"Traditional" Musical Theater Song ?

[Amneris]

Posted: 9/7/03 at 10:24pm

I was reading a notice for the open call for "gypsy" kids just to see if they mentioned anything about possible future dates for other auditions for older roles and they had "please prepare one traditional musical theater song" what does traditional classify as? Before the 1960s? I know it doesnt mean (RENT,HAIRSPRAY) etc etc...do they want songs from that time period or could someone go in and use a song from J&H or one of the beautiful ballads from Beauty and The Beast or a show like that from current theater? Thanks

[Songsstresss]

Posted: 9/7/03 at 10:59pm

My novice opinion: They want something in the same vain of Gypsy. They don't want anything written in the last 30 years. They want the good ol' tunes from back in before the 60s I'd say!

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 7:09am

Maybe something like "Give My Regards to Broadway."

[TEACHEROFTHEATER]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 9:06am

I suspect they were not referring to the year a song was written, but rather to the type of song.

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 9:54am

Traditional Broadway song can range from the Sondheim type of songs on up....it is the OPPOSITE of Contemporary which includes some composers such as (Schwartz, Brown, Larsen, etc.)

Some composers to look at for "Traditional" could be: (Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim, Styne, Porter, Lerner & Loewe, etc.)

Anything that doesn't sound like it can be on TRL should be fine - However, if you stick to something from any of the authors above, you should be fine.

Also, you don't have to totally rule out something from Beauty and the Beast, Hairspray, OR Jekyll & Hyde...you just have to select a song from those shows that is similar in type to something that could be used in a show like Gypsy...

For example - If you wanted to use something from Hairspray, "Good Morning, Baltimore" might work.

But again, to reiterate, if you want to be safe in selecting a song, stick to something from the authors above that I mentioned, or something that was written around the eras of the aforementioned authors, and you should be ok.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

Updated On: 9/8/03 at 09:54 AM

[WOSQ]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 11:30am

32 bars (with a good 16 bars that can be pulled out and a good 8 bars ditto); AABA form; melody driven rather than beat driven--a song that sounds right with only a piano; possibly a true standard; for Gypsy think of a tempo faster than a ballad but prep one with a ballad tempo also.

Examples:
Kander and Ebb - title song from The Happy Time
Jones and Schmidt - 50 Million Years Ago from Celebration
Adams and Strouse - Put On A Happy Face

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 11:43am

Jones and Schmidt are excellent as well, I don't know why I didn't think of them immediately as well. Charles Strouse is good as well....ESPECIALLY anything from Annie, for a children's audition. Jones and Schmidt might be a little too complicated at times for a child/young person to fully act out and demonstrate a strong understanding and interpretation of the lyrics. As with most Sondheim as well. However, I am not saying that is always the case.

Cheers,
The Balladeer

[Amneris]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 12:36pm

thank you all very much for your help!!!! I appreciate it!

=D
Amneris

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/8/03 at 10:30pm

Here's another take on why a "traditional" song...

If one is auditioning and sings a known theatre song, say "People Will Say We're in Love," chances are those making the casting decisions will know the song too. Thereby they can assess how you, the performer, treat the song and how you handle it (for good or not so good). But these same decision makers are focusing on you, not the song.

If one chooses to sing a more contemporary song, it may be unknown to the decision makers and they are more apt to focus on the song you picked ("That's a terrrible song, why did he/she pick that?" "What show is that from?") and not on you. You're not being assessed on how you're handling the song as a performer but rather on your poor judgement ("an awful song to sing for audition") and/or your lack of taking direction ("we said a traditional song and she/he goes sings something from a show that 5 people know--she'll be a dream to work with").

In short...The audition should be about you and not the song you're singing. Don't upstage yourself with a song that hasn't passed the test of time and tradition.

Yours for tradition on Broadway! Updated On: 9/8/03 at 10:30 PM