Song advice for non-singer?

November 15, 2019 11:08 AM

My son will be auditioning for his high school play. He is not a singer, but he has to have 1) a monologue and 2) a 2 minute song. What are some songs he should consider? He's already asking the choir teacher for some singing tips. Thank you!
posted by alathia to Grab Bag (16 answers total)

What's the play? He's likely going to want to choose a different song if the play is Jesus Christ Superstar than he would if the play is Annie.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:15 AM on November 15, 2019

Response by poster: sorry, the play is The Little Mermaid (musical). They are also casting for MacBeth.
posted by alathia at 11:23 AM on November 15, 2019

Once upon a time I had a friend who was an actor but not a singer, and he picked a song that was within his (limited) range from Disney movies when he auditioned for high school plays. He could also look at something from Hamilton that is less sing-y, perhaps.
posted by honeybee413 at 12:17 PM on November 15, 2019

I would definitely select something from the Disney catalog - something like "Be Our Guest" doesn't require heavy singing and is a great chance to show off some personality.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:24 PM on November 15, 2019 [4 favorites]

Agree with ThePinkSuperhero - I'd recommend 'You're Welcome' from Moana because it would be a good test for memorizing lines, not terribly difficult to sing, and a real crowd pleaser. If he's a bit better and needs something easier to memorize, then the 'Ice Song' from Frozen or 'Shiny' from Moana.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:32 PM on November 15, 2019 [3 favorites]

If he wants to be impressive without necessarily having to hold a tune, the patter bits in "The Cover Is Not the Book" from Mary Poppins Returns (he'd need to shorten from the whole song) would be fun to do.
posted by xingcat at 12:47 PM on November 15, 2019

For a song, "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat" from THE ARISTOCATS. You can speak/sing it -- it's mostly about selling it with style.

A quick Google for monologues turned up this small selection of monologues from Disney & Family movies. They look short -- but a minute goes by pretty quickly.

There are books of monologues published -- but usually they are either overused or not that great. Depending on the theater teacher/director's tastes, it might be okay to do a monologue from a movie -- in which case, searching "movie monologues for teens" or searching online for a script or transcript of movies he likes would work.

But if the theater director really wants something from a play, searching "monologues from plays for teens" gives a lot of results also.
posted by profreader at 1:27 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Adam Driver sang "Happy Birthday" for his (second) Juilliard audition. (And performed the opening speech from Richard III.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:34 PM on November 15, 2019

Googling "limited vocal range songs" returns a surprising number of results!
posted by rhizome at 1:35 PM on November 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

Maybe the first verse and chorus of “A Whole New World” from Aladdin? It’s Disney, it’s easy, and it’s very much in the same wheelhouse as Little Mermaid.

I would actually suggest avoiding “You’re Welcome” from Moana because it’s really atonal and syncopated, and thus quite hard to stay in key and on rhythm for an inexperienced singer. Even The Rock avoids singing it in public!! At the premiere of Moana he had to sing it as a duet with Lin-Manuel doing all the heavy lifting.

Whatever Son chooses, make sure he practises it with an actual pianist- otherwise the switch from the recorded version to the piano version will freak him out in the actual audition.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:42 PM on November 15, 2019 [3 favorites]

Something from My Fair Lady? Henry Higgins' song are mostly sing-spoken. Of course, there is the problem of Higgins' misogyny as a character. Perhaps, then, the Trouble in River City song from The Music Man? It may be too much patter, not enough song. That leads me to suggesting "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General" from The Pirates of Penzance, which requires some actual singing and can fairly reek of characterization.
posted by lhauser at 7:03 PM on November 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

Rex Harrison was not a singer, and spoke/sang I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face and other songs in My Fair Lady.

Now I'll be singing these songs all week.
posted by theora55 at 7:49 PM on November 15, 2019

If he wants to go old-timey, Richard Burton basically spoke-on-pitch his way through being King Arthur in Camelot.

Narrator/Mayor Sapsea in Drood can get away with similar — great solos for a “character voice” singer there.
posted by armeowda at 11:27 PM on November 15, 2019

I find the easiest Disney movie song to sing for my very limited range is Poor Unfortunate Souls from the Little Mermaid itself. Bonus: it's funny, everyone loves it. The dialogue with Ariel can easily be modified to a monologue.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:47 AM on November 16, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: thank you everyone! I'm going to mark this resolved.
posted by alathia at 12:22 PM on November 16, 2019

Response by poster: just in case anyone was interested, he ended up doing "Brand New Day" from Dr. Horrible. It was a tie between that, and "Ten Duel Commandments" from Hamilton (both were more speaking than singing). We'll know next monday if he got a part! thank you all for the help.
posted by alathia at 10:45 AM on December 9, 2019 [4 favorites]