Every mezzo soprano wants these roles. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the roles every mezzo is just dying to play.
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00:00 "Put down the knitting, the book and the broom, it's time for a holiday."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the roles every mezzo is
00:12 just dying to play. Look out for slight spoilers ahead. "Just remembering you've had an
00:18 and when you're back to or."
00:20 Number 10. 8 0 Annie, Oklahoma. "Go right off to sleep if you're sleepy."
00:28 "There's no use waking up for me."
00:33 Sure, everyone knows and loves the main couple in a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical,
00:38 but real fans know that the B couple is where it's at, particularly if you're a
00:42 mezzo-soprano performing in Oklahoma. "I always say come on let's go, just when I ought to say next."
00:50 8 0 Annie is one of the funnier roles the duo ever conceived. A flirtatious gal who can't decide
00:55 between two very different men. Besides her comic chops, she's got two incredible songs,
01:00 a solo called "I Can't Say No" and a duet called "All or Nothing." Annie imbues Oklahoma with life
01:06 and charm, and she's a belter to boot. "I can't say no."
01:18 Number 9. Anita, West Side Story. "Anita's gonna get her kicks tonight.
01:23 Well I've arrived at Little Miss tonight." If you want to perform in West Side Story,
01:31 you'd better hope that you're a real triple threat. Acting, dancing, and singing at a top
01:36 level are all heavy requirements for this show, but the hardest and most desirable
01:41 role in the entire show has got to be Anita. "Doop on your pint and put that in."
01:48 Anita is such a great role that even if you aren't a mezzo-soprano, you're probably willing
01:54 to lie and say you are. In addition to her amazing dancing and singing showcases, Anita
01:59 has the most fully formed arc of any character in the show. "There is no light, oh no,
02:08 your love is your life."
02:16 Number 8. Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun. "Any note you can reach, I can go higher. I can sing
02:32 anything higher than you. No you can't. Yes I can. No you can't. Yes I can. No you can. Yes I can.
02:37 No you can. Yes I can. No you can." If you're looking for a role where practically every song
02:44 you sing eventually became a standard, have we got the show for you. We guess that's what happens
02:49 when you're composed by Irving Berlin. Annie Get Your Gun is based on the life of real-life
02:54 sharpshooter Annie Oakley and features a stunning score from Berlin. "I sparkle like a crystal,
02:59 yes I shine like the morning sun." If you're cast in the role of Annie, you get to sing famous songs
03:08 such as "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun" and "I Got the Sun in the Morning." Those are only two
03:12 of the delightful tunes that Berlin wrote for this gun-slinging ingenue. Trust us, every mezzo wants
03:17 to hit the bullseye with this role. "Get paid for doing what comes naturally. Let's go on with the show."
03:28 Number seven, Reno Sweeney, "Anything Goes." "If all the hymns you like are bare limbs you like,
03:37 if Mae West you like or Mianne Dress you like, why nobody will allow." If Sutton Foster had a go at
03:44 a role, you can usually bet it's perfect for a mezzo-soprano. Her turn as Millie Dillmount in
03:49 Thoroughly Modern Millie definitely got all the mezzos in a tizzy. But today, we're taking a look
03:53 at another Sutton role that's full of belts and tap dancing. "In olden days a glimpse of stocking
03:59 was looked on as something shocking, but now God knows, Annie Mae goes."
04:06 The role of Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes" has been played by numerous famous belters
04:11 throughout the years. From Ethel Merman to Patti LuPone to Elaine Page and so on,
04:16 this cruise ship nightclub singer is coveted by mezzos everywhere.
04:19 Number six, Belle, "Beauty and the Beast." "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.
04:35 I want it more than I can tell." She might be a princess, but make no mistake,
04:42 Belle is no wilting flower. She has one of the most powerful belts of any Broadway baby,
04:47 and out of all the Disney-turned-Broadway princesses, she's the one mezzos want.
04:51 "I'm where and who I want to be."
04:59 If you're lucky enough to play Belle in the musical, you'll be able to sing all your
05:03 favorite songs from the 1991 film. But there are also a few new favorites that shoot the musical
05:08 score past that of the movie. In particular, the power ballad "Home" is a gorgeous tune,
05:13 and one that every mezzo-soprano worth her salt has been auditioning with for years.
05:17 "Home and free."
05:30 Number five, Desiree Armfelt, "A Little Night Music."
05:34 "Just when I'd stopped opening doors, finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours."
05:49 If you get the chance to sing one of Stephen Sondheim's greatest songs, you better take it.
05:54 Based on an Ingmar Bergman film, "A Little Night Music" debuted on Broadway in 1973
05:59 and follows the romantic entanglements of several people. One of those people is Desiree Armfelt,
06:04 an actress past the prime of her career. Desiree only has a few songs,
06:09 but one stands out from the crowd and is a treasure for any mezzo-soprano to sing.
