"Standard" vs. "Overdone" songs

College Majors Musical Theater Major
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<p>Hey all, I'm more of a drama-type guy than a musical theater-type guy, but I'm interested in and competent at both disciplines. However, my relative lack of involvement in MT has presented a large problem, as I've no idea how to prepare for a musical audition.</p>

<p>Why is this a problem, you ask?
Simple. UNCSA requires both song and monologues for their drama BFA. </p>

<p>Of course, there's not a lot of ambiguity in "applicants must be prepared to sing 16 bars of a song without accompaniment", but the phrase that gave me pause was:</p>

<p>"PREFERABLY FROM THE STANDARD MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTORY"</p>

<p>This seems simple, but what is standard, without being too pedestrian? I'm sure the panelists see dozens of "The Impossible Dream", "Mister Cellophane", and "If I Were a Rich Man" every year. How do you find a song that avoids that, while still being "standard"? Is there a list of forbidden songs somewhere?</p>

<p>Any advice or input is greatly appreciated, thanks!</p>

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<p>Actually, I would be willing to bet that the panelists don’t see those particular songs very often. Colleges usually want students to prepare age-appropriate songs, and none of those selections would be appropriate for an 18-year old singer.</p>

<p>There has been a lot of discussion about “forbidden” or overdone songs in the MT discussion group; try doing a search. And I haven’t looked recently, but the CCM website used to have a list of songs to avoid; try looking there as well.</p>