a male to sing this song, even if they do it well.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 11:00pm

Maybe at Broadway Backwards

[cardamon]

Posted: 3/30/15 at 11:00pm

Speaking of camp, here's a video of Jinkx Monsoon singing it.

Jinkx Monsoon