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My ds singing teacher has suggested that he goes straight in for his grade 8 musical theatre exam. He needs 4 pieces from different genres & we are struggling to find anything other than the usual les mis, Miss Saigon, Carousel etc.Or more to the point anything he likes. Anyone got any ideas? The problem is they have to be quite difficult. The newer stuff is easy, it's the older stuff we are stuck with. Many thanks

Cole Porter has some great songs, suitable for grade 8. Also worth looking at Gilbert and Sullivan.

Something from How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying would be brilliant- have a listen to the 2011 Broadway revival soundtrack and see what you think

Which exam board is it? There are different requirements. LCM & GSA give lists of suggested rep.

They seem to like a range of eras and styles to show versatility. From what we've seen each song doesn't have to be incredibly tricky, it's the range shown across the programme that matters....dance, comedy, ballad, accent and good vocal range.
For LCM there are no fixed date requirements but it's worth considering something early (music hall (we've seen Wotcher and 'enry the 8th done well) or Gilbert and Sullivan) then maybe 30's-50's Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rogers and Hammerstein etc. Then the last two can have one that is totally up to date and one from the 60's, 70's, 80's ( Sondheim, Webber, K+E, S+B)
We always listen to Elaine Paige on a Sunday lunchtime (or on the i-player ) for inspiration.
Good luck!

Thank you all for your comments. He is going to do the LCM exam. It's knowing whether the songs are going to deemed difficult enough. Do you think De Lovely from anything goes would be grade *. If not which Cole Porter songs would you advise?

Sorry if this seems like a daft question but, can't the singing teacher advise whether the songs he likes or selects as possibilities are the right level? Couldn't he go with a list of 10 or so and then ask the teacher to select from those?

My DD did LCM. As well as getting it correct technically, the performing aspect was crucial - so it important to pick songs that show this ability well.

My Dd usually chose songs suggested by teacher, but with plenty of options and choices.

I agree with pg. the teacher should be giving advice. There is a syllabus with criteria that need to be met and as I sad before LCM actually publish a list if suggested repertoire.

More and more on these forums I see people asking for helP in finding exam pieces. Whilst at the higher grades students should start to assume some responsibility it seems like teachers are being rather lazy.