Excavating the Song B Music:Vocal

Transcription

Expectations of Modern Musical Theatre Singers
As one of the exciting numbers of artists who have the dream of doing professional musical
theatre, I'm sure you’ve listened to lots of cast albums, seen as many shows in New York and
regionally as you can, watched DVDs and spent hours on YouTube. Watching and listening is the
best way to learn and get inspired, but perhaps it has also left you a bit confused or even
frustrated. You might wonder, “How could I ever sing with as much beauty as he does,” or “How
could I ever belt as high as she can?” or you might wonder how some actors could have landed
the role in the first place?
Have you ever wondered about the expectations in professional Musical Theatre today? If you’ve
listened to cast albums from the past, you must have observed that there have been some
outstanding singers as well as some singers who, let’s face it, were not great. Does that mean that
anything goes and that you just have to be in the right place at the right moment? No, the vocal
standards of the past were different than today. Today, the standards are exceedingly high. But do
not fret. This chapter will help you identify the important skills for you to be aware of as you
continue to work toward your goals. No one expects you to have all of these skills when you start
out.
Forty or fifty years ago, Musical Theatre performers were usually either actors, singers, dancers
or personalities. The ideal of the so-called Triple-Threat did not exist as it does today. Performers
from earlier generations might have been actors who could sing (Alfred Drake, Barbara Cook,
Mary Martin, Angela Lansbury) or dancers who could sing (Ray Bolger, Gwen Verdon), or they
might be personalities who could sing (Ethyl Merman, Carol Channing). But in the last 20 years,
the art of musical theatre has changed. In most cases, performers are expected to be singers,
actors and dancers of skill. The expectations for singers today has especially risen because our
lives are inundated with music and because there are so many young performers to choose from
in auditions. Musical Theatre, as an art form, isn’t something that people studied until about 25
years ago.
What are the expectations are for younger artists entering the business today? I believe the first
step is to know the singing actors who are working today and have worked in at least the last
twenty years. Above all, be curious. Recordings and videos will be your guide. Next, you should
work toward being a better singer, actor and dancer. Take voice lessons, get into an acting class,
take as many dance classes as you can. Then you must get out there and do it. Take a role in a
small production. Go to every audition you can. Know that failure along the way is inevitable.
Let’s break down the expectations so you can know what to work for.
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The Necessary Musical Skills
Strong musicianship
In order to be a professional, you will need a solid understanding the mechanics of music and
have the ability to translate notation into a compelling performance. Of course, there have been
many examples of working professionals who didn't read a bit of music. But now, with the rising
costs of mounting a production and the speed at which shows are rehearsed, things are much
different today. You are not expected to sight read music flawlessly, but you are expected to read
music, understand all the symbols and terminology and to be able to learn music independently.
If you cannot do this, it is expected that you will hire a coach to help you. There simply isn't
enough time for a musical director to teach you every note. A good rule of thumb is that you
should be able to learn a new song, not memorized necessarily, in two days or less. If you can't,
you will frustrate yourself and the folks who hire you.
Pitch accuracy and intonation
Musical Theatre is live art form. In the last 20 or 30 years, the quality and accuracy of singing
has risen to a very high level. Audiences, raised on television and the internet are sophisticated
and demanding.
Vocal Range and Style
In most cases, the dividing line between soprano and mezzo and between tenor and baritone
which we have all grown up with are blurred in modern musical theatre practice. Don't
misunderstand me. People still are sopranos, mezzos, tenors or baritones but everyone is
expected to be able to sing nearly everything within reason. If you really want to be marketable,
everyone will need a very strong classical technique that allows the voice to move freely with
resonance and vibrancy. Work with your voice teacher to expand your range. It is also highly
desirable for you to be able to sing without vibrato when called upon. You will need this skill in
passages that require a more speech-like, parlando approach (as with Standards or some Golden
Age verses) or in modern pop-rock influenced music. It is also highly desirable to be able to
transition from a non-vibrant sound to full vibrancy as this is frequently required in mix-belt and
belt songs on sustained pitches.
Sopranos should be able to sing comfortably from G3 (below middle C) to C6 or D6 (above the
staff) in Bel Canto style. Bel Canto is a style of singing characterized by beauty of tone. Legato
and evenness across the registers are its trademarks. Sopranos should also have a very strong mix
able to carry the chest voice up moderately high with volume and minimum vibrancy but without
pushing. If you are able to move over into belt, that's great but a very strong, powerful mix that
can sound like belt is the bread and butter for the modern soprano. To do this, everyone needs
classical voice training.
Mezzos should be able to sing comfortably from E3 (below middle C) to A6 or B6 (at the top of
the staff) in Bel Canto. They should also have a very strong mix able to carry the chest voice up
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moderately high with volume and minimum vibrancy but without pushing. Belt is expected with
true mezzos but avoid pushing at all costs.
Tenors should be able to sing comfortably from G2 to C5 or D5 in Bel Canto style. The
challenge for tenors is singing above the staff. Work to be able to produce a variety of sounds in
the upper range including a lyrical sound, a soft/tender sound (approaching falsetto without being
too flute-y) and a powerful high range, sometimes called male-belt. Some reject this term.
Whatever you call it, strong singing at the top of the range is frequently how tenors are
evaluated.
Baritones should be able to sing comfortably from E2 to Bb5 in Bel Canto. Okay young
baritones, are you sitting down? This might seem like bad news, but it doesn't have to be.
Traditionally, the baritone is usually an older character types like the Antihero (Billy in Carousel,
Sweeney in Sweeney Todd or Paul in Carnival, Coalhouse in Ragtime), Leading Man (Curley in
OKLAHOMA! or Emile in South Pacific) or the buffo (Trevor Greydon in Thoroughly Modern
Millie or Ivan in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). These roles usually go to men in
their 40s or older. But there are many working younger baritones who have found a new, more
youthful approach that is closer to what we generally think of from tenors. Sometimes this range
is referred to as the Bari-tenor. The Bari-tenor is one of the most frequent ranges in modern
theatre. It’s something baritone and tenor which combines the best qualities of each—strong
singing in the lower range mixed with the ability to sing beautifully above the staff. If you are a
true baritone, don't try to be a tenor but, unless you are singing one of these older roles, lighten
up as you go
higher.
For most modern shows, the ensemble is required to have a wide range. And dance! In recent
years, ensemble singing in such shows as Wicked, In the Heights and The Book of Mormon, vocal
arrangers are asking the ensemble to sing higher than in the past. Sopranos will need an easy C
or D, tenors are kept above the staff much of the time and baritones are treated like second
tenors.
Part Singing
All singers should to be able to sing parts and hold down their part securely. Men should be able
to sing both tenor and bass depending on the needs of the ensemble and women need to be able
to sing soprano and alto. Creating a balanced ensemble can be challenging for musical directors
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since casts aren't assembled with an eye toward equal forces on each part. Most of the time you
won't be asked to sing outside your range in an ensemble but you will be expected to be flexible.
Rock Styles
In most cases now, singers are expected to be able to sing in Rock styles and be able to riff. You
might think that you simply are gifted with the Rock sound but this is a singing style, like others,
that can be learned. I would encouraged you to pick up Sherry Saunder’s book, Rock the
Audition, for more information about Rock singing.
Vocal Colors
In a later chapter, I discuss Vocal Colors in detail. Vocal colors is a term I like to use when
describing the virtually infinite ways the voice can produce sound. The changes in dynamics,
vibrancy, resonance, intention and host of other things create dramatically different versions of
the song. In dramatic singing, vocal colors are an incredibly powerful tool in communicating
meaning and subtext.
In classical singing, there is traditionally a focus on unity across registers with a similar color
throughout that is fully vibrant and resonant. The better opera and art song singers are aware of
the power of changing the colors for the sake of communication in such ways a varying the rate
of vibrato, the brilliance, prominence of consonants and others ways. But, by and large, the Bel
Canto style is to obtain beauty at all costs.
But for the musical theatre singer, character, text and story-telling are more important than pure
sound. Beauty of sound is valued if the moment calls for it. More than anything, the singer must
sing in a manner that is consistent with their character's truth in that moment. If the character is
fearful, the voice can and should reflect that. If they are triumphant, the voice will reflect that.
Conclusion
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Musical Theatre Singers You Should Know
As I've mentioned, you can learn a great deal by being aware of current and historical musical
theatre singers. Knowing their recordings and live performances will help you gain mastery in
understanding the subtle differences between styles, how to negotiate difficulties in singing,
various approaches to acting in songs and a host of other things. Maintaining a collection of cast
albums can be expensive but you can find ways around that like the library and internet
resources.
Before I list the singers I think you should be aware of, I want to start with the ones that are
legendary. These actors have had such long and significant careers on Broadway and/or in film
and television, that a large percentage of the general public know them. If you don’t know them,
do yourself a big favor and spend an afternoon listening to their music. These storied actors will
inspire you.
I’ve listed one song that, for each performer, that I believe is essential listening. (R) indicates a
revival. Make note of the actors who have won a Tony award.
Legendary Female Singers
Angela Lansbury
Audra McDonald
Bernadette Peters
Kristin Chenoweth
Ethel Merman
Idina Menzel
Kelli O’Hara
Liza Minnelli
Mary Martin
Patti LuPone
Sweeney Todd (Tony), Mame (Tony), Anyone Can Whistle, The Worst Pies in London (Sweeney Todd)
Gypsy (Tony) (R), Dear World (Tony), A Little Night Music
(R)
Ragtime (Tony), Carousel (Tony), Lady Day at Emerson’s Your Daddy’s Son (Ragtime)
Bar and Grill (Tony), Marie Christine, 110 in the Shade, The
Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Tony)
Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, The
Everybody Loves Louis (Sunday in the
Goodbye Girl, Song and Dance (Tony), Gypsy, Follies (R), Park With George)
Annie Get Your Gun (Tony) (R), Mack & Mabel, A Little
Night Music (R) (replacement), Dames at Sea, George M!
Wicked, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Tony) (R),
Popular (Wicked)
Steel Pier, The Apple Tree (R), Promises, Promises (R)
Gypsy, Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam (Tony),
Rose’s Turn (Gypsy)
Panama Hattie, Du Barry Was a Lady, Anything Goes,
George White’s Scandals, Girl Crazy
Rent, Wicked (Tony), If/Then, See What I Wanna See, The Defying Gravity (Wicked)
Wild Party
The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific (R), The Pajama
The Beauty Is (The Light in the Piazza)
Game (R), Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Bridges of
Madison County, Far From Heaven, Sweet Smell of Success,
Dracula, The Musical
The Act (Tony), The Rink, Liza’s At the Palace, Flora, The Maybe This Time (Cabaret, film
Red Menace (Tony), Best Foot Forward (R)
soundtrack)
South Pacific (Tony), The Sound of Music (Tony), Peter Pan A Wonderful Guy (South Pacific)
(Tony), One Touch of Venus, I Do! I Do!, Leave It To Me!,
Lute Song
Evita (Tony), Gypsy (Tony) (R), Sweeney Todd (R),
Don’t Cry For Me Argentina (Evita)
Anything Goes (Tony) (R), Les Miserables (West End), The
Baker’s Wife, Oliver! (R), Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown, Candide (R), Working, Robber Bridegroom, The
Beggar’s Opera
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Sutton Foster
Anything Goes (Tony) (R), Thoroughly Modern Millie
(Tony), Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone, Shrek the
Musical, Violet (R)
Gimme Gimme (Thoroughly Modern
Millie)
There any number of singers that were left off of the list that I could have included. Paring down
the numbers was hard and a few folks I really like are not here. I chose only those who have
originated a significant role in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production.
