Musical Theatre Audition Songs for Basses and Baritones

If you're a Bass or a Baritone looking to stand out in musical theatre auditions, I have the perfect songs for you. It's actually quite difficult to find the perfect audition song for a lower range, especially given the higher vocal requirements in contemporary musical theatre for men and the limited availability of scores for bass-baritone voices. Although, there are many scores that still require a rich, warm timbre of a lower male voice. Here are my top audition songs for basses and baritones in the musical theatre cannon to help you stand out for any audition!

I have broken them down into two categories: Classical (pre-1960) and Contemporary (post-1960); and within those categories, I have separated them into ballads and uptempo selections.

Classical Ballads (pre-1960)

1. “If I Loved You” from Carousel (Rodgers & Hammerstein)
2. “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof (Bock/Harnick)
3. “Ol' Man River” from Showboat (Kern & Hammerstein)

Classical Uptempo (pre-1960)

1. “Luck Be a Lady” from Guys and Dolls (Loesser)
2. “Mack the Knife” from Threepenny Opera (Kurt Weill)

Contemporary Ballads (post-1960)

1. “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime (Ahrens & Flaherty)
2. “Try Me" from She Loves Me (Bock/Harnick)
3. “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha (Leigh & Darlon)

Contemporary Uptempo (post-1960)

1. “Purpose” from Avenue Q (Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx)
2. “All That's Known” from Spring Awakening (Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater)

There are plenty more songs for Basses and Baritones for auditions, but in my experience as a music director and accompanist, I have found these selections to be great choices. To see which cuts I chose from these songs, watch the official video version below!