Audition Songs for bass/ baritones, High Shool Musical?

Question

Me and a friend of mine are auditioning for High School Musical with a community theater group that focuses on high school/ college students. His range is low bass to mid baritone (although I think he undersestimates his range) and I'm comfortable doing a solo from low baritone to mid tenor (Can go a bit higher in ensemble). I'm planning on singing "If Ever I Would Leave You" mostly because it displays power and respectable range but I feel like they may want something more exciting and upbeat; he wants some help selecting a song, and to tell the truth I have no idea what to tell him. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

A couple of suggestions: "Paris By Night" from Victor/Victoria (starts out slow, but has a nice upbeat chorus...and it's a pretty decent range for a baritone; there's one Eb, but it shouldn't be too hard to hit) and "There's A Fine, Fine Line" from Avenue Q, which pretty much hangs around middle C. I'll admit, it's hard to find good baritone songs, especially ones that are uptempo. Your friend might want to check out a copy of the Singers Musical Theatre Anthology for baritone/bass; he should be able to find something in there.
Good luck to both of you on your audition.