Female Singers You Should Know
Alice Ripley
Alison Fraser
Amy Spanger
Andrea Burns
Andrea Martin
Angela Christian
Anika Noni Rose
Annaleigh Ashford
Ashley Brown
Barbara Cook
Barbara Walsh
Bebe Neuwirth
Beth Fowler
Beth Leavel
Betsy Wolfe
Betty Buckley
Caissie Levy
Capathia Jenkins
Carolee Carmello
Celeste Holm
Celia Keenan Bolger
Charlotte d’Amboise
Chita Rivera
Christiane Noll
Next To Normal (Tony), The Rocky Horror Show (R), Side
Show, King David, The Who’s Tommy
Gypsy (R), The Secret Garden, Romance, Romance, The
Mystery of Edwin Drood
Elf, Rock of Ages, Urinetown, The Wedding Singer, Kiss
Me, Kate (R)
In the Heights, Songs for a New World, Saturday Night (R),
It’s Only Life
Pippin (R) (Tony), Young Frankenstein, Fiddler on the Roof
(R), Oklahoma! (R), My Favorite Year (Tony), Candide (R)
The Woman in White, Thoroughly Modern Millie
I Miss the Mountains (Next to Normal)
Hold On (The Secret Garden)
Right In Front of Your Eyes (The Wedding
Singer)
I’m Not Afraid (Songs For a New World)
No Time At All (Pippin, revival))
How the Other Half Lives (Thoroughly
Modern Millie)
I Hate the Bus (Caroline, Or Change)
The History of Wrong Guys (Kinky Boots)
Caroline Or Change (Tony), The Cradle Will Rock (R)
Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, Rent (R), Wicked
(replacement)
Mary Poppins, On the Record, Beauty and the Beast
If I Were a Bell (Speak Low, album)
(replacement)
She Loves Me, The Music Man (Tony), Candide, Plain and My White Knight (The Music Man)
Fancy Sondheim on Sondheim, The Grass Harp
Company (R), Big, Blood Brothers, Falsettos
Stop, Time (Big)
Chicago (R) (Tony), The Addams Family, Fosse. Damn
A Little Brains, A Little Talent (Damn
Yankees (R), Sweet Charity (R) (Tony)
Yankees, revival))
The Boy from Oz, Bells are Ringing (R), Beauty and the
Patterns (Baby)
Beast, Baby, A Little Night Music
The Drowsy Chaperone (Tony), Elf, the Musical, Baby It’s As We Stumble Along (The Drowsy
You!, The Civil War
Chaperone)
The Last Five Years (R), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (R), Climbing Uphill (The Last Five Years,
Merrily We Roll Along (R), Everyday Rapture. Bullets Over revival)
Broadway
Elegies, Triumph of Love, Sunset Boulevard (replacement), He Plays the Violin (1776)
Carrie, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cats (Tony), Promises,
Promises, 1776
Les Miserables (R), Murder Ballad, Ghost the Musical, Hair Nothing Stops Another Day (Ghost the
(R)
Musical)
Newsies, Martin Short, Fame Becomes Me, Caroline, Or
That’s Rich (Newsies)
Change, Godspell (R), The Civil War
Scandalous, Parade, The Addams Family, Rags, Lestat,
You Don’t Know This Man (Parade)
Elegies, A Class Act, The Scarlet Pimpernel, john and jen,
Hello Again, Falsettos
Oklahoma!, Bloomer Girl, The King and I (replacement)
I Cain’t Say No (Oklahoma!)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Merrily We Like It Was (Merrily We Roll Along,
Roll Along (R), Les Miserable (R), Summer of ’42
revival)
A Chorus Line (R), Pippin (R), Sweet Charity (R), Chicago The Music and the Mirror (revival)
(R) (replacement), Damn Yankees (R) (replacement), Carrie
Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie, West Side Story, The Rink (Tony), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Kiss of the
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony), The Mystery of Edwin
Spider Woman)
Drood (R), Nine (R), Merlin, Jerry’s Girls
Chaplin, Ragtime (R), Jekyll & Hyde
Back to Before (Ragtime, revival)
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Christine Andreas
La Cage aux Folles (R), The Scarlet Pimpernel, On Your
When I Look At You (The Scarlet
Toes (R), Oklahoma! (R), My Fair Lady (R)
Pimpernel)
Christine Ebersole
Grey Gardens (Tony), 42nd Street (Tony), Camelot (R),
The Revolutionary Costume For Today
Oklahoma! (R)
(Grey Gardens)
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Rent, The Rocky Horror Show (R), Les Miserables (R)
Out Tonight (Rent)
Debbie Gravitte
Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (Tony), Zorba (R), They’re
Mr. Monotony (Jerome Robbin’s
Playing Our Song
Broadway)
Debra Monk
Curtains, Steel Pier, Nick & Nora, Pump Boys and Dinettes Everybody’s Girl (Steel Pier)
Dee Hoty
Bye Bye Birdie (R), Footloose, The Best Little Whorehouse My Unknown Someone (The Will Rogers
Goes Public, The Will Rogers Follies, City of Angels
Follies)
Dolores Gray
42nd Street (replacement), Destry Rides Again, Carnival in If You Hadn’t But You Did (Two on the
Flanders (Tony), Two on the Aisle, Seven Lively Arts
Aisle)
Donna Lynne Champlin Sweeney Todd (R), First Lady Suite, My Life With
The Contest (Sweeney Todd, revival)
Albertine, By Jeeves
Donna McKechnie
Chorus Line (Tony), Company, State Fair, Annie Warbucks, Music and the Mirror (A Chorus Line)
Promises, Promises
Donna Murphy
Passion (Tony), The King and I (R) (Tony), Wonderful Town I Read (Passion)
(R) (Tony), Lovemusik, The People in the Picture
Dorothy Loudon
Ballroom, Annie (Tony), Sweeney Todd (replacement),
Little Girls (Annie)
Jerry’s Girls
Eden Espinosa
Brooklyn, Wicked (replacement), Rent (replacement)
Once Upon a Time (Brooklyn)
Elaine Paige
Evita (West End), Cats (West End), Follies (R), Sunset
I’m Still Here (Follies, revival)
Boulevard (replacement), Anything Goes (West End)
Elaine Stritch
Company, Show Boat (R), A Little Night Music (R), Call Me The Ladies Who Lunch (Company)
Madam, Sail Away
Elizabeth Stanley
Cry Baby, Million Dollar Quartet, Company (R)
Fever (Million Dollar Quartet)
Ellen Greene
Little Shop of Horrors, Weird Romance
Somewhere That’s Green (Little Shop of
Horrors)
Emily Skinner
Side Show, James Joyce’s The Dead, The Full Monty
Life With Harold (The Full Monty)
Erin Davie
Grey Gardens, A Little Night Music (R), Curtains
Daddy’s Girl (The World She Writes)
(replacement), The Glorious Ones
Erin Dilly
A Christmas Story: The Musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious
Into the Woods (R) (replacement), Thoroughly Modern Milly(Reprise) (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
(replacement)
Erin Mackey
Chaplin, Anything Goes (R) (replacement), Sondheim on
What Only Love Can See (Chaplin)
Sondheim
Faith Prince
Guys and Dolls (R) (Tony), Nick & Nora, A Catered Affair, It’s a Perfect Relationship (Bells Are
Bells Are Ringing (R), Little Me (R), Jerome Robbin’s
Ringing, revival)
Broadway, Falsettoland
Florence Lacey
Hello Dolly (R), Follies (R), Evita (replacement)
Ribbons Down My Back (Hello Dolly,
revival)
Gwen Verdon
Chicago, Sweet Charity, Redhead (Tony), New Girl in Town Whatever Lola Wants (Damn Yankees)
(Tony), Damn Yankees (Tony), Can-Can (Tony)
Heather Headley
Aida (Tony), The Lion King, The Bodyguard (West End)
Easy As Life (Aida)
Jan Maxwell
Follies (R), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Sound of Music Could I Leave You (Follies, revival)
(R)
Jane Krakowski
Grand Hotel, Starlight Express, Nine (R) (Tony), Company I Want to Go To Hollywood (Grand Hotel)
(R). Once Upon a Matress (R)
Jenn Gambatese
Tarzan, All Shook Up, Wicked (replacement)
One Night With You (All Shook Up)
Jennifer Damiano
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Next to Normal, Spring
If The World Should End (Spider-Man:
Awakening
Turn Off The Dark)
Jessica Molaskey
Parade, Sunday in the Park with George (R), Chess
Sweet Dreams (It’s Only Life)
Jessie Mueller
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Drood (R), Nice Work If You Can Get It, On a Clear Day
(Beautiful: The Carole King Musical)
You Can See Forever (R)
Jill Paice
The Woman in White, Curtains, Death Takes a Holiday,
How Will I Know? (Death Takes a
Matilda: The Musical (replacement)
Holiday)
Joanna Gleason
Into the Woods (Tony), Nick & Nora, Dirty Rotten
Moments in the Woods (Into the Woods)
Scoundrels, I Love My Wife
Judith Blazer
Titanic, LoveMusik, Bernarda Alba, Hello Again, Company The Mistress Of The Senator (Hello
(R), Lucky Stiff
Again)
Judy Kaye
Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony), On the Twentieth
Looking For a Boy (Nice Work If You Can
Century, The Phantom of the Opera (Tony), Ragtime,
Get It)
Mamma Mia!
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Judy Kuhn
Julia Murney
Karen Akers
Karen Olivo
Karen Ziemba
Kate Baldwin
Kate Shindle
Kecia Lewis-Evans
Kerry Butler
Krysta Rodriguez
LaChanze
Laura Bell Bundy
Laura Benanti
Laura Osnes
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Kennedy
Lauren Ward
Lea Salonga
Leslie Kritzer
Lillias White
Linda Balgord
Lindsay Mendez
Lisa Howard
Liz Callaway
Madeline Kahn
Mandy Gonzalez
Mara Davi
Maria Schaffel
Marin Mazzie
Mary Beth Peil
Mary Louise Wilson
Mary Testa
Chess, Rags, Les Miserables, She Loves Me (R), Passion Nobody’s Side (Chess)
(R), The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Wild Party, Lennon, Queen of the Mist, Wicked
Maybe I Like It This Way (The Wild
(replacement)
Party)
Grand Hotel, Nine
Be On Your Own (Nine)
West Side Story (R) (Tony), In the Heights, Brooklyn,
It Won’t Be Long Now (In The Heights)
Murder Ballad, Rent (replacement)
Steel Pier, Contact (Tony), Never Gonna Dance, Curtains, Thinking of Him (Curtains)
42nd Street (replacement)
Finian’s Rainbow (R), Big Fish, Giant, Wonderful Town (R) I Don’t Need a Roof (Big Fish)
(replacement)
Wonderland, Legally Blonde, Cabaret (R) (replacement)
Legally Blonde Remix (Legally Blonde)
Once on This Island, The Drowsy Chaperone, Leap of Faith, Mama Will Provide (Once On This Island)
Dessa Rose
Xanadu, Rock of Ages, Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray,
Fly, Fly Away (Catch Me If You Can)
Prodigal, Little Shop of Horrors (R),
First Date, The Addams Family, First Date, Spring
Safer (First Date)
Awakening
The Color Purple (Tony), Once on This Island, If/Then,
I’m Here (The Color Purple)
Dessa Rose, The Bubby Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon
Skin
Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Wicked (replacement), Ruthless! So Much Better (Legally Blonde)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Tony),
Model Behavior (Women on the Verge of a
Gypsy (Tony), The Wedding Singer, Nine (R), Into the
Nervous Breakdown)
Woods (R), Swing!, The Sound of Music (R) (replacement)
Cinderella (Tony), Bonnie & Clyde, Anything Goes (R),
Dyin’ Ain’t So Bad (Bonnie & Clyde)
Grease (R), South Pacific (R) (replacement)
Woman of the Year (Tony), Applause (Tony)
Welcome To the Theatre (Applause)
Vanities, Monty Python’s Spamalot (replacement), Sunset Fly Into The Future (Vanities)
Boulevard (replacement), Disaster
Matilda: The Musical, 1776 (R), Follies (R), Violet, Saturday Pathetic (Matilda: The Musical)
Night
Miss Saigon (Tony), Flower Drum Song (R), Les Miserables I’d Give My Life For You (Miss Saigon)
(replacement)
Sondheim on Sondheim, A Catered Affair, Rooms: A Rock One White Dress (A Catered Affair)
Musical, Legally Blonde, Elf, The Great American Trailer
Park Musical, Godspell (R)
Fela!, The Life (Tony), How To Succeed In Business
The Oldest Profession (The Life)
Without Really Trying (R), Dreamgirls (R),
The Pirate Queen, Death Takes a Holiday, La Cage aux
The Role Of The Queen (The Pirate
Folles (R), Passion,
Queen)
Godspell (R), Everyday Rapture, Dogfight, Grease (R),
Pretty Funny (Dogfight)
Wicked (replacement)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, South Pacific Infinite Joy (Songs of Innocence &
(R), 9 to 5, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (replacement)
Experience, album)
Baby, Miss Saigon, The Look of Love, Brownstone, The
The Story Goes On (Baby)
Spitfire Grill, Merrily We Roll Along
Two by Two, On the Twentieth Century
Never (On The Twentieth Century)
In the Heights, Lennon, Wicked (replacement), Dance of the Breathe (In The Heights)
Vampires
Death Takes a Holiday, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (R), Shimmy Like They Do In Paree (Death
A Chorus Line (R), The Drowsy Chaperone (replacement), Takes a Holiday)
Toxic Avenger
Jane Eyre, Titanic (replacement)
Painting Her Portrait (Jane Eyre)
Ragtime, Passion, Kiss Me Kate (R), Man of La Mancha (R),Back to Before (Ragtime)
Next to Normal (replacement), Bullets Over Broadway
King and I (R), Follies (R), Sunday in the Park with George Ah, Paris! (Follies, revival)
(R), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Grey Gardens (Tony), Cabaret (R), Gypsy (R), Flora, the
What Would You Do? (Cabaret, revival)
Red Menace
Guys and Dolls (R), Xanadu, 42nd Street (R), Marie
Change (A New Brain)
Christine, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the
Forum (R), Queen of the Mist, See What I Wanna See, A
New Brain
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Megan Hilty
Megan McGinnis
Megan Mullally
Melissa Errico
Michele Pawk
Montego Glover
Nancy Opel
Nancy Walker
Natascia Diaz
Nikki M. James
Orfeh
Pam Myers
Patina Miller
Priscilla Lopez
Rachel York
Randy Graff
Rebecca Luker
Sally Mayes
Sally Murphy
Sara Ramirez
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Uriarte Berry
Sherie Rene Scott
Shoshana Bean
Sierra Boggess
Stephanie D’Abruzzo
Stephanie J. Block
Susan Egan
Terri White
Theresa McCarthy
Tonya Pinkins
Vanessa Williams
Victoria Clark
9 to 5, Wicked (replacement)
Let’s Be Bad (The Music of Smash,
album)
Little Women, Thoroughly Modern Millie (replacement), Les Some Things Are Meant To Be (Little
Miserables (R)
Women)
Young Frankenstein, How to Succeed in Business Without Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm (How
Really Trying (R), Grease (R)
To Succeed In Business)
Amour, Dracula, The Musical, Irving Berlin’s White
Dusoleil in Jail (Amour)
Christmas, Passion (R), High Society, My Fair Lady (R),
Anna Karenina
Seussical, Reefer Madness, Bounce, Cabaret (R), Triumph of Amayzing Mayzie (Seussical)
Love, Hello Again, Crazy For You
Memphis, The Color Purple (replacement)
Colored Women (Memphis)
Urinetown, Fiddler on the Roof (R), Triumph of Love, Toxic It’s a Privilege to Pee (Urinetown)
Avenger, Evita (replacement), Personals
On the Town, Best Foot Forward, Do Re Mi
I Can Cook Too (On The Town)
The Capeman, Seussical, Man of La Mancha (R), Jacques My Death (Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well
Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (R)
and Living in Paris)
The Book of Mormon (Tony), Les Miserables (R), All Shook Sal Tlay Ka Siti (The Book of Mormon)
Up
Saturday Night Fever, Legally Blonde, Footloose
Ireland (Legally Blonde)
(replacement)
Company, Into the Woods (R), Snoopy
Another Hundred People (Company)
Pippin (R) (Tony), Sister Act
Sister Act (Sister Act)
A Chorus Line, Nine, In the Heights, A Day in Hollywood/A What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line)
Night in the Ukraine (Tony)
City of Angels, Victor/Victoria, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Lost & Found (City of Angels)
(replacement), Dessa Rose, Summer of ’42,
City of Angels (Tony), High Society, A Class Act, Fiddler on You Can Always Count On Me (City of
the Roof (R),
Angels)
The Secret Garden, Show Boat (R), The Sound of Music (R), I Have Confidence (The Sound Of Music,
The Music Man (R), Nine (R), Mary Poppins
revival)
She Loves Me (R), Urban Cowboy, Das Barbecu, Closer
A Trip To The Library (She Loves Me)
Than Ever
Carousel (R), The Wild Party, Fiddler on the Roof (R),
What’s The Use Of Wond’rin’ (Carousel,
Bernarda Alba, A Man of No Importance
revival)
Spamalot (Tony), A Class Act, The Capeman
Diva’s Lament (Whatever Happened To
My Part) (Spamalot)
The Phantom of the Opera
Think of Me (The Phantom of the Opera)
Taboo, The Light in the Piazza, Next to Normal
The Joy You Feel (The Light In The
(replacement)
Piazza)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Everyday
Lovesick (Women on the Verge of a
Rapture, The Little Mermaid, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Aida, Nervous Breakdown)
The Who’s Tommy, The Last Five Years, Debbie Does
Dallas
Wicked (replacement), Hairspray, Godspell (R)
Bless The Lord (Godspell, revival)
The Little Mermaid, The Phantom of the Opera
Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid)
(replacement), Love Never Dies
Avenue Q, I Love You Because
There’s a Fine, Fine Line (Avenue Q)
The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Boy from Oz, The Pirate The Writing On the Wall (The Mystery Of
Queen, 9 to 5, Anything Goes (R) (replacement)
Edwin Drood, revival)
Beauty and the Beast, Triumph of Love, Cabaret (R)
Anything (Triumph of Love)
(replacement),
Follies (R), Finian’s Rainbow (R), Barnum
Necessity (Finian’s Rainbow, revival)
Titanic, Queen of the Mist
I Remember (The Frogs - Evening
Primrose (2001 Studio Cast album)
Caroline, or Change, The Wild Party, Jelly’s Last Jam
Lot’s Wife (Caroline, Or Change)
(Tony), Merrily We Roll Along
Sondheim on Sondheim, Into the Woods (R), Kiss of the
Last Midnight (Into The Woods, revival)
Spider Woman (replacement)
The Light in the Piazza (Tony), Cinderella, Sister Act,
Dividing Day (The Light In the Piazza)
Titanic, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
(R), Guys and Dolls (R)
9
Male Singers You Should Know
Aaron Lazar
Aaron Tveit
Adam Pascal
Alexander Gemignani
Alfred Drake
Andy Karl
Anthony Crivello
Barrett Foa
Ben Vereen
Billy Porter
Bobby Steggert
Boyd Gaines
Brent Barrett
Brent Carver
Brent Spiner
Brian d'Arcy James
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brooks Ashmanskas
Bryce Pinkham
Chad Kimball
Cheyenne Jackson
Chip Zien
Christian Borle
Christopher Fitzgerald
Christopher Sieber
Chuck Cooper
Chuck Wagner
Colm Wilkinson
Constantine Maroulis
Danny Burstein
Darius de Haas
David Hyde Pierce
Dick van Dyke
The Light in the Piazza, Les Miserables (R), A Tale of Two
In Praise of Women (A Little Night
Cities, A Little Night Music (R)
Music, revival)
Catch Me If You Can, Next To Normal, Wicked (replacement) I’m Alive (Next To Normal)
Rent, Aida, Memphis (replacement)
One Song Glory (Rent)
Les Miserables (R), Sweeney Todd (R), Sunday In the Park
Ladies in Their Sensitivities
With George (R), Assassins (R), The People in the Picture,
(Sweeney Todd, revival)
Road Show, Violet (R)
Oklahoma!, Beggar’s Holiday, Kiss Me, Kate, Kismet (Tony), Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
Gigi
(Oklahoma!)
