Revitalising Your Repertoire: audition songs by Kander and Ebb

There is a great deal of repertoire from the Broadway team of Kander and Ebb. They have been prolific with twenty musicals and four films under their belt, including standards such as New York, New York, All That Jazz and Cabaret.

This week we thought we’d find some of their other work to discuss, that may be helpful to our readers in auditions.  You may need to do a little bit of internet sleuthing to find the sheet music to some of these titles - try typing into google the song title + online sheet music and you should be on your way.  There is also this wonderful anthology available that is worth having in your collection.

And don't forget to warm up before you launch into these challenging songs.  If you don't already have Warm Me Up for iPhone or Android, you can use the links on our home page to take you to your App Store.

“Let’s Hear It For Me” from Funny Lady

A quintessential Broadway style tune is upbeat, triumphant and joyous. Hardly ever sung, it is from the sequel to Funny Girl and you have to wonder if it’s trying to be another “Don’t Rain On My Parade”, with its similar rhythm and drive. Belting ladies, please remember to be very careful of the placement of the final (top) note, on the word “Me”. As in 'As Long As He Needs Me', the lyricist hasn’t been to kind in the choice of vowel, but with some clever strategies, you'll be able to pull it off.

“Marta” from Kiss of the Spiderwoman

This short and powerful ballad of yearning and memory is very handy for all male voices. Having said this, you do need to be able to pop out a top A in the middle of it in full voice, and then again at the end in falsetto! But to be able to show so much range in a short time makes this song the perfect audition piece.

“Isn’t This Better” from Funny Lady

Here we have a song that is easily cut for auditions, literally in half. Requiring great control, it is suited to the lower female voice, the top notes aren’t quite as high as in main ‘belt’ songs. And for an actress it gives a great scope, because while the lyric is convincing one thing, the music is telling us the other- that this isn’t better. What a great chance to play subtext!

“Marry Me” from The Rink

This charming ballad is pure and simple. As in a lot of Kander and Ebb repertoire, the melody is almost entirely made of notes in the chord that supports them (check out “All That Jazz”- same feature!) Hence it requires no special embellishment or trick to make it sound musical- just a nice through line and good phrasing. And it suits all male ranges.

“Dressing Them Up” from Kiss of the Spiderwoman

Character actors will love the chance to play the role of Molina, as he describes his career in window dressing. The melody is almost all comprised of short notes, so adhere to the text as always. You really don’t need to show off your voice too much here, it is useful because it is up-tempo and bright. Also suited to the actor/singer, this song doesn’t have too many big notes that require a great deal of control.

And while we’re at it, why not spend a little time on YouTube or Apple Music and Spotify and check out some more fantastic Kander and Ebb songs:

“The Money Tree” from “The Act“

“We Can Make It” from “The Rink”

“And The World Goes Round” from the revue of the same title

“Sometimes A Day Goes By” from “Woman Of The Year“

“Coffee in a Cardboard Cup” from “70, Girls, 70“

“A Quiet Thing” from “Flora, the Red Menace”