It's officially back-to-school season countrywide, and that can only mean one thing: math homework auditions for the fall musical!
As part of Playbill's Back to School Week coverage, we thought some of you might be a little bit tired of bringing "Not For the Life of Me" or "Corner of the Sky" in to your auditions, so we went to some of Broadway's best to find out what their go-to audition songs are. And before you "well, actually" us in our Instagram comments, yes, we know most Broadway auditions have actors singing the actual songs the character performs. But that doesn't mean that they're never asked to sing something a little different—and all of these stage favorites went through lots of school and regional auditions before they hit the big time, too.
Find out what Broadway has in its audition book below.
Jake Pedersen (Boq in Wicked)
"If I need a song that represents me, I use 'Dance Floor' by Rosser and Sohne as my go-to audition song. I find it to be quirky bop that shows off the voice and you get to act like a fool in the process through a cute storyline. I came across it when looking for college showcase material and don’t think I’ll ever take it out of my rep book."
PHOTOS: See JJ Niemann, Patti LuPone, Ariana DeBose, More in Their High School Musicals
Gregory Carl Banks, Jr. (Reginald in Back to the Future)
"To get into college, I prepared 'Cool' from West Side Story and 'Santa Fe' from Newsies. However, I didn’t have the right music for it come audition time. I ran back to my book and found 'Seize The Day' from Newsies and sang that on the fly. I added a couple dance moves that I had in my back pocket and managed to impress the department enough to get in. In professional life, I love to sing 'Rain' from Once On This Island and 'Sir Duke' by Stevie Wonder. The cut I choose for both songs shows storytelling, range, and vocal agility. Getting to sing Motown music makes me happy, and I think it showcases my voice at its best!"
READ: Get Ready to Go Back to School With This Playbill Playlist
Michael Schimmele (Babkak in Aladdin)
"Mine is 'Always Be My Baby' (also my favorite song in real life), written and performed by my hero (no pun intended), Mariah Carey. I love getting to share my love for the song by singing it, with a few riffs and runs along the way. It brings me so much joy which I love giving to the room right from those iconic 'doo doo doo's."
READ: You Better Work! Adapting the Britney Spears Musical for Broadway Junior
Maya Boyd (Juliet in & Juliet)
"An audition song I love to have ready is Radiohead's 'Creep.' I love the song for its melody and story. I sing my heart out to that song!"
SHOP: Create a Theatre Lover's Dream Dorm With Playbill's Room Decor Guide
Kyle Selig (Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants)
"'Maria' from West Side Story: The good thing about choosing one of the best songs humans have ever written is you can let it do the work for you. It’s familiar and beloved to almost everybody, but still leaves room for you to explore it in a new way. In doing so, you invite the listener to hear it in a new way. But I also do 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls. Obviously NOT for everything, but for the right thing...it’s a banger. For me, it hits the right balance of big, '90s, alt-rock, power-ballad feels and...'I’m in on the joke.' And part of that joke is how hard this song slaps."
READ: 8 Broadway Stars Without Theatre Degrees
Nathan Levy (Omar in Aladdin)
"'It Don’t Make Sense' from Parade for college auditions, because it carefully plays with grief and confusion into rage and vengeance. Beautiful score and beautiful lyrics! An actor's dream to sing and act!"