Rocky, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (R), 9 to 5: The Musical, My Nose Ain’t Broken (Rocky)
Legally Blonde, Altar Boyz
Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony), Les Miserables, Marie
Marta (Kiss of the Spider Woman)
Christine, Golden Boy (R), Evita (R)
Godspell (R), Avenue Q (replacement)
God Save the People (Godspell)
Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin (Tony), Grind, Jelly’s Last
Simple Joys (Pippin)
Jam, Fosse, Wicked (replacement)
Kinky Boots (Tony), Grease (R), Miss Saigon (replacement), Hold Me In Your Heart (Kinky
It’s Only Life
Boots)
Big Fish, Ragtime (R), 110 in the Shade, A Minister’s Wife
Stranger (Big Fish)
Gypsy (R) (Tony), Contact (Tony), Company (R), She Loves Tonight at Eight (She Loves Me,
Me (Tony) (R)
revival)
Closer Than Ever, Silence! The Musical, Grand Hotel
New Words (The Maury Yeston
Songbook, recording)
Parade (Tony), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony), My Life
It’s Hard to Speak My Heart
With Albertine, Jesus Christ Superstar (R),
(Parade)
Sunday In The Park With George, Big River, 1776 (R)
Is Anybody There? (1776)
Shrek, The Sweet Smell of Success, Titanic, The Apple Tree At the Fountain (The Sweet Smell
(R), Giant, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (replacement)
of Success)
Ragtime, Kiss Me, Kate (R) (Tony), Man of La Mancha (R), Coalhouse's Soliloquy (Ragtime)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Promises, Promises (R),
On My Bedside Table (It’s Only
Bullets Over Broadway, It’s Only Life
Life)
A Gentleman's Guide To Love and Murder, Ghost, the
Sibelia (A Gentlemen’s Guide to
Musical, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson
Love and Murder)
Memphis, Lennon, Good Vibrations, Into the Woods (R). My Memphis Lives In Me
Life With Albertine, Godspell (R)
(Memphis)
All Shook Up, Xanadu, Finian’s Rainbow, Altar Boyz,
Roustabout (All Shook Up)
Into The Woods, Falsettos, The Boys From Syracuse (R), A
No More (Into the Woods)
New Brain, The People In the Picture, Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang
Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins (replacement, Spamalot,
When the Earth Stopped Turning
Elegies, Prodigal, Jesus Christ Superstar (R)
(Elegies)
Finian’s Rainbow (R), Young Frankenstein, Wicked, Amour When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love
(Finian’s Rainbow)
Triumph of Love, Spamalot, Into the Woods (R), Shrek The Issue in Question (Triumph of Love)
Musical, The Kid
The Life (Tony), Finian’s Rainbow (R), Lennon, Caroline,
The Bus (Carolin, Or Change)
Or Change
Into The Woods, Dracula, The Musical, Les Miserables
Agony (Into the Woods)
(replacement)
Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar (West End)
Bring Him Home (Les Miserables)
Rock of Ages, Jekyll & Hyde (R), The Wedding Singer
(replacement)
The Drowsy Chaperone, South Pacific (R), Women on the
Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Follies (R), Cabaret (R)
Marie Christine, The Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm, Kiss of
the Spider Woman (replacement)
This is the Moment (Jekyll & Hyde,
revival)
The Right Girl (Follies, revival)
Spamalot, Curtains (Tony)
Bye Bye Birdie (Tony), The Music Man (R)
Coffee Shop Nights (Curtains)
Put on a Happy Face (Bye Bye
Birdie)
10
In Whatever Time We Have
(Children of Eden)
Douglas Sills
Eddie Korbich
Euan Morton
Gary Beach
Gavin Creel
George Hearn
Gregg Edelman
Gregory Hines
Gregory Jbara
Harry Connick
Hinton Battle
Howard Keel
Howard McGillin
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Panaro
Hunter Foster
James Barbour
James Naughton
Jarrod Emick
Jason Danieley
Jason Graae
Jeff McCarthy
Jeremy Jordan
Jerry Orbach
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Little Shop of Horrors (R)
Into the Fire (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
The Little Mermaid, The Drowsy Chaperone, Carousel (R),
Geraniums in the Winder (Carousel,
Sweeney Todd (R), Assassins (R), Seussical, A Christmas
revival)
Story, A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder
Taboo, Sondheim on Sondheim
Pretty Lies (Taboo)
La Cage aux Folles (R), The Producers (Tony), Les Miserables Springtime for Hitler, Pt. II (The
(R), Beauty and the Beast, Doonesbury, Somethin’s Afoot
Producers)
Thoroughly Modern Millie, La Cage aux Folles (R), Hair (R), What Do I Need With Love?
Bounce (regional)
(Thoroughly Modern Millie)
La Cage aux Folles (Tony), Sunset Boulevard (Tony), Putting I Am What I Am (La Cage aux
It Together, Wicked (replacement), Scandalous, Meet Me in St. Folles)
Louis
City of Angels, Anna Karenina, Passion, 1776 (R), Into the
A Quiet Girl (Wonderful Town,
Woods (R), Wonderful Town (R), A Tale of Two Cities, The revival)
Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cabaret (R)
Jelly’s Last Jam (Tony), Sophisticated Ladies, Eubie!, The Girl In My Day (Jelly’s Last Jam)
in the Pink Tights
Billy Elliot: The Musical (Tony), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
Deep Into the Ground (Billy Elliot:
Victor/Victoria, Damn Yankees (R)
The Musical)
The Pajama Game (R), On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Hey There (The Pajama Game,
(R)
revival)
The Tap Dance Kid (Tony), Miss Saigon (Tony), Sophisticated Bui Doi (Miss Saigon)
Ladies (Tony), The Wiz, Dreamgirls (replacement)
Carousel (R), Saratoga, Ambassador, Oklahoma! (replacement)Where is the Life That Late I Led?
(Kiss Me Kate, film soundtrack)
She
Loves Me (R), Anything Goes (R), The Mystery of Edwin Ilona (She Loves Me, revival)
(replacement),
Drood
The Boy From Oz (Tony), Oklahoma (West End)
The Lives Of Me (The Boy From
Oz)
Lestat, Side Show, Show Boat (R) (replacement), The Red
Sail Me Away (Lestat)
Shoes
Urinetown, Million Dollar Quartet, Little Shop of Horrors (R), Run, Freedom, Run (Urinetown)
Hands on a Hardbody, Happiness, The Bridges of Madison
County, Frankenstein, a New Musical
Jane Eyre, Assassins (R), A Tale of Two Cities, Cyrano—The As Good As You (Jane Eyre)
Musical
Chicago (Tony) (R), City of Angels (Tony), I Love My Wife
Damn Yankees (Tony) (R), The Rocky Horror Show (R), The I Honesty Love You (The Boy From
Boy From Oz, Ring of Fire
Oz)
The Full Monty, Curtains, Next to Normal (replacement),
I Miss the Music (Curtains)
Candide (R)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to The Forum (R),
No, Mary Ann (Unsung Sondheim,
Lucky Stiff, Falsettos (replacement), Do Black Patent Leather album)
Shoes Really Reflect Up?
The Pirate Queen, Urinetown, Side Show, Smile, Beauty and Only At Night (Anna Karenina)
the Beast (replacement), Anna Karenina
Newsies, Bonnie & Clyde, West Side Story (R) (replacement) Santa Fe (Newsies)
John Gallagher Jr.
Chicago, Promises, Promises (Tony), 42nd Street, The
Fantasticks, Guys and Dolls (R), Carnival
Cabaret (Tony), Chicago (Tony) (R), George M!, Wicked,
Goodtime Charley, The Grand Tour, Anything Goes (R)
Big River, The Secret Garden, Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Hello Again
Shenandoah (Tony), On the Twentieth Century (Tony),
Urinetown, 110 in the Shade (R), Scottsboro Boys, 1776
(replacement)
Spring Awakening (Tony), American Idiot
John Lithgow
Sweet Smell of Success (Tony), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
John Raitt
Carousel, The Pajama Game, A Joyful Noise, Carnival in
Flanders
Pippin, Ragtime (replacement), Wicked (replacement)
The Civil War, King David, Elegies, A New Brain
Joel Grey
John Cameron Mitchel
John Cullum
John Rubenstein
Keith Byron Kirk
11
Half As Big As Life (Promises,
Promises)
Mister Cellophane (Chicago)
Winter’s On the Wing (Big River)
Molasses To Rum (1776, film
soundtrack)
Don’t Do Sadness (Spring
Awakening)
Love Sneaks In (Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels)
Soliloquy (Carousel)
Corner of the Sky (Pippin)
These Two (This Ordinary
Thursday: The Songs of Georgia
Stitt, album)
Ken Page
Kevin Chamberlin
Kevin Earley
Kevin Kline
Larry Kert
Lee Roy Reams
Len Cariou
Malcolm Gets
Mandy Patinkin
Marc Kudisch
Mark Jacoby
Matt Cavanaugh
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Morrison
Michael Ball
Michael Cerveris
Michael Crawford
Michael McElroy
Michael McGrath
Michael Rupert
Nathan Lane
Norbert Leo Butz
Norm Lewis
Raul Esparza
Richard Kiley
Robert Cuccioli
Robert Goulet
Robert Morse
Robert Preston
Robert Westenberg
Cats, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Guys and Dolls (R)
My City (Page by Page, album)
The Addams Family, Seussical, Triumph of Love, Chicago (R) The Moon and Me (The Addams
(replacement)
Family)
A Tale of Two Cities, Death Takes a Holiday, Les Miserables I Thought That I Could Live (Death
(replacement)
Takes a Holiday)
On the Twentieth Century (Tony), The Pirates of Penzance
Oh, Better Far to Live and Die (The
(Tony), The Beggar’s Opera
Pirates of Penzance)
West Side Story, Rags, Company (replacement) Side By Side Maria (West Side Story)
By Sondheim, A Family Affair
Hello Dolly!, Sweet Charity, Applause, Lorelei, 42nd Street, Dames (42nd Street)
Beauty and the Beast, An Evening With Jerry Herman
Sweeney Todd (Tony), A Little Night Music, Applause, Dance Epiphany (Sweeney Todd)
a Little Closer
Amour, A New Brain, Hello Again, The Story of My Life,
And They’re Off (A New Brain)
Juno (R)
Evita (Tony), Sunday in the Park With George, The Secret
Finishing the Hat (Sunday in the
Garden
Park With George)
Bells are Ringing (R), Thoroughly Modern Millie, Assassins I Met a Girl (Bells are Ringing,
(R), The Wild Party, The Apple Tree, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, revival)
9 to 5, A Minister’s Wife, The Glorious Ones, See What I
Wanna See, The Thing About Men
Show Boat (R), Ragtime, Sweeney Todd (R), Elf, Sweet
Johanna (Sweeney Todd, revival)
Charity (R), Man of La Mancha (R)
West Side Story (R), Grey Gardens, Urban Cowboy, A Catered Something’s Coming (West Side
Affair, Death Takes a Holiday
Story, revival)
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Tony)
I Believe In You (How To Succeed
(R), The Producers, Nice Work If You Can Get It
In Business Without Really Trying,
revival)
The Light in the Piazza, South Pacific (R), Hairspray
Love To Me (The Light in the
Piazza)
The Woman in White, Aspects of Love, Les Miserables (West Empty Chairs and Empty Tables
End)
(Les Miserables)
Sweeney Todd (R), Evita (R), LoveMusik, Assassins (R)
Epiphany
(Tony), Road Show, Titanic, Fun Home, Hedwig and the
(Sweeney Todd.
Angry Inch (replacement), The Who’s Tommy
revival)
The Phantom of the Opera (Tony), Dance of the Vampires
Music of the Night (The Phantom of
the Opera)
The Wild Party, Big River (R), The Who’s Tommy, Violet
Let It Sing (Violet)
Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony), Memphis, Spamalot,
By Strauss/Sweet and Lowdown
Little Me (R), The Goodbye Girl, My Favorite Year, Swinging (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
on a Star
Legally Blonde, Falsettos, Sweet Charity (Tony) (R), Putting It Marry Me a Little (Putting It
Together, The Happy Time, Elegies, March of the Falsettos
Together)
The Producers (Tony), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way The King of Broadway (The
to the Forum (Tony), Guys and Dolls (R), The Addams Family, Producers)
The Frogs, Merlin
Wicked, Big Fish, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Tony), Catch Me Moving Too Fast (Last Five Years)
If You Can (Tony), Thou Shalt Not, The Last Five Years
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (R), Sondheim on Sondheim, I Got Plenty of Nothing (The
The Little Mermaid, Amour, The Wild Party, Side Show, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess)
Who’s Tommy
Company (R), Leap of Faith, Taboo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Marry Me a Little (Company,
The Rocky Horror Show, Tick, Tick... Boom!
revival)
Man of La Mancha (Tony), Her First Roman, Redhead (Tony), The Impossible Dream (Man of La
No Strings, Kismet
Mancha)
Jekyll & Hyde, Les Miserables (replacement), Jacques Brel is This is the Moment (Jekyll & Hyde)
Alive and Well and Living in Paris (R), The Threepenny Opera
(R), And the World Goes ‘Round
Camelot, The Happy Time (Tony), La Cage aux Folles
C’est Moi (Camelot)
(replacement)
How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Tony), I Believe In You (How To Succeed
Sugar, So Long, 174th Street, Take Me Along
In Business Without Really Trying)
The Music Man (Tony), Ben Franklin in Paris, I Do! I Do!
I Won’t Send Roses (Mack &
(Tony), Mack & Mabel
Mabel)
Into The Woods, The Secret Garden, Company (R), 1776 (R), Agony (Into the Woods)
Zorba (R), Violet
12
Roger Bart
Ron Bohmer
Ron Raines
Shuler Hensley
Stephen Bogardus
Stephen Buntrock
Steve Kazee
Steven Pasquale
Terrence Mann
Theodore Bikel
Titus Burgess
Tom Hewitt
Tom Wopat
Tony Yazbeck
Tyler Maynard
Victor Garber
Will Chase
Will Swenson
Zero Mostel
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Tony), Triumph of Love, Go the Distance (Hercules, movie
Young Frankenstein, The Frogs, The Producers
soundtrack)
The Woman in White, Ragtime (R), Fiddler on the Roof (R), Free, Easy Guy (The Thing About
The Scarlet Pimpernel (replacement), The Thing About Men Men)
Show Boat (R), Follies (R), Newsies (replacement), Annie (R) The Road You Didn’t Take (Follies)
(replacement)
Oklahoma (Tony) (R), Tarzan, Young Frankenstein, The Great No Other Way (Tarzan)
American Trailer Park Musical
Falsettos, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, King David, High You Got To Die Some Time
Society, James Joyce’s The Dead, Man of La Mancha (R),
(Falsettos)
Falsettoland
Jane Eyre, Oklahoma! (R) (replacement), Grease (R), A Little A Voice Across the Moors (Jane
Night Music (R)
Eyre)
Once (Tony), 110 in the Shade (R), Spamalot (replacement) Gold (Once)
A Man of No Importance, The Bridges of Madison County, Far The Streets of Dublin (A Man of No
From Heaven, The Spitfire Grill, The Wild Party, Little Fish, Importance)
The Addams Family, Les Miserables, Pippin, Lennon, The
Stars (Les Miserables)
Rocky Horror Show, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Beauty and the
Beast, Assassins, Rags, Cats, Barnum
The Sound of Music
Edelweiss (The Sound of Music)
Guys and Dolls (R), The Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys, Good All I Need (Comfortable, album)
Vibrations
The Rocky Horror Show (R), The Boys from Syracuse,
Quiet Life (Dracula, The Musical)
Dracula, The Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar (R)
Catch Me If You Can, Sondheim on Sondheim, A Catered
I Stayed (A Catered Affair)
Affair, Annie Get Your Gun (R)
Gypsy (R), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, A Chorus Line All I Need is The Girl (Gypsy,
(R)
revival)
The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, On a Clear Day You Can Epiphany (Altar Boyz)
See Forever (R), The Kid, Miracle Brothers, Altar Boyz
Sweeney Todd, Assassins, Little Me (R), Damn Yankees (R) Johanna (Sweeney Todd)
High Fidelity, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (R), The Story of Top 5 Desert Island Breakups (High
My Life, Lennon, Nice Work If You Can Get It (replacement) Fidelity)
Hair (R), Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical, Murder Hair (Hair,
Ballad, Little Miss Sunshine, Les Miserables (R)
revival)
Fiddler on the Roof (Tony), A Funny Thing Happened on the If I Were a Rich Man (Fiddler on the
Way to the Forum (Tony), Beggar’s Holiday
Roof)
Further Exploration:
Who are you like? Research the performers of your gender and decide which ones you are most
like. Your decision could be based on their personality type, skills or vocal type. Search for the
songs they performed on stage. If you read and listen to interviews they’ve given, you might also
be able to discover other songs they sang as well as songs they used in auditions.Watch as many
videos of them as you can find. What can you learn by listening to them? What archetypes do
they tend to play? Does that archetype suit you?
