Audition Songs for The Great Gatsby Musical
- Tina Golden
- Aug 18, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Based on the iconic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The novel featured themes of class struggle, excess wealth, and the breakdown of American dream during the Jazz age in the 1920's.
(picture from broadwayworld.com)
SEEKING
Equity chorus singers for future replacements in the Broadway production of THE GREAT
GATSBY
ENSEMBLE SINGERS: 20s – 30s, all gender identities, all ethnicities, all body types. Seeking strong and vivid singer/actor/movers to play various members of society. Most ensemble tracks will understudy principal roles. Character movers should be comfortable picking up choreography and open to learning easy ballroom partnering.
PREPARATION
Please bring sheet music for 16-32 bars of a contemporary pop song or contemporary musical theatre song that shows off your voice. A piano accompanist will be provided. Please also bring a picture and resume stapled together.
Female Alto Singers
Female Mezzo-Soprano Singers
Male Tenor Singers
Male Baritone Singers
Characters in The Great Gatsby
Jay Gatsby: A young millionaire whose past and means of getting his wealth are shrouded in mystery. He is obsessed with his former flame, Daisy Buchanan, and determines to win her back.
Nick Carraway: Gatsby's neighbor and friend who narrates the story. He meets him after freshly arriving to the East Coast from the Midwest. Via Gatsby and Daisy, he quickly gets a taste of high society — and just as quickly becomes disillusioned with it.
Daisy Buchanan: A socialite and Gatsby's former lover. She is materialistic, more concerned with status than anything else.
Tom Buchanan: Daisy's snobbish, millionaire husband.
Jordan Baker: Daisy's friend and a pro golfer. She develops a romantic relationship with Nick though, in the musical, she is against traditional marriage and values her independence.
Myrtle Wilson: Tom's mistress, a woman who is desperate for an escape from her lower-class life and unfulfilling marriage.
George Wilson: Myrtle's working-class husband. He is a mechanic and owns a garage.
Meyer Wolfsheim: A shady businessman with whom Gatsby engages in bootlegging. He is a minor character in the book but expanded for the musical, in part because Wolfsheim originally relied on anti-Semitic stereotypes.
(Source from New York Theatre Guide)
When preparing for this audition, find a song that fits your vocal range best and then make sure it tells a story that closely relates to the character you want to go for. For ensemble, you will be understudying principal roles, so keep that in mind when choosing your song.
If you don't know which principal role to portray when singing, create a character that fits into the world of The Great Gatsby. Think about events during 1925, which was when the book was published. This was during the Jazz Age, where Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington made their first recordings.
The Jazz Age glorified the city party life, which is what you see in The Great Gatsby. Cities were growing and becoming popular, creating a certain type of lifestyle that was seemingly glamorous. People were having a good time until the stock market crash of 1929.
F. Scott Fitzgerald called it a time when "the parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the buildings were higher, the morals looser."
As performers, we need to research what we audition for, not just songs. If you are auditioning for ensemble, make sure to embody what the show is about so that you can be picked to play more than just one role. Remember, that in the big leagues, you don't just play ensemble parts and stay playing ensemble parts, you are understudies to big roles and that's a huge responsibility that professionals with dedication, training, and experience can handle.
Prepare your audition in advance.
Hope this blog helped you find a contemporary pop song for this audition. Break a leg!
Tina Golden
Vocal and MT Audition Coach
10+ years singing and dance experience
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