Old school Sweeping lines Memorable melodies Shows emotional and vocal range Displays knowledge of musical theater lexicon
Wordy, with lots of complicated, rapid-fire lyrics Displays diction, memorization skills, personality
Sentimental love song, typically where the singer laments over a lost love Great lyrics, great melodies, great display of vocal range EMOTION AND ACTING SKILLS presented
More and more shows have country songs in them Known for their stories
Songs that specifically display a comedic character Usually story songs Sometimes use character voices Always a good display of acting skill
Needed in this age of rock and rock influenced musicals Displays range Should have several in your book from different eras
Always changing You should be familiar with current and current-ish shows Also sometimes a way to avoid over-sung songs
OK to follow great song writers and use pieces not in shows, but musical theater-ish David Freidman Heisler and Goldrich
Know songs by different songwriters and songwriting teams Rodgers and Hammerstein Kander and Ebb Sondheim Jason Robert Brown Lerner and Loewe Aherns and Flaherty Andrew Lloyd Webber Comden and Green