13
Vocal Colors
The human voice is an astonishing instrument capable of a nearly infinite variety of sounds.
Because of unique makeup of each persons anatomy, no two voices are acoustically alike. In
addition to our physical makeup which would include each singer’s voice type (such as Lyric
Soprano, Dramatic Soprano or Mezzo), our sound is influenced by the kinds of music we listen
to, our favorite singers who we knowingly or unknowingly emulate, regionalisms and many
other considerations.
In classical singing, there is traditionally a focus on unity across registers with a similar color
throughout that is fully vibrant and resonant. The better opera and art song singers are aware of
the power of allowing the text and the music to influence subtle or not so subtle changes to the
sound for the sake of better communication. These changes may include varying the rate of
vibrato, the brilliance, prominence of consonants, the ratio of head voice to chest voice and any
number of others ways. But, by and large, the classical Bel Canto aesthetic is concerned with
obtaining beauty and uniformity of sound above all else. I would be remiss to not point out how
imperative it is to have a strong technique based in classical vocal training for without technique
you will be limited in what you are able to do—especially when it comes to achieving a variety
of vocal colors that you will need in order to tell the story you want to tell.
But for the musical theatre singer, character, situation and text are of supreme importance—of
perhaps more importance than beauty of sound. Beautiful singing is valued, even demanded, if
the moment calls for it. But there would be very little worse than singing a song like "You Could
Drive a Person Crazy" or "You Can Always Count On Me" with the beauty you find in a
classical art song or aria. More than anything, the singer must sing in a manner that is consistent
with their character's truth in that moment. If the character is fearful, or mocking, or in love, the
voice can and should reflect that. If they are triumphant, hopeful, or in the pit of despair, the
voice should reflect that.
Vocal colors is a term I like to use when describing the virtually infinite ways the voice can
produce sound. Imagine a simple song such as "Happy Birthday" sung by an operatic soprano, or
as a young boy, or as a folk song, or as Marilyn Monroe famously sang to John F. Kennedy. The
changes in dynamics, vibrancy, resonance, intention and host of other things create dramatically
different versions of the song. In dramatic singing, vocal colors are an incredibly powerful tool in
communicating meaning and subtext.
In my experience, it is common for singers to be handicapped if they begin to think too
technically about the sounds they are making, especially in performance. Singing actors must
give themselves over completely to the objective they are pursuing and not allow their brains and
bodies to be divided by also thinking critically about the sounds they are making. I encourage
14
you instead to think about the images and colors in the song's lyrics and music and allow those
images and colors to influence the sounds you make.
When describing a singers vocal colors , some people might choose to use actual colors like
bright yellow, vibrant orange or deep navy blue. Or you might use words like brilliant, dark,
warm, clear, breathy, vibrant, crisp or accented. Both kinds of descriptors are perfectly valid. Use
the words that are clearest and most meaningful to you.
Choose a recording by a singer you greatly admire of your gender.
1. What colors do you hear?
2. How easily do they change between colors or does the sound stay largely the same
throughout?
3. Do color choices seem to correspond to images in the lyrics? To the tessitura? Do they
correspond to something else?
4. Now answer the same questions for singers of the opposite gender or singers who are not your
favorite.
I would like to discuss an example of excellent use of vocal color—”Gimme, Gimme”, sung by
Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie. Follow along as you listen to the original cast
album.
Lyric
Vocal Color
Use of Vocal Color
A simple choice, nothing
more. This or that, either or.
Marry well, social whirl,
business man, clever girl.
Head-heavy mix, nonThis is the verse of the song
vibrato. Bright and clear. Soft and by keeping things very
dynamic. Yellow
simple, she helps set up the
conflict of the song.
Or pin my future on a green
glass love.
What kind of life am I
dreaming of?
The color grows richer here.
Here there is a bit more chest
voice in the mix. Just a bit
louder.
15
The change of color helps to
differ between to two options
for love Millie is weighing.
Lyric
Vocal Color
Use of Vocal Color
I say: gimme, gimme...
gimme gimme...
gimme gimme that thing
called love.
I want it.
gimme gimme that thing
called love.
I need it.
Soft like the beginning. Beige
or tan. Head-heavy mix. Very
pale, slightly timid vocal
color. A bit more vibrato,
especially on longer notes.
At the beginning of the
refrain, knowing that there is
an epic journey ahead, she
again is very simple and soft.
The addition of vibrato helps
to underscore the fact that’s
she’s talking about the kind of
love she most desires.
Highs and lows, tears and
laughter, gimme happy ever
after. Gimme gimme that
thing called love.
More chest in the mix. Even
more warmth. Blue.
The image of the love she
desires seems to have a
warming effect on the voice.
Gimme gimme that thing
called love.
I crave it.
Gimme gimme
that thing called love.
I'll brave it.
Think 'n thin, rich or poor
time.
Gimme years, and I'll want
more time.
called love.
Soft Belt. More chest voice
than head. Vibrato only on
sustained notes. Louder
dynamic. A warmer color
with the vibrato. Blue.
Growing confidence in
knowing what she wants.
called love.
I'm free now.
called love.
I see now.
Fly, dove! Sing, sparrow!
Gimme Cupid's famous
arrow.
called love.
Full Belt. Red. Very warm.
Occasionally a slide between
notes.
She now can see what it is
that she wants. There is even a
hint of growl on the last
“gimme that thing called
love.”
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Lyric
Vocal Color
Use of Vocal Color
I don't care if he's a nobody.
In my heart, he'll be a
somebody, somebody to love
me!
Determination. Strength and
confidence. Belt. Vibrato
except for the notable
straight-tone on the last word
of this section over the
instrumental. Deep purple.
The determination in her
words are echoed in her voice.
I need it.
Gimme that thing called love.
I wannit!
Belt with even more
vaudeville slides between
pitches.
She sings against the rhythm
to underscore an even greater
determination that defies
everything.
Here I am, St. Valentine!
My bags are packed; I'm first
in line!
Belt with growl
Greater use of accented
singing on “Her I am” to
claim her position.
Aphrodite, don't forget me,
Romeo and Juliet me!
Fly, dove! Sing, sparrow!
Gimme fat boy's famous
arrow!
called love!
She backs away dynamically
for just a moment in order to
make the ending stronger
then crescendos to the very
end.
She starts playfully to
highlight the image of the
Greek god, Aphrodite. Then
she goes into full belt at the
end. The last note is straighttone until the penultimate
chord.
Of course, we can not know what Sutton Foster was thinking about when she recorded this. We
can only speculate. But we can be fairly certain that she was imagining the difference between
the two types of love that are possible in her life and the world she could imagine with the one
she choose. Using imagery will help you find new colors and new ways to bring life to a song.
Examine the following songs for changes in vocal colors. What are the colors? How are they
achieved? Speculate about why the colors are used. What do they communicate?
1.Painting Her Portrait - Maria Schaffel (Jane Eyre)
2.Simple Little Things - Audra McDonald (110 in the Shade)
3.At the Fountain - Brian d’Arcy James (Sweet Smell of Success)
Some of the factors that influence vocal color are dynamics, resonance, nasality, diction,
brightness/darkness, the amount of vibrancy and the amount of breath in the voice. As I
mentioned earlier, there are some vocal attributes in very singer that are intrinsic to them based
on anatomy. We can call this vocal identity, meaning those things which differentiate one singer
17
from another intrinsically. But every voice is capable of a wide variety of colors. Our goal at this
point is to find more colors and to explore ways we can utilize them.
1. Sing a passage softly then loudly. A song like “Oklahoma” or something similar uptempo is a
good choice.
2. Sing a passage with no vibrancy (i. e. Straight-tone), then with minimal vibrancy then full
vibrancy. Choose your favorite ballad like “Once Upon a Dream.”
3. Sing a passage at differing ages 5, 16, 25, 45, 65. A comedy song like “Broadway Baby” is a
good choice.
4. Sing a passage with complete connection using the syllable, "loo." Then sing it with a "Tat"
syllable. “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” a great on to use for this. Try another ballad. With this
exercise we are exploring articulation or how a note is attacked and whether it is sustained or not.
In these activities, you have explored many of the different kinds of colors that are possible.
Altering the dynamics will affect resonance and possibly diction and vibrancy. In order to sing
loudly, the voice will usually increase the amount of vibrato. Louder singing also tends to use a
greater amount of diction as we do when we really want to be understood. Singing without
vibrancy can also lead singers toward adding more breath in the sound. Singing at differing ages
will affect articulation, vibrancy, breath/tone ratio, nasality , and resonance. Little kids tend to
sing with more nasality. We're you more nasal when you sang like a 5 year old? Did you use less
nasality when you sang as a 65 year old. Older singers, in general, tend to place the voice farther
back with less nasality.
The last exercise above is primarily about articulation--the ways that pitches are begun, end and
the way they connect to each other. In ballads, the most common articulation is completely
connected or legato. In uptempos, especially uptempos from 1910 to 1945, the articulation is
often not legato or non legato. A legato articulation can communicate things like love or
determination, while a non legato articulation can communicate such things as playfulness or
anger.
So, how do we apply this to our work as a singer? Do we decide to make the first passage orange
and the next magenta? I don't think that this is the most productive way because it can put us in
our head and be distracting. Instead, I think the better way is to examine the song for images and
emotions.
Let's look at “Much More”, the great ingénue song from The Fantasticks. What are the images
you find? Do you see specific colors? What are the emotions in this song?
Youtube: Much More The Fantasticks
I'd like to swim in a clear blue stream
Where the water is icy cold.
Then go to town
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In a golden gown,
And have my fortune told.
Just once,
Just once,
Just once before I'm old.
I'd like to be not evil,
But a little worldly wise.
To be the kind of girl designed
To be kissed upon the eyes.
I'd like to dance till two o'clock,
Or sometimes dance till dawn,
Or if the band could stand it,
Just go on and on and on
Just once,
Just once,
Before the chance is gone!
I'd like to waste a week or two
And never do a chore.
To wear my hair unfastened
So it billows to the floor.
To do the things I've dreamed about
But never done before!
Perhaps I'm bad, or wild, or mad,
With lots of grief in store,
But I want much more than keeping house!
Much more, much more, much more.
In this song you have two specific opening images with associated colors.
A. Clear blue stream, icy cold
B. Town, golden gown, fortune teller
The first image could be sing with a sound that is brighter (suggested by ice), less vibrant (light
blue), and legato (suggested by the flowing stream). The second image could be sung with a
slightly darker tone (with the change of location from rural to urban and the color gold), more
vibrant (suggested by royalty and worldliness). I think it too much for the singer to think about
all these things technically. Instead, simply see the images and changes will naturally occur. Let's
look for other clues in the lyric or music for colors.
With the lyric, "I'd like to dance till two o clock" the music makes a dramatic shift from a
flowing legato to more non legato, separated sound in the accompaniment. Also notice that the
character of the melody transitions from a beautifully contoured tune to this passage that is
largely on a single pitch. Why is that? I can only speculate that the notion of dancing suggests a
more articulated, rhyming quality while the idea in this section of the lyric is about getting out of
19
of her fantasies and into the world and more into her body. The melody is lower and rhythmic.
What colors are consistent with these qualities. I would suggest a much less legato articulation
with increased diction which will help to make the interesting, syncopated rhythm stand out.
List other songs to examine for vocal colors in the lyric.
When I Meet the Wizard
Astonishing
Questions:
Who is the character? How old are they? Education? Life experience. (Contrast Louisa and
Petra). What are you wearing? Where are you? Outside is a different color than in a library.
Music. What does the music communicate? “Soliloquy” from Carousel is a case study in the way
music can and should effect vocal color. There a many different colors in one song.
A. Questioning
B. Playful
C. Disgusted
D. Loving
E. Determined
Images
What are the images in the lyric and do they suggest specific vocal timbres?
DISCUSS BELT AND MIX. I’M TALKING ABOUT THIS LAST BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE
THINK OF THIS FIRST.
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Qualities of a Great Musical Theatre
Performance
During my years of teaching musical theatre and coaching actors, I began to compile what I
consider the crucial attributes of a great performance. Use this list while preparing a song and
evaluating a performance.
Explain each of these qualities.
A great musical theatre performance has these qualities.
Musical
•All pitches and rhythms are correct 1
•The performer is aware of indications such as fermatas, tenutos, caesuras and dynamics
•The changes in the music are motivated by the actor
•There is an absence of decrescendos at the end of a long pitches, especially at the end
•The last note has length and is sung without a decrescendo
•The ending of the song has a button, especially in up-tempos
Vocal
•Vocal colors change in response to the lyric and acting choices
•The singer does not listen to themselves while singing.
•The vocal energy affects the partner and, as a result, reaches the audience.
•There is a clarity of diction that does not draw attention to itself
•The singing style is appropriate to the song
•When a spoken lyric happens during a song, the energy is greater than the sung lyric, not
lesser.
•When vocal licks are employed, there is a spontaneity in them and they support the lyric
and moment.
Text Analysis
•There is specificity in the song’s story 2
•The phrasing takes the lyric’s punctuation into consideration
•The performer knows their super-objective
•The performer knows what the conflict of the song and their situation
1
In special cases, sometimes rhythms may be altered if the lyrical phrasing mandates a change
2
The listener may not know all the details of your situation, but they will understand the essentials.
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•The performer knows the journey of the song and is able to live the life of the song
moment-to-moment
•There is a beginning, middle and end
•There is knowledge of the song’s original context, even if the song is sung with a newly
created situation
•The images in the song are clear to the audience
Physicality
•There is physical energy
•The energy of the performance matches the energy of the song
•The physicality is that of the character, not the singer.
•The physicality does not distract from the song
•The arms are not disconnected from the body
•There is breath in the body that supports the singing voice
•The physicality is spontaneous and not choreographed
• The action and physicality of the character is present and specific even if there is no
singing
•The physicality has variety
•The moment before launches the song
•The physicality does not distract or draw attention away from the face
•There is a lack of tension, especially in the eyebrow, forehead, and hands
Performance
•The breaths that are the breaths of the character, not the singer
•There is specificity in focus that is not too high, too low or too off center
•There are changes in action that respond to and motivate the musical changes
•Avoids finding the negative but instead fights for the positive outcome
•Does not play emotion
•There are a variety of emotions
•The action precedes the corresponding lyric, not the reverse
•Has proper scale, not too big for the song or too small
•Has stakes that are appropriate for the song and situation
•Energy and volume are not equated.3
•There is joy in the act of singing
Other
•Clothes do not distract from the song or performance
•Hair is not allowed to distract from the face and eyes
•The eyes are not closed, except in special cases
3
Soft can be energetic and all moments do not need to be loud.
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Learning Songs
The goal of this chapter is to give some helpful suggestions for preparing a song
musically for performance or audition.
