Men singing women songs

[SondheimFan23]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 1:40pm

Can you do it? A lot of women sing men songs but I don't know if it works the other way around. If it does, are there any good women songs for men to sing that don't have any outwardly women things (like "I Love Him")?

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 1:45pm

Several from the Sondheim catalogue work. Men have sung Losing My Mind and Another Hundred People. Mandy Patinkin sings "In SOMEONE'S Eyes," which has lyrics for a male.

[gcal]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 1:50pm

In Buddy's Eyes was originally called "In Someone's Eyes." Sondheim says, "It had virtually the same lyric, but it also had a counterpoint from Ben."

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 1:58pm

I think if you can tweak the 'play the maid' reference, Broadway Baby could work. Not sure of the purpose here, though. If you're looking for an audition piece, I'm not sure it would work. But for a cabaret act, or any other kind of performance, it might be OK.

[Boq101]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 1:59pm

Does he just say "she's still the princess, still the prize"?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 2:03pm

I'll be honest and say I wouldn't recommend doing it for an audition.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 2:04pm

Ben's counterpart is not what Patinkin sings though. I don't know if Sondheim reworked the lyrics for him or not. Updated On: 1/10/11 at 02:04 PM

[astro nascente]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 2:11pm

Though not necessarily a "show tune", I've heard "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2 sung by a male (obviously, lowered) and it was absolutely heart breaking and beautiful. I think it’d work if one is looking to sing something more contemporary / from the Disney catalogue.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:17pm

A Little Bit of Good from Chicago

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:22pm

I think either of Diana's songs from A Chorus Line, 'Nothing' or 'What I Did For Love', would work.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:29pm

I think there are plenty of songs originally sung by a female character that can be gender neutral ("Nobody's on Nobody's Side", "Defying Gravity" for example.)
However, when I sing, say "Defying Gravity" I raise it 4 keys so that it's in my "belting" range (when its in the original key and you sing it in your natural voice, not your falsetto, it's not as powerful)
So I think the key is finding a song, adjusting the key so its in a correct key for your voice, then if you want see if there is some altered lyrics (changing "Him" to "her and such) OR keep the lyrics the same.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:47pm

Having been on the other side of the audition table, I highly recommend avoiding singing an opposite gender song for auditions. It's rarely the "amazing audition" that the repeat offenders seem to think it is.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 3:48pm

I will occasionally do this for auditions since a great many musical songs are written too tenor-y for my range and there are a lot of female alto songs that, once lowered an octave, can be sung by a baritone easily. My rule of thumb is that if a few pronouns can be switched around without messing with a rhyme or changing the meaning of the song, it can be done.

[binau]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 4:16pm

Listen to the ANTHONY WARLOW "Losing my mind" on grooveshark.com. It's pretty interesting.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 6:01pm

Um, isn't this kinda, at least half the principle for "Broadway Backwards"? I sometime find a whole new level of poignancy and depth with some of the "turnrounds" as well as humour. The" I Love Him" doesn't seem to be an issue.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 7:12pm

I am singing a few female songs for a Gay Youth benefit, there are A LOT of female songs out there that serve this purpose well (not to many "serious" gay songs :/

[chewy5000]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 7:25pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9-vYkvCzJU Updated On: 1/10/11 at 07:25 PM

[broadwaybabytn]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 8:40pm

actually, it was my aunt, but still...

she worked in casting and said that she has only seen good "gender switching" auditions 3 times.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 8:41pm

Considering I'm a really high tenor with limited lower range (low C's a stretch, but I can pop out high D's like a Pez dispenser when I wake up), I do it all the time for concerts. The trick is finding the right song that not only fits the voice but doesn't instantly turn bizarre when a man sings it. Even if you can sing it in the original key, it's a little less unsettling to listen to a man sing a woman's song if the key is lowered. If (big if) I do an audition with a woman's song, I limit it to a comedic number that hinges on a non-sexual character. It's been a long time since I've done that so no good examples are coming to mind. Just think funny songs that don't hinge on gender and it can work.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 9:37pm

Wasn't there a male-version of "I'm Still Here"? I think that in Sondheim's book it has the lyrics that he re-wrote for somebody and I know one of the changes went from "...then someone's mother, then you're camp" to "...then someone's uncle, then you're camp". Of course, you'd have to be an older person to sing this song. And going on the Sondheim tangent, I'm pretty sure there have been a number of men who sang "Send in the Clowns", although for an audition, it probably wouldn't be the best piece.

trentsketch, can I borrow your high notes for an audition next week? I promise to give them back. You can take my low Eb! But in all seriousness, I am often in the same situation as bwayfan7000. As a very low bass, it is quite difficult to find songs these days that aren't written for tenors, but an alto song down the octave is a quick solution.

[joeyvalcort]

Posted: 1/10/11 at 10:59pm

If you do a YouTube search of "gay men's chorus" you'll find tons of clips of choruses from around the country (and the world for that matter) taking on songs for women. A favorite of mine is the LA GMC covering "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago. Aside from sounding good, some of these guys wear pants like it's their job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4se7auC-6bo

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/11/11 at 12:15am

Fifty Percent works well for a male.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 1/11/11 at 12:22am

I mean, it all depends on the situation. Auditions, probably not. Benefits, go for it.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 1/11/11 at 5:12am

It worked for Darren Criss!

[binau]

Posted: 1/11/11 at 7:07am

Nuuu has Aaron Tveit's "Back to before" been deleted from YouTube? It was a dream.