Yay! An audition for a true musical theatre classic, Annie.
Perpetually popular, and for good reason!
Now…. what the heck do you sing?
Don’t get overwhelmed! That’s why I am here!
Lucky for you, I’ve had TONS of singers in Annie, one even played Annie herself!
The goal isn’t necessarily to find a song that sounds exactly like something from Annie. And it definitely isn’t just a matter of Googling “songs for mezzo” or “songs for baritone.”
I like to think about what the character needs to show us.
What kind of energy do they bring into the room? What do we need to hear vocally? What part of the character could you reveal with your audition song?
And, as always: read the audition notice first.
If they specifically ask for a song from the show, a Golden Age song, 32 bars, etc., give them what they ask for and nothing else!
No, seriously. Do it.
But if you’re allowed to choose your own song from pretty much anywhere, you must choose smartly!
Here are some places I’d start.
Auditioning for Annie
Annie needs optimism, determination, vulnerability, and above all, she needs to feel like an actual kid.
I don’t want to hear a child singing an emotionally adult contemporary belt song just because she can sound loud and impressive.
Yawn. Seen it!
Give me personality, storytelling, hope, and that wonderful certainty Annie has that things are eventually going to all work out. The goal is to be real, and to get the audience to fall in love with you!
“Home” — Wonderland
This is probably my favorite overall choice. Annie is tough, but underneath all of that toughness is a child desperately longing for a place—and people—to call home.
Spoiler alert: she gets just that. But you knew that already.
“I Always Knew” — Annie Warbucks
Okay, yes. This one is almost cheating. Can you blame me , though?
Annie Warbucks is the sequel to Annie, so it’s obviously extremely close to the character and musical world you’re auditioning for. Depending on the audition, that may make it a little too close for comfort, but it’s absolutely worth knowing, so I had to put it out there! It’s technically not “singing from the show”!
“When I Grow Up” — Matilda
A wonderful choice for a young performer because it allows her to simply be a child. There’s wide-eyed imagination, sincerity and longing without asking a ten-year-old to sing about emotions she hasn’t felt yet.
Annie walked so Matilda could run!
“My Favorite Things” — The Sound of Music
Don’t overlook the classics! Ever ever!
This gives you musicality, personality, optimism and a lovely opportunity for storytelling without relying on a giant belt. Who says super simple songs don’t land roles? Experience tells me otherwise: I have had girls get leads with this one.
Auditioning for Grace Farrell
Grace needs warmth and elegance, but please don’t mistake that for boring.She’s sooo not!
She’s poised, intelligent and genuinely kind, but she also has some fire when she needs it.
I want a singer who can give me beautiful classic musical-theatre singing and a real person underneath it.
“Dear Friend” — She Loves Me
Possibly my favorite Grace choice. It’s sincere, romantic, intelligent and beautifully written for a legit soprano.
“Goodnight, My Someone” — The Music Man
Warm, feminine and classic. It gives the casting team a chance to hear line, phrasing and beautiful legit singing without overcomplicating things. Marian is very similar in character to Grace. She looks out for those that she loves, and is smart and strong!
“Beautiful Candy” — Carnival!
A less obvious choice, which I love. It’s sweet and delicate without feeling childish and fits Grace’s gentle nature beautifully.
Don’t sleep on Carnival!, theatre nerds. The score is FABULOUS. No hard feelings at all that I was rejected from it when my high school did it junior year!
“I’ll Show Him” — Plain and Fancy
This one is important because Grace has some fire too! I can’t stress that enough!
She isn’t just there to smile sweetly and bat her eyes at Daddy Warbucks. This song lets an actress show determination, personality and that little bit of spark that keeps Grace from becoming “the nice soprano.” After all, she stands up to Hannigan and calls her out on her nonsense!
Auditioning for Daddy Warbucks
Warbucks needs authority—you should believe this man can walk into a room and run it.
But that’s actually not the interesting part.
The interesting part is watching Annie crack that exterior open. Your audition song can show us the warmth, vulnerability and humanity underneath all that power. Who says a tough businessman can’t be “Father of the Year”, too?
“This Nearly Was Mine” — South Pacific
A beautiful way to show the emotional weight beneath Warbucks’ authority. This is a man who has lived a long life and suddenly realizes how deeply he can care about someone.
“Try to Remember” — The Fantasticks
I LOVE this for Warbucks. Mature, warm, simple and beautifully direct. It lets an actor connect without trying too hard.
Again, proof that simple can still SLAY!
“If Ever I Would Leave You” — Camelot
If you want to show stature and a rich traditional leading-man sound, here you go. It gives you presence without needing to bark your way through the audition.
Warbucks with a strong baritone would only be a huge bonus!
“The Girl That I Marry” — Annie Get Your Gun
This lets us see the softer side of a powerful and very masculine man.
It’s charming and surprisingly tender, which are definitely things we see in him later on in the show.
Auditioning for Miss Hannigan
Miss Hannigan is one of those roles where singers can make the mistake of coming in already doing an impression of you know who.