06:13 "Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve?"
06:23 "Send in the Clowns" has become such a standard that it's hard to remember sometimes that it's
06:27 from this musical. When sung in the context of Desiree's story, the song becomes that much more
06:32 powerful.
06:45 Number four, Dot/Marie, "Sunday in the Park with George."
06:49 "I caught your eyes, George. I want your ear, George."
06:58 Here we've got not one but two amazing roles. "Sunday in the Park with George" is arguably
07:03 Stephen Sondheim's greatest achievement, and includes one of the best chances for
07:07 a singing actress as well. "No one is you, and no one can be,
07:12 but no one is me, George. No one is me."
07:17 In the first act of the show, Dot is Georges Seurat's muse who ends up leaving him when he
07:21 can't commit to her fully. In the second act, Marie is Seurat's daughter and grandmother of
07:26 a different artist. Both women are played by the same person, a fine challenge for
07:30 any actress willing to take it on, and with that challenge comes stunning songs.
07:34 Number three, "The Baker's Wife, Into the Woods."
07:46 "Wake up, stop dreaming, stop prancing about the woods."
07:50 Talk about a swan song, literally. "Into the Woods" is the Stephen Sondheim musical
07:54 based on the classic fairy tales you know and love, but with a dark twist in the second act.
07:59 The Baker and the Baker's Wife are two of our main characters, at first desperate for a child,
08:04 and then unsure how to raise that child. "It takes trust, it takes just a bit more,
08:09 and we're done. We want four, we have none, we've got three, we need one.
08:15 It takes two."
08:16 Although the Baker's Wife ends up dying in the middle of the second act,
08:22 she makes a huge impression with the time she's given. In particular,
08:26 "Moments in the Woods," sung right before she dies, is one to remember.
08:30 "Now I understand, and it's time to leave the woods."
08:38 Number two, "Sally Bowles, Cabaret."
08:43 "What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play."
08:49 Life is a cabaret, old chum, especially when you're a mezzo-soprano who gets the chance to
08:56 play Sally Bowles in Cabaret. This landmark musical revolves around a nightclub called
09:00 the Kit Kat Club, but is really about the rise of the Nazis before World War II.
09:05 Sally isn't necessarily supposed to be the greatest singer in the world,
09:08 but that's part of what makes the role so rich to perform.
09:11 "Marki and a bumble about, that clinking, clanking, clunking sound,
09:16 is all that makes a world go 'round. It makes a world go 'round."
09:21 As fascism grows around Sally and she continues to ignore it,
09:24 the show becomes darker and more brutal. The song "Cabaret," with its good-time lyrics,
09:29 isn't really supposed to be a good time at all. And a great actress and singer will find those levels.
09:34 "It's gotta happen, happen sometime, maybe this time I'll win."
09:43 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:48 Kathy, "The Last Five Years." When you get to sing half the songs alone, that's a good role.
09:53 "You, and you, and nothing but you, miles and piles of you,
09:59 pushing through windows and bursting through walls, en route to the sky."
10:08 Roxy Hart, "Chicago." The name on everybody's lips is gonna be Roxy.
10:13 "I'm gonna be a celebrity, that means somebody everyone knows.
10:20 They're gonna recognize my eyes, my hair, my teeth, my boobs, my nose."
10:30 Eponine, "Les Miserables." She steals the second act.
10:33 "I love him, but every day I'm learning, all my life I've only been pretending."
10:48 Kim, "Miss Saigon." A strong mezzo-soprano performance.
10:52 "You can choose whatever heaven grants."
11:00 Sonia Rostova, "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812." Sonia belts her way to the top.
11:07 "I will stand here right outside your door."
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11:29 Number 1. Fanny Bryce, "Funny Girl."
11:32 "Have you guessed?" "Yes!"
11:34 "Who's the best?" "Yes!"
11:37 "If you ain't, I'll tell ya one more time."
11:42 Perhaps the most famous Brassy Belter part, Fanny Bryce is a role that every young mezzo-soprano
11:48 dreams of playing. Funny Girl, with the help of one Barbara Streisand, brought the story of Fanny
11:53 Bryce to life for the first time in 1964. Since then, every Belter with a dream has been itching
11:59 to play this role. "I'd rather be blue over you than be hap-hap-hap-happy with somebody else."
12:15 There are so many amazing songs to sing in Funny Girl. From "I'm the Greatest Star" to "People"
12:20 to the show-stopping "Don't Rain on My Parade," Fanny gets the chance to sing her heart out at
12:25 every turn. "Rain on my parade."
12:42 If we missed any of your favorite mezzo-soprano roles, let us know in the comments below.
12:47 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
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