The order of the steps you take as you begin exploring a new song is up to you but you
must find a process that you are comfortable with and one that leaves no stone uncovered. There
are those that advocate starting with music and those that say you must begin with the lyrics. My
preference is to begin with learning the basics of the song (pitches, rhythms and form) before
moving to the process outlined in the previous chapter. Then I like for singers to come back tothe
music and work on things such as phrasing and exploring how the musical information in the
song can inform the overall performance.
I will describe learning a song from two perspectives. The first is for those who do not
read music. The second is for those who understand basic music theory and have at least
rudimentary skills at the piano. At whatever skill level you are currently, do your best to improve
your skills and knowledge in music theory, musicianship and piano. It will benefit you greatly
and make learning a new song much easier.
Learning a new song for those who do not read music
Have a pianist record your melody on to a recording device at a moderate tempo and very
precisely. Then have the pianist record the accompaniment. Oftentimes sheet music is published
with the melody in the piano accompaniment. If that is the case, this accompaniment will be
easier to follow as you will be able to hear the melody. If this is not the case, they should record
the actual accompaniment or add some melody if they have that skill. Listen for a sense of style,
beat, rhythm and tempo. You may want the pianist to record just the introduction to the song in
addition so you can isolate the music you will hear before you sing.
1. On your own while looking at the sheet music, sing to the recording of the melody on a
neutral syllable such as “lah” or “dee.” Choose an open vowel with a preceding consonant.
We do this to separate music from lyrics and to concentrate solely on the melody. It is very
easy to move too quickly and miss a step along the way.
2. When you have mastered this, begin singing the lyrics with the melody-only recording.
3. Now move to the recording of full accompaniment. Sing with this recording on a neutral
syllable.
4. Then sing the lyrics with the full accompaniment.
Additional activities with a pianist may include the following once you have done these steps:
1. Sing a word or syllable and have the pianist play the pitch on the piano after you sing it.
Move to the next word or syllable, gradually increasing tempo. We do this to check pitch
accuracy.
2. Explore singing the song at different tempos. Faster for ballads, slower for up tempo songs.
Don’t go too fast or slow. We do this to make sure you musicianship is secure.
23
Learning a song for those with moderate to advanced musical skills
When beginning a new song, I suggest starting with rhythm. Study the song in small
chunks before doing the whole song. If anything is confusing for you, take the time to figure it
out before moving on. You must be able to speak the rhythm in tempo. Many people find it
helpful to study rhythms by assigning numbers corresponding to their placement in the bar such
as 1, 2, 3, 4 in 4/4 time. Eighth-notes are subdivided by placing an “and” between each number.
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &. Sixteenth-notes are further subdivided in this manner: 1 e & a, 2 e & a, and so
forth.
24
1. Speak the words in rhythm.
2. Write either numbers or Solfège syllables above the pitches. See below for using Solfège.
Sing the pitches slower, out of tempo until you can do this easily.
3. Next, combine melody with rhythm, starting slowly for accuracy and building in tempo.
25
4. Record or have a pianist record the accompaniment. Listen for a sense of style, beat, rhythm
and tempo. Study, or better yet, play the introduction of the song so that you know what you
will hear before you sing.
5. Sing the song with accompaniment on a neutral syllable.
6. Sing the song with accompaniment using the lyrics.
Singing with Solfège or numbers
Space does not allow for a full investigation of Solfège but this system is not difficult.
Essentially, every pitch of a scale has a Solfège syllable or number. I’m sure you know “Do-ReMi” from The Sound of Music which uses this system in a clever and memorable way. Use either
Solfège or numbers, depending on which seems easier to you.
Example 1 shows how the system works in different keys. Be sure to identify the correct key
before numbering your music by examining the flats and sharps in the key signature. The chart
will assist you.
26
27
Example 2 offers some warm up exercises. Do these exercises slowly until you feel comfortable
and can find the pitches easily. Check your accuracy at the keyboard.
Finally, example 3 is a song with Solfège and numbers. I hope the familiarity of the song might
aid you in mastering this skill.
28
You will notice that some of the pitches in this example have an accidental before it. The pitch
and the syllable, but not the number change due to the accidental. I don’t think it too important to
know these new syllables but if you’re interested, here is the full system
Scale degree
Name
Pitch in C major
Pitch in Eb major
Pitch in A major
1
Raised 1
Lowered 2
2
Raised 2
Lowered 3
3
4
Raised 4
Lowered 5
5
Raised 5
Lowered 6
6
Raised 6
Lowered 7
7
Do
Di
Ra
Re
Ri
Me
Mi
Fa
Fi
Se
So
Si
Le
La
Li
Te
Ti
C
C#
Db
D
D#
Eb
E
F
F#
Gb
G
G#
Ab
A
A#
Bb
B
Eb
E
Fb
F
F#
Gb
G
Ab
A
B-double flat
Bb
B
Cb
C
C#
Db
D
A
A#
Bb
B
B#
C
C#
D
D#
Eb
E
E#
F
F#
F-double sharp
G
G#
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Scale degree
Name
Pitch in C major
Pitch in Eb major
Pitch in A major
8
Do
B
Eb
A
To practice these skills, choose songs that you know well and write the syllables above. This will
help you connect the sound of the syllable to its name.
Further Exploration
1. Choose a song and sit with the sheet music at the piano. Sing a word or syllable and play the
pitch on the piano after you sing it. Move to the next word or syllable gradually increasing
tempo. We do this to check pitch accuracy.
2. Explore singing the song at different tempos. Faster for ballads, slower for up tempo songs.
Don’t go too fast or too slow. We do this to make sure you musicianship is secure.
3. If the sheet music has chord symbols that you can interpret, accompany yourself with simple
chords.
More Solfege exploration:
List some songs that are challenging to work on with solfege. “On the Steps of the Palace” is a
good choice. Others “Anyone Can Whistle”
Too often, singers do not take adequate time in learning a song accurately. It is crucial to your
success that you do this. Directors and music directors have little patience with someone who
should be ready to sing a song but is singing a passage with wrong notes. You will be working
with professional musicians and you are expected to interact with them as colleagues and as the
professional musician you need to be.
Once you have successfully completed these activities, you will have the skill to tackle the
challenges you will face once you begin your acting work.
30
Musical Terms To Know
Sheet music is populated with many different kinds of indications that the composer or editor has
placed in the music to communicate how the song should go. In time, you will learn and
memorize these terms, but for now, refer to this section anytime you see something in the music
you don’t understand.
Tempi
Largo
Larghetto
Adagio
Andante
Moderato
Allegretto
Allegro
Presto
Maestoso
Very slow (quarter note c. 40-60)
Less slow than Largo (c. 60-70)
Slow (between Largo and Andante)
a walking tempo (c. 76-108)
Moderate tempo
Moderately fast, often playful in nature
Fast (c. 110-130)
Very fast (c. 125-160)
Majestic, usually medium slow
Tempo-related terms
Lunga
Long, generally referring to a long pause
Caesura
(//) Indicates a break or stop before proceeding
L’istesso tempo The same tempo as before
Ritardando
Getting slower (rit.)
Ritenuto
(riten.) Getting slower but more sudden and extreme than rit.
Rallentando
(rall.) Gradual slowing of the tempo
Accelerando
(accel.) Gradually getting faster
A tempo
Returning to original tempo, usually after a rit. or rall.
Alla Breve
Two beats per measure with the half-note getting the beat (cut-time)
Più mosso
More motion
Articulations
Fermata
Legato
Staccato
Accent
Marcato
Sforzando
Tenuto
Trill
G.P.
Arpeggio
Indicates a note is to be prolonged beyond its normal duration
Smoothly, connected
Detached (.)
Emphasis, usually to play louder than the current dynamic (>)
marked, stressed, emphasized
Forced or accented. Stronger than an accent. (Sfz. or Sf.)
(ten.) Held or sustained, a note is given its full value
Rapid alternation between the note and the note above
Grand pause. A complete stop
The playing of successive members of a chord separately
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Form
Da Capo
D.S. al Coda
Coda
Verse
Refrain
Vamp
Indication to return to the beginning (D.C.). D.C al Coda means go back to the
beginning and then at the indication (to Coda), skip to the Coda.
Dal Segno al Coda. Indication to return to the sign and then to Coda at the
indication (to Coda).
The ending of a piece indicated by the symbol below.
The first part of a Standard song, setting up the dramatic situation
The main body of a Standard song, almost always carrying the title
A repeated accompanimental phrase
Symbols
U
%
fi
Fermata
Segno. Sign, or structural signpost used to indicate form. See
Coda
Style
Con moto
A piacere
Ad libitum
Risoluto
Sempre
Rubato
Animato
Con brio
Dolce
Divisi
Molto
Parlando
With motion
Literally, as you please, similar to ad lib. but referring to tempo rather than pitch
Left to the performer’s discretion (ad lib.), often implying improvisation
Resolute, energetic
Always
Rhythmically free, literally means “robbed”
Lively, spirited, animated
With fire and dash, spirited
Sweetly
Divided, indication of divided parts, the opposite of unison
Very (molto rit., becoming very slow)
Indication that the singer should take on a more speech-like manner
Dynamics
Forte
Fortissimo
Mezzo forte
Piano
Pianissimo
Mezzo piano
Crescendo
Decrescendo
Diminuendo
Morendo
A niente
f, loud
ff, very loud
mf,medium loud
p, soft
pp, very soft
mp, medium soft
getting louder
getting softer
(dim.) getting softer
Dying away, getting softer
Dying away to nothing
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Other Terms
Con
Poco
Moto
Assai
Hemiola
Colla Voce
With (con moto)
Little (poco a poco crescendo)
motion
Much, very much (Allegro Assai)
A musical gesture wherein a rhythmic figure with a duple metric pulse replaces
one with a triple metric pulse.
Literally with the voice. Indication that the accompaniment should allow
freedom for the soloist
You may wish to purchase an inexpensive dictionary of musical terms such as The Hal Leonard
Pocket Music Dictionary. New York: Hal Leonard, 1993.
33
Learning to Riff
Learning to embellish on a melody, frequently called riffing, can be an intimidating thing to try
but it’s not as difficult as you might think. Riffing has increasingly become a skill that is needed
by the musical theatre performer as more and more shows are in a pop/rock style. This chapter
will help you with the basics of riffing. It is important that you begin slowly and resist the
temptation to try to have a finished product too quickly.
Riffing is a style of vocal embellishment that came out of African American work songs from the
early 19th century as well as early Blues and black Gospel singers in the early part of the 20th
century. It was further developed by R&B and Soul singers in the 50s and 60s. Elvis Presley
famously took “Hound Dog,” first recorded by “Big Mama” Thornton, an African American
Rhythm and Blues singer, and made it his own. The influence of an African American singing
style was then employed by Pop and Rock singers in the 60s and 70s to today.
It is crucial that the serious students listens to early great Blues singers such as Bessie Smith,
Robert Johnson, and Ma Rainey. Some of the great Gospel singers to listen to are Mahalia
Jackson, Shirley Caesar, Bertha Houston and others. Soul singers to listen to are Ray Charles,
Aretha Franklin, Eta James, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Fats Domino and James Brown.
More recent Soul-inspired singers are Prince, Sade, Eryhah Badu, Macy Gray, India.Arie, Alicia
Keys, Bettye LaVette, Maria Carey, Beyonce and Lauryn Hill.
In the late 80s and 90s, a new kind of riffing occurs in pop music characterized by very fast vocal
melismas done to the extreme. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, N’Sync
and the Backstreet Boys are examples. While this kind of riffing can be exciting, it can feel dated
and minimize the importance of the lyric.
Riffing should come from a need to express the text more fully. In Musical Theatre, most of the
time you need to have a strong reason and need to embellish the melody. This isn’t always the
case in purely pop music where riffing can sometimes be simply what is expected.
The first step is to sing the melody softly, simply and accurately, without embellishments. It is
only then will you know what to embellish on. Knowing what the actual melody is can
sometimes be difficult because sheet music is often published today with the riffs written out. If
you have learned a song by listening to a recording first, you must use your intuition and musical
judgement to decide what the unadorned melody is. Try to simplify and smooth out the melody.
For this chapter, we will begin with the Gospel song, “His Eye is On the Sparrow” (Fig. 1)
because the melody is published and because so many singers have` found ways to make their
performance unique.
As you sing, have a pianist play simple chords. Sing slowly and notice which tones are chord
tones and which are non-chord tones. The non-chord tones are labeled in the given example.
34
Learn the three primary types of non-chord tones as they will be useful to you as you create your
version of the melody. A basic understanding of harmony and chords will be very helpful as you
do this.
•Neighbor tone - a non-chord tone which steps away from a chord tone and back to a chord tone
•Passing tone - a non-chord tone which steps between two chord tones
•Appoggiatura - a skip from one chord tone that resolves by step to a chord tone
Fig. 1
35
Once you have mastered the basic song, it is time to begin looking at some ways to
change the melody. The most fundamental embellishments are found in Fig. 2.
36
After you have mastered these six techniques, you can begin experimenting with free
composition–a recomposition of the melody using the above techniques with additional liberties.
Be careful that the new melody agrees with the harmony. Sing slowly and listen carefully. (Fig.
3)
37
Notice that many of the original pitches are present at the same moments and that the
shape of the melody stays largely the same.
In example 1, “eye is on the” is treated with simple neighboring tones, above and below,
then “sparrow” moves downward like the original melody, but not as far. In example 2, “why
should I feel” is recomposed by moving in the opposite direction. “Discouraged” is also
recomposed. “Why should the shadows come” is first embellished by moving upward more
quickly, and then reversing direction before moving up to C. “Come” is treated with a simple
neighbor tone.
Blue Notes
The flat 3rd, flat 5th (or sharp 4) and the flat 7th are pitches which give the Blues its
flavor. In the key of “His Eye is On the Sparrow”, C major, the flat 3rd is E-flat, the flat 5th is Fsharp (or enharmonically G-flat) and the flat 7th is B-flat. You should always know the key you
are singing in and know what the blue notes are as they are especially expressive.
Theoretically, Blue Notes may be sung closer to a semitone away from their closest
neighbor note. For example, the E-flats in Fig. 4 may be closer to the D neighbor tone than they
would be in other situations. This alteration from standard tuning systems evokes the “pain” that
is inherent in Blues.
38
Figure 5 shows one possible “riff” melody created from the various techniques. Try to
identify each of them. Notice that there are several places where a word or two has been added.
Also notice the places where the melody stays the same but the rhythm has been changed
slightly.
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Now it is your turn to create your own version of “His Eye is On the Sparrow.” Again, don’t try
to go too quickly. Have a copy of Fig. 2 close by so that you can recall and incorporate each of
the six techniques. Combining techniques will yield interesting and fresh results. Let your
imagination and voice be free and don’t try to be too complex at first. Once you have done this,
listen to the recordings of the song by Marvin Gaye, Mahalia Jackson, The Five Blind Boys of
Mississippi and Lauryn Hill.
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After doing this work, feel free to move on to these Musical Theatre songs. For women –
“Whatever Happened To My Part?” (Spamalot), “Find Your Grail” (Spamalot), “I Am
Changing” (Dreamgirls), “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” (Dreamgirls), “Too Beautiful
For Words” (The Color Purple), “Raven” (Brooklyn: The Musical), “Once Upon a
Time” (Brooklyn: The Musical), “Small Town Girl” (Debbie Does Dallas), “Feels Like
Home” (Randy Newman’s Faust), “I Got Love” (Purlie), “I'm Just Movin'” (Working) “Take Me
Or Leave Me” (Rent) and “I’m Not Alone” (Carrie). For men – “All Good Gifts” (Godspell),
“Go the Distance” (Hercules), “Beethoven Day” (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown Revival),
“Let Me Drown” (Wild Party), “Heaven on their Minds” (Jesus Christ Superstar), “Boy with
Dreams” (Edges), “Lost in the Wilderness” (Children of Eden), “Memphis Lives in
Me” (Memphis) and “Someone Else’s Life” (Tales From the Bad Years).
