Revitalising your Repertoire - Comedy Songs
When we posted that we would be doing this series of blogs, one of the requests we received was for comedy songs. Once we started writing lists, we realised that this is an immensely broad category, particularly if you are to define a comedy song as any song that is in some way funny!
So, we’ve whittled down our category by defining it a little further and what we’ve put together for you here are comedy songs that are in a musical theatre style and that could be sung as a complete song at a concert or cabaret or could be cut shorter and used as an audition piece (it’s always handy to have songs in your folder than can be used on different occasions).
Many of these songs can be sung by men or women (please remember to change the key appropriately) and in some cases are great for developing singers who are still working on areas of their technique but have performance skills that are ready to be taken out in public!
Let us know what you think. We’d love your ideas on comedy songs that you use and enjoy – we’ll post them on facebook and twitter and keep the Repertoire project Revitalising!
Coffee in a Cardboard Cup
Here is the master himself, Mr Mandy Patinkin, hamming up Kander and Ebb’s classic song about the troubles of the modern world. One of the fun things that Mandy introduces in his version, and is worth thinking about in your own, is the different waiters and waitresses – what they sound like and also what they think about coffee in a cardboard cup.
Stepsisters’ Lament
Even though this song is presented as a duet in Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, it works just fine as a solo and is a great deal of fun to work on. Really think about what kind of “stepsister” you’d like to play – the more you develop your character, the better this song will play out.
I Hold Your Hand in Mine
This is a wonderfully morbid Tom Lehrer song and will always get a laugh from an audience (and sometimes even an audition panel!)
If using it for a female singer, you can change the “blood stains on my tie” line to “blood spurts in my eye”!
Note that you have to buy the whole Tom Lehrer book but there are lots of other gems for you to discover!
Blue Hair
If you’re not actually a teenager, you’ll want to get in touch with your rebellious nature pronto before singing this one. It’s a really fun piece that lets you channel all that passive aggression. And it’s kinda cool and edgy. Whatevs.
Taylor the Latte Boy
We know you may well have seen this masterful performance by Kristin Chenoweth before but go on, watch it again. We guarantee you’ll smile! And once you’re done smiling, notice what excellent and clear choices she makes the whole way through and how captivating it makes the performance of what is really quite a long song.