Forgive the personal reference here, but in Los Angeles, when everyone was auditioning for Rent, the music store here was recommending songs from my first musical THE LAST SESSION. It has a completely contemporary sound but the songs are story songs and have plenty of opportunity for acting. In fact, the actors who have written me said that whenever they audition with one of these songs, the auditors let the finish the song because they want to hear how the songs end. It gives you a great chance for more face-time:
SAVE ME A SEAT -- a ballad that is more like a folk aria. It is an acting exercise about someone comtemplating their own memorial service.
SOMEBODY'S FRIEND -- a HARD rocking song about the frustrations of looking for a cure for a disease but never finding it.
CONNECTED -- a gentle story song about needing to be connected to friends and family.
GOING IT ALONE -- this is the "biggie." It's a passionate but tender song that's a love song to caregivers. Watch the auditors start crying as you finish this one.
You can find the vocal selections book at Colony in NY or through Amazon, published by Cherry Lane. Again, I'm only going on what other actors have told me. That when they sing these songs, they get to sing the whole song. The songs are not well known but all of them pack a powerful punch.
The Last Session website