Some pop songs that are especially good to explore riffing are Hero (Maria Carey), (You Make
Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin), If I Were a Boy (Beyoncé). I Believe I Can
Fly (R. Kelly), Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) (Stevie Wonder), You Are the Sunshine of
My Life (Stevie Wonder) and I’ll Be There (Jackson 5).
Practice Riffing with Steal Your Rock and Roll
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Cabaret Styles
You may have an opportunity to perform a Cabaret at various times in your career. Cabaret
is a very special art form where you can explore what is unique and special about you as a
performer and as a person. This chapter will help you understand the art form, what it is and
what it is not.
Your skills as an actor and a singer are vital to a great performance and yet what you do in
this opportunity is very different from performing in a show or doing an audition. You are not
preparing a role or presenting a character. You are you on the stage. This can be scary—like
working without a net. But, it can be thrilling for you and your audience.
What is a Cabaret?
Cabaret has meant many things at different times to different people. In general, the term
today simply means a solo singer with piano singing songs in a small room. There are a limited
number of cabaret houses in New York and other big cities that host cabaret singers. They
usually seat fewer than 100 people. The intimacy of these smaller rooms is important in
contemporary cabaret.
One of the best ways to think of cabaret is as a great first date. It is as if someone who you
really like has said, “So tell me about yourself. I’m really interested.” On a first date there are
things that are appropriate to reveal and things you want to save for later. One common trap is to
share too much intimate detail about you. Instead, keep it light, interesting, authentic, genuine,
and most of all, you. In an interview with Playbill, Sherie Rene Scott said about her
autobiographical show, which in many respects is a cabaret, Everyday Rapture, “everything is
true — it's the whole truth, nothing but the truth, only better.” In other words, it’s okay to take
some liberties to tell your story in an entertaining way. Another example is Sutton Foster who in
her cabaret of songs from her album, Wish, did not mention her recent divorce, but instead shared
her feelings in the songs.
A cabaret is not a concert or a one-person show and it is not about your voice. The cabaret
audience wants to hear your thoughts more than hear you sing. Cabaret is about the lyrics and the
story that you tell through the lyrics. No matter what you sing, you must have a personal
connection to it and a point of view.
A cabaret needs to be personal but it does not have to be exclusively about you. If it is too
much about your life then it runs the risk of appearing selfish. You should always being thinking
of how the lyrics and patter intersect with the lives of your audience. One way to look at it is to
think about what is universal about what you want to say. Without being preachy, it is helpful to
think about the life lessons you've learned or are learning and weave them into your show. Some
of the themes I am referring to could be to “take time to appreciate the good things about life” or
“celebrating what is unique about each of us” or “we can learn to take the bad with the good in
life without letting it get us down.” You can personalize the material while still allowing the
audience to find themselves in your work.
Your relationship with the music director is very important in helping you tell your story
better. Share your story with your music director and allow them to create a backdrop that allows
you to tell your unique story. It’s important that you listen to what the piano is giving you and
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respond to it. You will prepare with your music director arrangements for your show, which may
be very different from the way we are used to hearing a particular song. This is one of the great
joys in seeing a show—for the audience to hear a song in a brand new way that is from your
unique perspective.
The First Question
The first thing you need to ask yourself is, “What do I want to say? What is special about
my life experience that can hold the attention of someone that does not know me?” This last
thing is very important since there is nothing worse than a cabaret of inside jokes and stories
about things that an audience member may not know anything about. The difficulty is in editing
your patter and presenting it in a way that is interesting, compelling and entertaining. There isn’t
time to tell your complete life story. Instead, choose one or two specific things to share that you
think will be interesting.
You will be doing your show for an audience that includes many of your friends. Put that
aside for this opportunity and prepare your cabaret as if you don’t know anyone. Do your cabaret
for the people you do not know. Look for ways that you can tell positive stories that are universal
in nature so that the audience can relate to you.
Song Selection
The songs you choose for your cabaret can come from anywhere––musical theatre,
standards, modern standards, contemporary pop, children’s songs, folk songs, etc. You will need
to shape your ideas so that every song is there for a reason, tells a specific story and fits into the
arc of your cabaret. There needs to be a beginning, middle and an end to your cabaret. A variety
of styles, tempos and moods is crucial. Don’t choose too many ballads. It is good to choose a
mixture of well-known and less well-known material. Present familiar songs in ways that the
listener can hear it afresh and such that it tells your story.
In choosing your songs, it is recommended that you start first with a list of songs you like
and want to sing. Get with a coach, music director or voice teacher and just sing many songs.
Allow the other person to respond to what suits you and doesn't. This approach is preferable to
devising a theme and choosing songs that fit that theme. Once you have selected a large number
of songs, more than you could actually sing, begin looking for themes. For each song, ask
yourself, “What do I want to say through this song?”, “Why is it important to me?” and “Do I
need this song?”
Song selection is everything. There should be a mixture of both the familiar and the
surprising. Allow us to hear something we've heard before in a new way. Please have a mixture
of tempos and please not too many ballads. Include at least a couple of comedic moments in your
songs or patter.
Patter
Patter is the spoken material used to link song to song. It should be well-written and
memorized. Do not try to improvise your patter. It should be a mixture of funny and serious.
Don't give away too much about a song in the patter before. Don't interpret the song or give away
the ending. If you don't need patter between two songs, don't use it. Patter shouldn't be too long
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at any given time.
One useful tip for writing patter is to write stream of conscious about what a song means to
you and how it touches your life and reflects your experience. Then, hone it down to the barest
minimum of information. The edited writing you've done then becomes the subtext of the song’s
performance. Stop short of telling us what the song will be and how we should understand it. Let
the audience draw its own conclusion.
Vocal Style and Performance
In keeping with the axiom that cabaret is the “art of being yourself, on purpose,” your
singing style needs to match your speaking timbre. Use your true, authentic voice unless you
choose to do an impersonation or something for comedic effect.
In cabaret, we use a microphone so that one doesn’t need to project in the same way you
must do if you are in a big theatre. Think of the audience as being very close to you. It is an
intimate art form. Keep these things in mind as you are preparing your show vocally. Your
blocking and movement choices need to be informed by the use of a microphone. Economy of
movement is key. Less is more.
There are essentially four positions for cabaret singing:
•Standing with the microphone in your hand. This position has a certain performance energy that
is especially good for the opening song.
•Standing with the microphone in the stand. This is perhaps the most powerful position best
reserved for your most powerful moment.
•Seated with the microphone in your hand. This communicates a casual intimacy with the
audience.
•Seated with the microphone in the stand. This communicates that the lyric is very important.
Nothing in this position distracts from the ideas in the song.
Things to consider for each song:
1. Focus (full audience, single audience person, point beyond the audience, other)
2. Mic position (Standing/mic stand, Standing/mic in hand, Seated/mic in stand, seated/mic in
hand)
3. Interpretation (Is the story you're sharing, your story? Is it clear?)
1.Patter (is patter needed? Is there too much patter? Too little patter? Is it clear?)
Emotion
There is a delicate balance at work in terms of emotional display. We, the audience, want to
know there is a living, breathing human, like us, on stage—someone that has experienced the full
range of life's ups and downs. But too much sad emotion is out of place and can make the
audience uncomfortable. In terms of emotional colors, once again, variety is encouraged. The last
thing you want from your show is to allow self-indulgence to creep in.
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A Final Word
The audience wants to be moved, wants their hearts be touched, and may even want to be
moved to tears. Mostly though, they want to be entertained. We might think of “entertaining” as
a bad word or an unworthy objective. But most audience members who go to a show go to hear a
few good tunes, to laugh and to have a few drinks. They want to feel, but mostly, they want to be
entertained. Your audience should be your first priority.
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Critical Listening and Analytical Tools for Song Performance
Understanding theatre music at a deep level is something everyone can do once you learn to
actively listen and understand how theater music is put together. Good theatre music is written to
enhance and support the lyric. The best theatre music tells the same story as the lyric, amplifying
it and adding subtext. When you see a musical for the first time, one of the most affecting and
exciting qualities is that there is almost too much to make sense of 4. You have actors, costumes,
lights, sets, and an orchestra. You also have a book that is concise and packed with action, back
story and subtext. You hear 15 or more songs that you've never heard and must process. Today,
we have the luxury of listening to pop songs as many times as we would like. The theatre doesn't
allow for that.
Due to the fast paced nature of most musicals, the book has to do a lot without slowing forward
momentum. Much happens in a short time. That's why it's crucial that the composer write music
that doesn't distract from the lyric. In fact, the music should amplify the lyric and point us toward
important information. The history of Musical Theatre has shown us that composers of all types
and periods have been successful at achieving this goal.
For Girl Crazy (1930), George Gershwin wrote "Somebody Loves Me," a beautifully simple 32bar refrain that is almost completely diatonic, has regular and predictable rhythms and a simple
accompaniment. During the 40s and 50s, Richard Rogers expanded the ways that music could
function in shows. From the aria-like song, "Lonely Room" (Oklahoma!, 1943) to a complex
musical scene that includes "If I Loved You" (Carousel, 1945) to a boisterous, instantly familiar
children's song, "Do-Re-Me" (Sound of Music, 1959), he demonstrated a compositional style that
could easily transform itself around the needs of a scene and show. In Sweeney Todd (1979),
Stephen Sondheim continued Rodgers' expansion of what is possible. His score is dissonant and
the songs are formally complex, but it is on many people's list of favorite scores because the
music, as well as the book and lyrics, tells an exciting, original story.
The music of these three composers couldn't be more different, but in each, the function of their
music is the same: support and amplify the lyric, add subtext through music and provide a
structure that an audience can understand with one hearing. Thinking about music in this way
may be something that you've never done before. It can be difficult and technical. But I want to
assure you that it does not require special music theory knowledge. It only requires good
listening and reasoning skills. Think of it as a branch of the text analysis you would do when
analyzing a lyric.
Critical Listening is a self-guided, self-disciplined way of listening that is active and involves
reasoning to give meaning to what we hear. It is something that can be turned on and off
depending on the situation. Use Critical Listening when you're seeing a musical, listening to a
4
Goggle “Mike Isaacson TED Talk The Power of Musicals” for more about the complexity of musicals and
their power.
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cast album or listening to a speaker. Turn it off if you want to listen to music for pleasure or
watch something for purely entertainment reasons. Like anything worthwhile, it takes practice
which eventually leads to a certain degree of failure, then to the decision to try again and
ultimately to success.
I want to mention specifically the kinds of things we can listen for when we study a musical
score. When you're in an audience, this process is autonomic. You can trust that the information
is being processed subconsciously. But when you are working toward being a well-prepared
actor, we want to engage in detailed observation and listen critically.
Musical Components To Listen For
Melody
Melodies are connected to either the emotional life or the physical life of the character singing.
A slow melody with a balanced contour can communicate love, sadness or other deep emotion.
A quick melody with many repeated pitches can communicate worry, anger or some other more
negative emotion. Patter songs are quick songs that leave little room to breathe, evoking
excitability or a resolute decision. Sometimes there is an avoidance of traditional melody and
characters can stay on one or two notes for a while when the moment calls for a more
conversational quality or lack of emotion.
Listen to contour, or the up and down motion of a melody. A highly contoured melody tends to
communicate more emotion and a less contoured melody communicates less emotion. Lastly,
listen for range. A higher tessitura could communicate increased passion, love or excitement.
Lower tessitura could communicate relaxation, a conversational quality or ease.
Please notice that I am not being scientific or exhaustive in discussing what is communicated.
Naming every possible meaning is unachievable. Trust yourself. Actors are highly intuitive.
Remember that songs are written to be understood on one hearing.
Listen to “Many a New Day” (Oklahoma!) for the way Laurey expresses a carefree, flippant
attitude as she sings about a failed relationship which is of no importance. Listen to “My White
Knight” (The Music Man) for the way the deep longings of an intelligent young woman are
expressed in a highly contoured melody at a high tessitura. The character of the melodic writing
changes to express the various things she is thinking and feeling.
Harmony
Harmony supports melody. Music can be completely diatonic and lacking in dissonance or
highly discordant and filled with tension. Less dissonant music can communicate positivity or
familiarity while dissonance can communicate tension, fear, hate or a high degree of passion. I
need to tell you that not all composers of theatre music are equally adept at using harmony to
communicate in the way most use melody. Some composers before 1965 composed only the
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melody and allowed the orchestrator to fill in the harmony. Outstanding orchestrators like Robert
Russell Bennett (Oklahoma!, Kiss Me, Kate, South Pacific) were quite sophisticated musically
and theatrically and their work is filled with subtext. The rate at which harmony changes (called
harmonic rhythm) can be fast, indicating excitement or nervousness, or it can be slow, indicating
calm, ease, love, or boredom.
Listen to “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” (Oklahoma!). The harmony evokes a simple, folk-like
quality that captures Curlie’s character. In “And This is My Beloved” from Kismet, the harmony
suggests the exotic, far removed world of Baghdad.
Rhythm
Rhythm can be predictable and smooth or unpredictable and syncopated. The tempo is that speed
at which a song is sung and generally corresponds directly to the internal tempo of the character
at that moment. The heartbeat (weak STRONG, pause) is a fundamental life rhythm. It appears
in songs like “Tonight” (West Side Story) and “The Story Goes On” (Baby) in places of nervous
excitement or deep connection.
Listen to “A Wonderful Guy” (South Pacific) for the driving, insistent rhythm at the beginning as
Nellie sings about fearlessness. The rhythm becomes more lilting and uplifting toward the end as
she sings about a love that makes her happy. In “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story,
Tony’s music is unpredictable and syncopated to correspond to the anticipation he feels for an
unexpected future.
Orchestration
Orchestration, or the practice of deciding what instruments play and how they are used,
frequently tells us a great deal about the character and situation. A full string section can
communicate passion or sorrow. Fast woodwinds can communicate nervousness. A flute can be
sweet. A trumpet can be strong and powerful. Timpani drums and a big brass section can be
majestic. A saxophone is often used to suggest the sexual. A lone, high violin can suggest a
plaintive quality. Listen to Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev for the ways that instruments
can help to tell a story. Most Broadway composers do not orchestrate their music. They supervise
an orchestrator who decides, using the composer's musical intentions, exactly what each
instrument plays.
In “Another Hundred People,” the orchestration consists of an angular keyboard part, skittering
woodwinds, high violins sustaining long notes punctuated by punchy brass. The variety of
textures suggest the chaos of life in New York City. Another example
Musical Symbolism
Music can represent or suggest things is time and space. For instance, music that sounds like a
March can suggest a parade while a Waltz suggests a genteel social gathering. A ticking clock
can be represented in music to indicate passing time.
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At the beginning of “A Little Priest” (Sweeney Todd), the high, dissonant sustained chord before
Mrs. Lovett sings represents the “light bulb” of an idea she has before she sings about the
solution to their problem. “Before the Parade Passes By” (Hello Dolly) takes the form of a March
to indicate the parade Dolly sings about.
Critical Listening Practice
Let's practice our Critical Listening skills by listening and responding to "Soliloquy" (Carousel),
Billy's reaction to learning that he and Julie are having a baby. Listen for what is being
communicated through the music. Is the composer communicating through rhythm, through
melody, through harmony or some combination? Use many adjectives to describe the music and
what you felt and thought. I would suggest listening three of four times to allow your thinking to
become clearer. When you have finished, read my response to “Soliloquy” for comparison.
Critical Listening Response to "Soliloquy"
Soliloquy begins hesitantly as Billy gets used to the idea of becoming a father. The melody is
low in his speaking range, and conversational. The rhythms are free, similar to the rhythms of
speech. The music is in a minor key and the dissonance reflects Billy's discomfort. The "I
wonder" in the lyric is echoed in the lack of musical resolution.