The comedy goddess whose name starts with “Carol” and ends with “Burnett”.
Don’t. I beg of you.
Give me the qualities that make Hannigan work: frustration, brass, humor, faded glamour, resentment and the unwavering belief that life should have turned out much better than this. What happened???? She just doesn’t get it!
“They Don’t Know” — Thoroughly Modern Millie
This may be my favorite Hannigan choice.
There’s comic character work, bitterness, theatricality and a glorious sense of “Do you people have any idea what I could have been?”
Sound familiar? It’s so Hannigan! Give it a listen!
“When You’re Good to Mama” — Chicago
Worldly, funny and transactional. This is especially good for an actress who naturally has a big presence and knows how to make an audience feel like she’s talking directly to them.
Again, the theme is that she really thinks it’s “all about her”!
“Who’s That Girl?” — Applause
This brings out another piece of Hannigan that I think is important: faded glamour.
There was a version of this woman who thought life was going somewhere very different. That’s much more interesting than simply playing her as “mean and drunk and washed up”.
Although she IS all those things.
But that’s not all she is! That’s why the smart actress will opt to show the other qualities!
Auditioning for Lily St. Regis
Lily isn’t Hannigan.
She’s still hustling.
She’s flashy, ambitious, brassy and absolutely believes there’s something bigger and more glamorous waiting for her if she can just get to it.
“I Want to Go to Hollywood” — Grand Hotel
Maybe my favorite overall Lily choice.
There’s ambition, glamour and that wonderful hunger to become something bigger than your current circumstances.
“Look What Happened to Mabel” — Mack & Mabel
Old-school showbiz confidence with tons of personality. A great choice for someone who knows how to really sell a big Jerry Herman number. He sure loved composing for flashy gals with big voices!
“Not for the Life of Me” — Thoroughly Modern Millie
A little more wholesome than Lily herself, but the drive is perfect. This is somebody determined to get out of her small town, get ahead and make something happen. Specifically, in NYC!
“That’s Rich” — Newsies
Brassy, knowing and just cynical enough. This one immediately gives us the attitude we’re looking for. Oh, and don’t forget the sass and glamour. Medda is a vaudevillian diva, after all!
Auditioning for Rooster
Rooster is not just “male villain.”
In fact, if you walk into the audition playing him as evil from the first note, you’ve missed some of the fun,and the nuance.
He needs charisma. He needs energy. He needs to be entertaining enough that you understand how he gets people to go along with him, ‘cause he has quite the track record of people falling for what he’s selling!
And vocally, we’re often living in more of a character-tenor world here than a big heavy baritone one.
“Dancing Through Life” — Wicked
This gives you charm, irresponsibility and likability.
That’s useful for Rooster. Don’t forget that the audience actually really loves the guy. He’s so entertaining!
“Willkommen” — Cabaret
Showmanship, sleaze, charm and just a hint of danger underneath the smile.
VERY Rooster. Oh so very Rooster.
“The Rhythm of Life” — Sweet Charity
This may be my favorite of the bunch.
Fast-talking charisma, comic energy and the absolute confidence of a man who could sell practically anything to anybody.
If you can command the room while being completely full of it, you’re already halfway to a callback for Rooster!
Bonus: Auditioning for Star-to-Be
It’s a small role, but everybody remembers her.
The fabulous Laurie Beechman practically stole the show with her massive belt in the original cast!
This is your chance to walk into the room and say, “Yes, I know how to be a Broadway leading lady.”
You want ambition, excitement, vocal confidence and star quality.
“Astonishing” — Little Women
Big ambition. Big dreams. Big emotional payoff. Perfect if you want to show determination and a strong contemporary musical-theatre sound.
“Gimme Gimme” — Thoroughly Modern Millie
Drive, yearning and a great opportunity to show off a strong musical-theatre belt.
“Blow, Gabriel, Blow” — Anything Goes
For the singer with a huge voice (think Patti Lupone of the queen of big Broadway voices, Ethel Merman!) who can really command a room.
This one gives you old-school Broadway confidence and vocal fireworks.
“Broadway Baby” — Follies
Come on. How could I leave this one out?
It’s practically the Star-to-Be mission statement! We’re talkin’ slam dunk audition material here, if I do say so myself!
The Bigger Audition-Song Question
Here’s the thing I want you to remember when choosing any audition song:
Don’t just ask, “Can I sing this?”
Ask:
“Does this song help them imagine me in the role?”
Because as I tell my performers all the time: THAT is your goal at the audition.
You don’t need to imitate the character. You don’t need to find a song that sounds exactly like the score. And you certainly don’t need to sing the most obvious song everybody else found on the same audition-song list.
Find something that shows the casting team a piece of the character through you.
And if you have an audition coming up and you’re staring at your book thinking, I have absolutely no idea what to sing for this, this is one of my favorite things to help singers with. Repertoire coaching isn’t about handing you a random list of songs—it’s about finding the song that actually makes sense for your voice, your age, your type and the role you want to be considered for!
Ready to take the next step in finding that perfect song, and making it your own? Book something with me and let’s make this happen!!!