accidentalspythe

Brigadoon (1954) IMDB rating: 6.80 Plot: Two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past.

Actors: Kelly Gene,Johnson Van,Jones Barry,Laing Hugh,Sharpe Albert,Thompson Jimmy,Owen Tudor,McGiveney Owen,Quillan Eddie,Adams Peter,Fantasy,Musical,Mystery,Romance,

song choice for audition?
Is it better to chose a song that you are comfortable with or a song that could be very challenging and will be wonderful if you do it right but suck if you do it wrong?

I am auditioning for Brigadoon and
I am trying to chose from:
Funny Honey from chicago (my style but not really Brigadoon)

The worst Pies in London from Sweeney Todd (works with my voice and shows range)

By the Sea from Sweeney Todd(frigging hard song but I love it)

Wait From Sweeney Todd (quite simple, and more fitting with Brigadoon, also would have to work on showing the break in my voice too much)

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While those Sweeney songs are wonderful, it’s very much frowned upon to sing a Sondheim song at any audition other than an audition for another Sondheim show, with the reasons being a) it’s incredibly difficult for the pianist - Sondheim’s accompaniments are horrendously hard to play, which won’t help you as if the pianist is struggling you’ll sound worse, and b) his style really is very distinct and there’s nothing like it in any other composers’ work - it won’t show the director/MD that you can sing in the style required for the show. So for that reason I’d discourage you from singing any of the songs you’ve listed - Funny Honey is again the wrong style. Brigadoon was written by Lerner and Loewe, the team who wrote My Fair Lady, Camelot and Gigi (a film not stage musical but wonderful nevertheless!). I’d try and find a song from one of those shows to use - just don’t sing "I Could Have Danced All Night" because it’s pretty overdone. "Wouldn’t It Be Loverly" could work for you.

Anna D | Aug 02, 2009

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I don’t know the first song, but I know all of the others because my school recently did Sweeney Todd. So. I’m guessing you are a soprano?

If this were my audition, I would choose The Worst Pies in London because it is quite fun.

Wait is kind of slow for an audition and you wouldn’t want to crack onstage!

By the Sea doesn’s show range quite as well as Worst Pies.

Hope this helps! –courtney
Courtney | Aug 01, 2009

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You have good instincts choosing Steven Sondheim’s music.

But don’t sing "The Worst Pies In London" as it requires very little real singing, using mostly what the Germans call "Sprechstimme" (speech-voice).

If you want to show off your acting ability, how about "Send In the Clowns" — obvious but still a good choice. Or "Why Can’t You Behave?" from Cole Porter’s hit show "Kiss Me Kate" (you can rent DVD and notice that Ann Miller’s voice is capable but not grand) — Or "Some People" from "Gypsy" (Sondheim’s lyrics)., which is another movie on DVD.

If you want to show off your singing range, I would suggest "Someone to Watch Over Me" by George and Ira Gershwin, or "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" (Jerome Kern, from the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie "Roberta" — again, DVD rentable), or "The Man That Got Away" from the 1954 movie version of A STAR IS BORN (ditto on the DVD). The last one is a bravura number sung intensely and very "torchy" by Judy Garland so don’t go there without some practice!

If you absolutely MUST have something more modern, consider "A New York State of Mind" by Billy Joel (should be downloadable).

I do think you should practice anything you choose before you audition. Being able to sight-read music is helpful but not critical.

"Break a leg"!
al-in-chgo | Aug 01, 2009