As he adjusts to the idea, the tempo picks up and the mood becomes lighter. When he sings of
playing in the ocean, the melody is playful as it bobs up and down. He starts to like the idea of
having a son. This leads to a patriotic, happy March that gives us the image of Billy proudly
parading his son through town to show him off. "My boy Bill, I will see that he's named after me,
I will!" Trumpets toot-toot after his first line to remind us we are at a parade. The section ends
with a humorous line, "No pot bellied, baggy eyed bully 'll boss him around." The most
important words are accented to underscore the father's determination to protect.
A comfortable, casual patter section with thin orchestration follows, explaining that he only cares
that his son is happy. The melody is again in the speaking range. The simplicity and ordinariness
of the music as he sings of the jobs his son could have reflects Billy's acceptance of his new life.
When he thinks of his son carrying on his career as carousel barker, we slow down to savor "Of
course it takes talent to do that well." Slowing down will provoke a chuckle that wouldn't happen
without slowing.
Then we get into the son's romantic life. When he sings about what he doesn't want for his son,
the accompaniment is off balance and has biting dissonance ("I'll be damned if he'll marry his
bosses daughter"). When he thinks of a good love life for his son, he sings the most melodic and
beautiful melody so far. "I can see him when he's seventeen or so." This is their love song and is
supported by warm strings. It ends with the dramatic turning point of the song where the thought
occurs to him for the very first time that his child could be a girl. In a transitional passage, we
return to the music from the beginning as he sings, "You can have fun with a son but you got to
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be a father to a girl." The reprise reminds us that Billy is still afraid of what all this means for he
and Julie. He has not changed.
But the image of his daughter as a "tin-type of her mother" does finally change his mind to
acceptance and love. The climax, 5 1/2 minutes into the song, is a gorgeous, melodic ballad, "My
little girl, pink and white as peaches and cream is she." Billy softens in a way we never expected
as he opens his heart to her through this melody. The dénouement follows when he realizes with
horror that his life must change drastically to prepare for her. The low strings suggest that this is
a conviction from his soul. The music drives rhythmically toward the conclusion and leads us to
his decision, the turning point of the musical the end of Act I: "I'll go out and make it or steal it
or take it or die." The triumphant nature of the music with full orchestra and sung in the highest
tessitura plays in contrast to the irony of his final words.
How to Use It
Doing this kind of work for any song will give you a wealth of knowledge to work with as an
actor and a singer. It will give you images to play with, a sense of atmosphere and tempo and a
knowledge of what you need to accomplish. It doesn't require any special understanding of music
theory. If you know about chord functions and voice leading, by all means use it in your
inspection. My point is that it's not necessary for a useful analysis.
Imagine the imagery and feelings in each section as you sing. As you do, natural adjustments will
occur in your physicality and vocal production. At the beginning, allow the rhythms a great deal
of freedom as this isn't a song as much as it is a conversation. Knowing this will remind you of
the appropriate physicality for a conversation. The parade section will likely become less
introspective and more boisterously exuberant vocally and physically. You might underscore the
accents during, "No pot bellied, baggy eyed bully 'll boss him around" with your body. The idea
behind the jobs section is that you are returning to the conversation with your partner. The
audience is your partner as this is a soliloquy. Talk to them as you would a friend. There should
be a physical response to the pride you feel in "Of course it takes talent to do that well."
When you imagine the horrible image of marrying the lariat-wearing shrew, the voice will
change. Listen to the off kilter music before you sing to remind you of how terrible it would be.
Everything changes immediately when you think with pride of a first date. Maybe you remember
your first date. Seeing the two of them walking off together might bring a smile to your face. But
this doesn't last for long because the image of your son is instantly transformed into a daughter.
This is a nightmare. You would be a terrible father to a girl.
So far you've been through a great deal in the song. You thought you were getting someplace and
you've had some fun. Now it's all gone. You're back where you started but worse. You despair.
But then you look at your daughter and see the resemblance to the woman you love. You soften
as you fall in love. This dramatic change will make changes in your body and your voice. You
sing the most beautiful love song you know. So far, this moment has been more like a
monologue, but now you really sing. Your voice is warm and resonant while your body becomes
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more still. When you realize your life must change forever, the body becomes more animated
and an urgency comes into the voice. You end with conviction and passion.
Two Critical Listening Analyses
The following analyses will offer two more examples of critical listening analysis. Compare the
musical notes with the associated actions. For me, the most crucial component of any analysis is
found in the question, "How can I use this information in my acting and singing."
Will He Like Me? (She Loves Me)
This moment has Amalia thinking about finally meeting the man she’s been writing and fallen in
love with.
Lyric divided by beat
Will he like me when we
meet? Will the shy and quiet
girl he's going to see be the
girl that he's imagined me to
be? Will he like me?
Action
Amalia questions if she will
be attractive to the man she
has been writing.
Will he like the girl he sees? If She states her question in a
he doesn't, will he know
new way.
enough to know that there's
more of me than I may always
show? Will he like me?
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Musical notes
The simple, non-melodic
melody at the beginning is a
perfect analogue to the
questioning lyric. I’ll call the
motive back and forth
between D and E the
“questioning motive”. She’s
working out her problem. The
melody opens up and
encompasses a full octave. It
moves from non-melodic to
highly melodic within the
span of only 8 bars! This
soaring melody in the second
half of this section is Amalia
letting out her true feelings,
desires and hopes out into the
world.
An exact melodic repeat. She
goes back to the problem. The
lyrics go deeper into her
worries and fears. She puts
the lid back on her hopes and
goes back to working out the
problem.
Action
Musical notes
Will he know that there's a
world of love waiting to warm
him? How I'm hoping that his
eyes and ears won't misinform
him.
She opens up her heart about
what she has to offer the
relationship and her wish that
he see that which is within
her.
The B section starts with the
same melodic motive but an
octave higher. The melodic
idea that was first presented at
the beginning is now allowed
to fully flower. It has grown
into a fully developed
melody.
Will he like me, who can say?
How I wish that we could
meet another day. It’s absurd
for me to carry on this way.
I'll try not to. Will he like me?
He's just got to. Will he like
me? He's just got to.
She re-states her question and
responds to the question for
the first time.
Back to the A material. The
penultimate line in the A
section, “Will he like me” is a
fully step higher, intensifying
the question. The end of the
section, the melody is not
allowed to resolve. “He’s just
got to” ends on a dissonant
note, the second scale degree
of G major. A new
accompanimental idea is
introduced here, the steady
8th flow corresponds to the
ease she has when she writes
alone.
When I am in my room alone
and I write, thoughts come
easily, words come fluently
then. That’s how it is when
I’m alone, but tonight, there’s
no hiding behind my paper
and pen.
Amalia describes how easy it
is to write when she’s by
herself and faces the fact that
things will be much different
when she’s face to face with
him.
Here, Amalia takes stock of
the difference between the
two situations, writing when
she’s alone and the terrifying
thought of actually talking to
him. She’s much more at ease
when she writes to him alone.
“There’s no hiding behind my
paper and pen” has a steady
quarter note accompaniment.
This leads her back into the
last section of the song. The
accompaniment leading us
back is the questioning
motive, this time used to
broaden and expand.
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Action
Musical notes
Will he know that there’s a
She returns to her thoughts
Like before, the B section
world of love waiting to warm about how much she can offer allows us to see and hear the
him? How I’m hoping that his this man.
full depth of her desires.
eyes and ears won’t misinform
him.
Will he like me? I don’t know.
All I know is that I’m tempted
not to go. It’s insanity for me
to worry so. I’ll try not to.
Will he like me? He’s just got
to. Will he like me? Will he
like me?
Back to the initial questions;
questions that build in
intensity to the end.
Back to questioning. The
questions “Will he like me”
get progressively higher in
pitch, ending with the song’s
apex, F#. This dissonant note
helps to emphasize the lack of
resolution in the song. This
song has an “ending where
you start” arc.
“Will He Like Me?”: Analysis you can use
The “questioning motive” at the beginning should be performed parlando, in a
rhythmically free, slightly non-legato manner. She is talking to herself as she wonders
what her evening will be like. It’s a “non-melody” that opens up as she moves higher and
the questions get more passionate. There is a return to the “questioning motive” as she
goes back to working things out. After, there is a soaring melody as she expresses her
deepest wishes. Because of the passion of the moment, you can sing with more legato and
without rubato. The rhythm when she sings about what her life is like when she writes
him is more flowing to express the ease she has when she’s alone. She allows herself to
express a completely different side to her character. Then as it moves back to the low
“questioning motive,” we understand that she hasn’t really solved anything. This music
tells us that the arc is a “spiral arc.” Be aware that much of the melodic material is
developed out of the two-note questioning motive, reminding us that this moment is
about her questions.
53
Lonely Room (Oklahoma)
This is the song near the end of Act I when Judd considers the nature of his life as he is alone in
his room.
Action
Musical notes
The floor creaks,
The door squeaks,
There's a field-mouse
a-nibblin on a broom
And I sit by myself
Like a cobweb on the shelf
By myself in a lonely room
Judd describes his world.
There is a repeated half-step,
dissonant repeated chord in
the orchestra that suggests
Judd’s conflict and tension. It
supports a small melodic
range indicative of Judd’s
world. There is a
preponderance of downward
melodic motion.
But when there's a moon in
my winder
And it slants down a
beam'crost my bed
Then the shadder of a tree
starts a-dancin on the wall
And a dream starts a-dancin
in my head
And all the things I wish fer
Turn out like I want them to
be
And I'm better'n that smart
aleck cowboy
Who thinks he is better'n me!
This section indicates that he
has secret longings for
something better than his
hum-drum existence. He can
imagine his life becoming
more than it is.
The rapidly flowing
accompaniment is a response
to these images. They are the
dream dancing in his head.
And the girl that I want
Ain't afraid of my arms,
And her own soft arms keep
me warm
He allows himself to
verbalize the what he most
wishes.
This new section becomes
much more melodic,
responding to the images of
love and embracing Laurey.
And her long,yeller hair, falls
a-crost my face, Jist like the
rain in a storm!
This is the best thing he can
There is a swell in dynamics
imagine. It is a simple, human supporting the passion he
desire.
feels. The melodic motive,
F#, G, A B, ends on the
melody’s apex, C#—the
highest note of the song.
54
Action
Musical notes
The floor creaks, The door
squeaks
And the mouse starts anibblin on the broom
And the sun flicks my eyes
It was all a pack o'lies!
I'm awake in a lonely room.
But, here he is, as always, in a Almost an exact repeat of the
drab room realizing that this
first A section. He is back in
dream is not a reality.
his room, facing his existence.
I ain't gonna dream 'bout her
no more!
I ain't gonna leave her alone!
Goin' outside, Git myself a
bride,
Git me a womern to call my
own.
He makes his decision: to
persue his heart’s desire and
not just dream about it.
Here, at the climax of the
song, we hear new music. We
hear driving music in the
bass. The melodic motive,
(F#, G, A B), is used on
“Goin’ outside/Git myself a
bride,”. The song ends on the
melodic apex, C#. This is a
non-chord tone of the home
key, B minor. The final
dissonant chord corresponds
to Judd’s emotional state.
“Lonely Room”: Analysis you can use
The tension of the dissonant, repeated 1/2 steps in the accompaniment and the non-melodic
melody suggest Judd’s world. Because the opening melody is a “non-melody”, it should be sung
parlando—closer to speech. When the orchestra opens up in the B section, that is a clue for a
more expansive vocal production and more physical activity. For the first time, we see Judd’s
hopes and dreams. It builds to the first climax on “Jist like the rain in a storm.. There is then a
return to the initial emotion place. Judd’s life is the same as it always was. But after returning
there for a little while, there’s an abrupt change with “I ain’t gonna dream ‘bout her arms no
more!” Judd makes a decision to act on his desires.
Conclusion
This kind of work can be applied to the songs you're working on and the ones in shows you're
doing. Musical theatre songs since the 40s will be the richest sources. You might be frustrated
with light, pop-influenced musical theatre and standards from the first part of the twentieth
century. With all due respect, songs from Mamma Mia, Footloose, All Shook Up, Jersey Boys
and similar shows will not yield much. The same goes for Memphis, American Idiot, Billy Elliot
and The Producers. But other contemporary shows like Wicked (especially "The Wizard and I"
and "Defying Gravity"), In The Heights (especially "Breathe), Little Women (especially
"Astonishing) and Jane Eyre (especially "Painting Her Portrait") are rich in the ways music is
55
used to tell the story. For this opportunity, success isn't measured in the volume of cool things
you find. It is measured in finding useful things that will enhance your acting and singing.
Here are some other examples where the music does a great job of telling the story.
A Cockeyed Optimist
A Little Bit in Love
A Quiet Girl
A Trip to the Library
At the Fountain
Barrett’s Song
Don’t Rain on My Parade
Everybody Loves Louis
Everything’s Coming Up Roses
Far From the Home I Love
Finishing the Hat
Geraniums in the Winder
Giants in the Sky
Gooch’s Song
He Plays the Violin
How Are Things in Glocca Morra?
I Cain’t Say No
I Could Have Danced All Night
I Enjoy Being a Girl
I Have Confidence
I’ll Show Him
I’m In Love With a Wonderful Guy
Is It Really Me?
It’s a Perfect Relationship
Just You Wait
Many a New Day
Mister Snow
Moments In the Woods
Much More
My White Knight
One Hundred Easy Ways to Loose a Man
One White Dress
Ribbons Down My Back
Rose’s Turn
Show Me
Simple Little Things
Some People
Somebody, Somewhere
Something’s Coming
The Gentleman is a Dope
The Music That Makes Me Dance
The Simple Joys of Maidenhood
Waiting For Life
Warm All Over
What’s the Use of Wond’rin’
When Did I Fall in Love?
Will He Like Me
Without You
South Pacific
Wonderful Town
Wonderful Town
She Loves Me
Sweet Smell of Success
Titanic
Funny Girl
Sunday in the Park With George
Gypsy
Fiddler on the Roof
Sunday in the Park With George
Carousel
Into the Woods
Mame
1776
Finian’s Rainbow
Oklahoma!
My Fair Lady
Flower Drum Song
The Sound Of Music
Plain and Fancy
South Pacific
110 in the Shade
Bells are Ringing
My Fair Lady
Oklahoma!
Carousel
Into the Woods
The Fantasticks
The Music Man
Wonderful Town
A Catered Affair
Hello Dolly
Gypsy
My Fair Lady
110 in the Shade
Gypsy
The Most Happy Fella
West Side Story
Allegro
Funny Girl
Camelot
Once on This Island
The Most Happy Fella
Carousel
Fiorello!
She Loves Me
My Fair Lady
56
Musical Style through History
Throughout the book, I have assumed of the reader a general understanding of musical theatre
history and the styles associated with each period. But if you have never had the chance to study
this rich history, this chapter will give you an overview of the changing styles while leaving out
historical details. It’s important for you to posses at least a general understanding of how styles
changed since 1900 so you can understand how the songs you sing relate and differ. This chapter
can’t begin to give you a thorough knowledge of Musical Theatre history so I recommend that
you pick up one of the histories listed in the bibliography.
You will find a brief description of some of the major trends in Musical Theatre along with a
description of some of the major composers and stylistic trends. If you really want to learn this
material, take the time to listen to these songs to discover how they differ. Using your critical
listening skills, observe how melody, harmony, rhythm, and the relationship between lyric and
music changes through time.
Section 1–Early 20th C. to 1943: Operetta
Victor Herbert (1859-1924) Babes in Toyland, Naughty Marietta, The Red Mill
Rudolf Friml (1879-1972) Rose-Marie, The Vagabond King, The Three Musketeers
Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951) The Student Prince, The Desert Song, The New Moon
Musical Theatre in New York in the first 30 years of the 20th C. was fell into two camps:
Operetta and Musical Comedy. These three Operetta composers wrote in a relatively similar
manner, so rather than talking about each of these composers separately, I will give you some
stylistic traits for operetta in general. More than anything, operetta style is distinguished by its
melody, often written fairly high, meant to be sung by classically-trained singers. The harmony is
relatively simply in an early to mid-19th C. European style. The rhythm of operettas is also often
simple with frequent use of waltz and other European dance music incorporated. The lyrics, with
few exceptions, are usually flowery, highly poetic and usually not particularly mémorable. The
music is often indistinguishable from European opera with one important difference. Opera
commonly featured sung recitatives to advance the story while Operetta had spoken dialogue.
