Featured Five, Vol. 22 – Songs for the New Year

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” So said Oprah Winfrey. To celebrate the beginning of this challenging new year, we thought we’d dedicate this edition of our Featured Five to showcasing five new exciting songs all about people asserting themselves and taking a stand. Happy New Year!

Lady in Waiting

Music & Lyrics by: Alex Ratner
From the show: Tyrell
Perfect for: High Belt Mix
Performed by: Kerstin Anderson

Alex Ratner’s show Tyrell is a musical parody-prequel to HBO’s Game of Thrones, commenting on the portrayal of Olenna, Loras and Margaery Tyrell. In “Lady in Waiting,” chastened by the cautionary tale of the Reynes of Castamere, Margaery tries practicing a song on the harp to clear her head, but finds herself chafing at the limited prospects for women in the Seven Kingdoms. This is a great strong woman number for a high belt mix soprano. We love the energetic drive of the accompaniment and the decisiveness of the character as she figures out what she truly wants and decides to go after it.

You Gotta Change Your Name

Music by: Jaime Lozano
From the show: Songs by an Immigrant
Lyrics by: Noemi de la Puente
Perfect for: High Belt Mix / Belt Mezzo
Performed by: Gabriela García

This is a great Latin-infused pop-rock story song. Written by Mexican writer Jaime Lozano with lyrics by Noemi de la Puente, this song is part of Jaime’s show, Songs by an Immigrant. All the songs in the show address the meaningful theme of the immigrant experience in the United States. This song is based on the actual experience of this performer, Gabriela García, who really was told she should change her name if she wanted to succeed as a performer — and her defiant stand not to.

Now

Music & Lyrics by: Billy Recce
From the show: Balloon Boy: The Musical
Perfect for: Belt Tenor
Performed by: Roger Dawley

This fun comedic uptempo story song would be perfect for a young belt tenor. It tells the story of a young man who believes he was destined from birth to be a famous performer. From Billy Recce’s Balloon Boy: The Musical (Remember when a silver weather balloon supposedly containing a young boy flew across Colorado? Billy wrote a musical  based on that infamous media hoax). It’s a perfect song to showcase your patter and comedy skills.

Jim’s Note

Music by: Rick Bassett
Lyrics by: Jessica Fleitman
From the show: The Average-Sized Mermaid
Perfect for: Broadway Baritone
Performed by: Aaron Phillips

We are thrilled to have recently added the writing team of Rick Bassett and  Jessica Fleitman to our ContemporaryMusicalTheatre.com roster. We love this comedic ballad for a clueless romantic. Poetry grad student Jim Fisher doesn’t show up to his wedding, but he does leave a note justifying his decision to run off with an undergrad in the class he TA’s. It offers a chance to show off your beautiful lyric line and comedic chops all in one song. Plus, Baritones don’t often get a chance to be funny so this song is a rare gem!

Simple Girl

Music and Lyrics by: Josée Weigand
From the show: Falling Out
Perfect for: Soprano Mix / Belt Mezzo
Performed by: Kate Morrisey

Another recently added writer on our roster, Josée Weigand is a classically trained violinist as well as a gifted musical theatre writer. In this bouncy pop/rock uptempo, a young woman hypothesizes how much easier her life would be if she were just a simple girl instead of the disorganized mess that she is. But as the song progresses she realizes she is just fine the way she is. Plenty of chance to show off your lyric line as well as tell a story here. And the character is a nice chance for a soprano (or mezzo) to show off a quirky side.

All of these songs, and many more, are available for purchase and download on ContemporaryMusicialTheatre.com. Annual, Monthly, and 3-Day Subscriptions available.

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