Songs to Know
Deep in My Heart, Dear. The Student Prince (Sigmund Romberg)
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life. Naughty Marietta (Victor Herbert)
Indian Love Call. Rose Marie (Rudolf Friml)
Questions to Consider
What did you observe about the singer's use of vibrato?
What would you imagine is the acting style?
What can you say about the way the lyrics are written?
57
Vaudeville and Very Early Musical Theatre
Before Musical Theatre developed its own musical style in the mid-40s, the music of Broadway
was quite similar to the popular music of its time. Melodies were very singable and rhythms
were often danceable. In great numbers, consumers bought the sheet music and sang the songs at
home. I hope you can hear in “I Wanna Be Loved By You” that the vocal style associated with
this kind of music was quite the opposite of operetta. Commonly the singers were untrained and
they simply belted out the tunes. This was more the case in the uproarious Vaudeville style than
the more elegant Broadway. For both, the harmony is straightforward and the rhythm borrows
from ragtime. In addition to toe-tapping uptempos, there were also quite a lot of sentimental love
song ballads. The lyrics were about common people, often in humorous situations. In this early
style, there wasn’t an effort to match the musical style to the character or situation. That would
come in the 40s. Here the composers were just trying to write warm and beautiful ballads or
memorable, entertaining uptempos. Please find more about the history of Vaudeville in
chapter ??.
Songs to Know
“Shine On, Harvest Moon”, a vaudeville song by Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. (1908)
“I Love a Piano” is one of Irving Berlin’s first hits (1915).
“I Wanna Be Loved By You” from the musical Good Boy (1928) by Herbert Stothart and Harry
Ruby.
"I Want to Be Happy" from No, No, Nanette (1925) composed by Vince Youmans.
In terms of formality or informality, how does this period differ from Operetta?
What can you say about the use of rhythm in these songs?
Imagine that you are in the audience that these songs were intended for. What is your life like?
Early Musical Theatre Composers
In the early days of Broadway, the style was fast and comedic and songs were not expected to
advance the plot.
Jerome Kern
Major shows: Show Boat, Sally, Oh, Boy!, Leave It To Jane
Style
58
•Kern’s style is exemplified by the importance of melody above harmony and rhythm. He
stands at the cross-roads of operetta and the emerging American theatre style. His early
works sound like operetta.
•His melodies are unexpected. The melodies seems simple but rarely are. “All the Things
You Are” includes all 12 chromatic tones and is in three different keys!
•Show Boat prefigured the advances made by Oklahoma with an integrated score
advancing the plot.
• His songs are among the first to reflect the character that sings it. “Old Man River”, for
instance, sounds like a spiritual and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” sounds like a Blues song.
Songs to Know
“They Didn’t Believe Me” (The Girl from Utah, 1913)
"Look For the Silver Lining" (Sally, 1919)
“Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” (Showboat, 1927)
“Ol’ Man River” (Showboat, 1927)
“All The Things You Are” (Very Warm For May, 1939)
George Gershwin
Major shows: Girl Crazy, Lady, Be Good, Strike Up the Band, Porgy and Bess (Opera)
Style
•Rhythm and harmony are more important than melody
•He often has melodies with repeated notes
•He experimented with larger forms (Porgy and Bess, a piano concerto and orchestral music
like Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris). More than anyone else of his time, he
wanted to be known as a serious composer.
•He wanted to study composition with the French master Ravel, but Ravel said he couldn’t
teach Gershwin anything.
•He wanted to create a quintessentially “American sound” based in jazz.
•His melodies often contain blue notes. These are the special scale degrees, flat 3 and flat 7,
that come from jazz and the blues. “The Man I Love” which we listened to earlier, is a great
example of this.
Songs to Know
“I Got Rhythm” (Girl Crazy)
“Nice Work If You Can Get It” (Damsel In Distress, film and Nice Work If You Can Get It)
“Fascinating Rhythm” (Lady, Be Good)
“Strike Up the Band” (Strike Up the Band)
“The Man I Love” (Strike Up the Band)
59
Richard Rodgers (with Lorenz Hart)
Major shows: A Connecticut Yankee, On Your Toes, Jumbo, Pal Joey
Style
•Melody is more important than rhythm or harmony.
•There are many melodic surprises
•All of his songs are theatre songs, never pop songs. He is the standard bearer for great
theatre ballads.
•He uses straight forward forms like AABA and ABAB.
•His melodies are less Operetta-like than Kern’s but still quite lush and beautiful. It’s
important to note that the music he wrote with Hart is very different from the music he
wrote later with Hammerstein. The earlier music is lighter an the uptempos and jazzier.
•He didn’t strive for “importance” like Gershwin. He just wanted to write great theatre
songs.
Songs to Know
“Manhattan” (Garrick Gaieties)
“My Funny Valentine” (Babes in Arms)
“My Heart Stood Still” (A Connecticut Yankee)
“Bewitched” (Pal Joey)
Questions to Consider:
Section 2–1943 to the late 60s: The Golden Age of Musical Theatre
The sea change that occurred in 1943 with Oklahoma cannot be overstated. The innovations it
brought would have a lasting effect on every show produced for at least the next 30 years.
Thomas Hischak writes, "Not only is 'Oklahoma!' the most important of the Rodgers and
Hammerstein musicals, it is also the single most influential work in the American musical
theatre. ... It is the first fully integrated musical play and its blending of song, character, plot and
even dance would serve as the model for Broadway shows for decades.FIND A BETTER
QUOTE.
Oklahoma ushered in a period commonly called The Golden Age, which lasted, depending the
source, for the next 20 or 30 years. The first six song-writing teams are the most recognizable
and identifiable Golden Age composers and lyricists. The teams that follow either have fewer
major shows or don’t have a single, identifying style.
60
Richard Rodgers (with Oscar Hammerstein II)
Major Shows: Oklahoma, Carousel, King and I, South Pacific, Sound of Music
•Simplicity and truthfulness
•Music is always character based
•No artifice
•Hammerstein's humanity, plain-spoken lyrics where emotion is direct.
•Full orchestra. Very little drums.
•No Jazz influence.
•Robert Russell Bennett's orchestration is a big part of the R & H sound. It is characterized
by memorable countermelodies and lush strings.
•Romantic, lush and designed to go directly to the heart
•Melody based. Not rhythm or harmony
•You leave whistling the tunes.
•Lyrics came first and melody follows.
•Many instances of hymn-like tunes. (This Nearly Was Mine, Bali Hai, Climb Every
Mountain, You'll Never Walk Alone, and Something Wonderful)
•Almost in love song like “People Will Say We’re In Love” and “If I Loved You”
•Memorable Character numbers like “I Cain’t Say No” and “A Puzzelment”
•Ballet music is important.
•Big choruses.
Songs to Know
“Oklahoma” (OKLAHOMA!)
"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" (OKLAHOMA!)
“You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Carousel)
“Something Wonderful” (The King and I)
“A Wonderful Guy” (South Pacific)
Lerner and Loewe
Major Shows: Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Camelot
•They are easy to confuse with Rodgers and Hammerstein
•You could many of the same things about about their music.
•It's lush and orchestral.
•Not jazzy.
•Melody first.
•Bennett also orchestrated for them so the sound is similar.
61
•As compared to Rodgers and Hammerstein, their songs are more for the mind and less
from the heart. Lyrics are witty and ironic. “Shall kith not kill their kin for me”, for
example.
•They seem less American because of the locations, both musically and lyrically.
•Unlike Rodgers and Hammerstein, the songs feel less like they could fit only in their
respective show. “Almost Like Being in Love” could fit in other shows.
•Some choral work but less than Rodgers and Hammerstein.
Songs to Know
Ascot Gavotte (My Fair Lady)
I Could Have Dance All Night (My Fair Lady)
The Simple Joys of Maidenhood (Camelot)
Almost Like Being in Love (Brigadoon)
Frank Loesser
Majors shows: Guys and Dolls, Most Happy Fella, How To Succeed in Business Without Really
Trying
DESCRIPTION OF LOESSER
Jule Styne (with various lyricists)
Major shows: Gypsy, Funny Girl, Bells are Ringing
•The music is Jazz based. His songs really establishes the sound of the “show tune.”
•More rhythmic than Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe
•Incorporates the sound of popular music
•Songs tell the stories of their characters and each of his shows has their own world with
internal style like Rodgers and Hammerstein.
•Almost no choral singing.
•Could possibly be confused with Loesser or Bernstein.
Songs to Know
“Some People” (Gypsy)
“Rose’s Turn” (Gypsy)
“I’m Going Back” (Bells are Ringing)
“Don’t Rain On My Parade” (Funny Girl)
Leonard Bernstein
Major shows: West Side Story, On the Town, Wonderful Town
Candide is unlike the others in style and scope
62
•Symphonic, big orchestra and bold orchestrations
•Jazz based, with the exception of Candide.
•Rhythm is the most important aspect but harmony and melody are complex and important.
•His melodies are difficult to sing and the harmony is the most complex in musical theatre
until we get to Sondheim.
•His shows feel very New York. It’s quite sophisticated.
•Could possibly be confused with Styne or Loesser
Songs to Know
“I Can Cook, Too” (On the Town)
“Ohio” (Wonderful Town)
“Jet Song” (West Side Story)
“Somewhere” (West Side Story)
Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick
Major shows: Fiorello, Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me
•Almost as much as Rodgers and Hammerstein, their music is at one with the shows. Every
show has a language of its own based on the location and the kind of story it is.
•Songs come directly from the character.
•Their music is less grand or formal than Rodgers and Hammerstein
•High degree of emotionalism.
•You can't imagine putting their songs in any other show.
•Can be confused with Rodgers and Hammerstein
•Frequent group numbers
Songs to Know
“If I Were a Rich Man” (Fiddler on the Roof)
“Matchmaker, Matchmaker” (Fiddler on the Roof)
“When Did I Fall In Love” (Fiorello)
“Tonight at Eight” (She Loves Me)
Other major composers and lyricists during this period
Adler and Ross (Pajama Game and Damn Yankees) have only two shows in the repertoire but
they are both strong. Their shows could be confused with Jule Styne or possibly Bock and
Harnick.
Meredith Wilson (The Music Man and The Unsinkable Molly Brown) The Music Man is
considered by some to be one of the greatest book musicals of all time. His shows could be
confused with Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe. There are lots of group numbers.
Charles Strouse with various lyricists (Major shows: Annie, Bye, Bye Birdie, Applause, Rags)
The first two shows and some of the most frequently revived shows. He is one of the most
underrated composers and his scores have possibly the widest variety with the exception of
Frank Loesser.
63
Burton Lane (Finian’s Rainbow, On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever) Finian’s Rainbow could
be confused with Brigadoon and On a Clear Day could be confused with Jule Styne or Bock and
Harnick.
The Golden Age style
It's difficult to find traits that pertain to all Golden Age shows but here a few of them.
•Big orchestra with lots of strings, brass and winds.
•Songs which are always plot-based
•An equality of importance between music and lyric
•Vocal styles are in generally one of two camps: Leading roles call for trained voices in a
light classical/serious musical theatre style and supporting/comic roles for singing actors
with less need for trained voices. As the period progresses there are times when leading
characters have the voices usually associated with character roles.
•Extended musical forms (beyond the usual verse/refrains of musical comedy) “Soliloquy”
from Carousel and “Lonely Room” from “Oklahoma” are quite complex.
•Choral numbers
The purpose is to give a broad sweep of musical styles so that students can identify composers or
at least style periods by hearing.
Section 3–1970 to the Present: Post-Golden Age
Stephen Sondheim
Major Shows: Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George,
Into the Woods, Passion
Style
•His songs set a high standard for theatre music and lyrics
•Many of his musicals are concept musicals, i.e. they don’t tell a linear story from
beginning to end.
•The music and the lyrics are highly integrated and support each other.
•Witty, smart lyrics and music that is more complex than the average Broadway show.
•Irony is common
•Musical dissonance is common and used for dramatic purposes.
•Almost no musical allusions to Popular music
•His songs are based first and foremost on the lyric with the music helping to communicate
the lyric and its subtext.
Songs to Know
“A Weekend in the Country” (A Little Night Music)
“Everybody Loves Louis” (Sunday in the Park With George)
64
“No More” (Into the Woods)
“I Read” (Passion)
Kander and Ebb
Major Shows: Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Curtains, Scottsboro Boys
Style
•The music of Kander and Ebb is frequently characterized by direct references to earlier
styles (see below)
•Black humor derived from cynicism, often pertaining to death (“Electric Chair”) but also
to other taboo subjects like Menage a Trois (“Two Ladies”), is common.
•Rhythm is the most identifying musical component.
Songs to Know
“Two Ladies” from Cabaret. The music in Cabaret is modeled on the Weimar Cabaret sound
exemplified by Threepenny Opera and Kurt Weill’s music.
“Mister Cellophane” from Chicago. The show evokes the sound of Vaudeville.
“Show People” from Curtains. The music of Curtains draws on the traditions of early Musical
Comedy exemplified by the shows of Irving Berlin.
“Electric Chair” from The Scottsboro Boys. The music of this show draws on the music of the
Minstrel tradition.
Jerry Herman
Major shows: Hello, Dolly!, Mame, La Cage Aux Folles
Style
•Lush, romantic music referencing earlier Musical Theatre styles. His songs are true Show
Tunes!
•He is most similar in sound to Jule Styne
•The orchestra is characterized by lots of strings
•There is strong female lead in most of his shows, or in the case of La Cage, a drag queen.
•Herman’s songs are characterized by strong, singable melodies.
Songs to Know
“Hello, Dolly” from Hello, Dolly
“Bosom Buddies” from Mame
“I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles
Andrew Lloyd Webber (with various lyricists)
Major Shows: Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Phantom of the Opera
Style
•His shows are grand with big themes in bold colors
65
•The music often references Popular styles, especially rock, while at the same time, his
melodies resemble the operatic arias of Puccini and Verdi
•Webber’s soaring melodies are the most identifying musical component
•Big orchestras with strings, brass (especially French horn) and synthesizers and electric
guitars
Songs to Know
“Buenos Aires” from Evita
“Memory” from Cats
“All I Ask of You” from Phantom of the Opera
Claude-Michel Schönberg (with various lyricists)
Major Shows: Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, The Pirate Queen
Style
•These shows are similar to the shows of Andrew Lloyd Webber in the importance of big
melodies in a lush musical style
•Vocal style for these shows is rich and bold with unique mixture of classical sound with
pop inflections.
•Frequent use of a modern recitative style (exemplified by the opening of “I Dreamed a
Dream.” These recitatives are often on a single note.
•Big orchestras with strings, brass, percussion and synthesizers
Songs to Know
“I Dreamed A Dream” from Les Miserables
“Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserables
“The Heat is On in Saigon” from Miss Saigon
Many great composers like Cy Coleman, whose career spanned over 30 years, and Stephen
Schwartz, who started his Broadway career in 1971 and is still writing, have been left off of this
list for the sake of brevity.
Make a list of the composers in the last 20 years that you think are the most important. Research
their shows, styles and discover the shows that you don’t know yet.
66
Hallmarks of Professionalism
This should go someplace else
A professional in the performing arts...
•has an endless curiosity about the world around them and the people with whom they share the
planet.
•has empathy for others.
•is passionate about their work without becoming obsessive and self-destructive.
•has the ability to work when tired, angry, frustrated or distracted.
•is capable of dealing with adversity in their career and relationships.
•has strong opinions but is able to see another side of things without losing their own point of
view.
•seeks to find the positive in every experience.
•has character.
•is disciplined, even when they don't see immediate results.
•is responsible and carries through on agreed tasks.
Obviously, there are times when we don’t live up to these goals, but they will help to promote
success and personal satisfaction.
67

Excavating the Song B Music:Vocal

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