37 Best Musical Theater Audition Songs For Kids

“Castle on a Cloud” From Les Misérables

Song Year: 1985

If you’re looking for a shorter song to add to your audition repertoire, Castle on a Cloud is a fantastic option. This song has a catchy melody thanks to its lullaby styling, with only a few verses to memorize.

Castle on a Cloud is the character Cosette’s personal utopic vision of how she wishes her life to be compared to what it is in reality.

“Maybe” From Annie

Song Year: 1977

The song Maybe comes in toward the beginning of Annie, as she sings out longingly while looking out of the orphanage window. Lyrically, Annie fantasizes about what her parents are like and what their interests and hobbies include. 

Maybe has a few moments that showcase a singer’s note accuracy across wide intervals while inflecting for dramatic purposes. After all, singing a song of such emotional depth requires a certain conviction to really hit the audience correctly.

“I Know It’s Today” From Shrek

Song Year: 2008

In the song, I Know It’s Today, Princess Fiona sings from 3 different periods of her life about how familiar she is with fairy tale princess stories. From childhood to adulthood, she knows all too well how each story goes, but never seems to tire of their perfect fairy tale endings.

These stories give her hope that she will soon be rescued by her own knight in shining armor.

“Truly Scrumptious” From Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Song Year: 1968

This song from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang comes as the Potts children are on the beach with Truly Scrumptious (the character). The children say how their spending time with her is just as deliciously delightful as the tastiest treats one could eat. 

Of course, Truly also lets the children know that she feels the same way toward them in return.

“Round-Shouldered Man” From The Secret Garden

Song Year: 1991

Have you ever been visited by someone in your dreams? If so, you can probably relate to The Secret Garden’s song about a Round-Shouldered Man who enters Colin’s dreams on a frequent basis. 

This song is one of the best choices for a young man who has an exceptionally high vocal range, or whose voice hasn’t yet changed with puberty.

“What If” From The Addams Family

Song Year: 2010

It isn’t all too uncommon for siblings to pick on and annoy one another. However, Wednesday’s torturing of her brother Pugsley takes things to a whole different level.

Ironically, it’s this very kind of treatment Pugsley looks upon with fondness as he sings What If, expressing his worries about whether her frequent tormenting will end once Wednesday gets married to her boyfriend.

“My New Philosophy” From You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Song Year: 1999

My New Philosophy finds Charlie Brown’s sister, Sally, talking with the piano prodigy, Schroeder, about her various mottos in life. The trouble is, she happens to find meaning in almost any phrase, seeing how they could be adopted into such a creed.

After telling Lucy such a phrase and sending her running with panic, she remarks that everyone interprets and reacts to these meanings in their own way.

“I Know Things Now” From Into the Woods

Song Year: 2014

Little Red Riding Hood and her story play a central theme in Into the Woods. The song, I Know Things Now, tells her tale of how she was lured and tricked by The Wolf.

Despite the horrors of her story, Little Red Riding Hood explains that, now, she is equipped with the wisdom to live without fear.

“In My Own Little Corner” From Cinderella

Song Year: 1957

More often than not, we forget about Cinderella’s harsh daily life before that magical night of the ball and the glass slipper. In the song, In My Own Little Corner, Cinderella explains how, in her small area of the house, she escapes her stark reality by letting her wildest imaginations run free.

“I Have a Dream” From Mamma Mia

Song Year: 2001

I Have a Dream speaks to the power of music, and how one can use music to get through all of life’s difficulties. In a way, the song is a sort of personal reaffirmation of the faith one has that things will work out in spite of the unknown.

“I Won’t Grow Up” From Peter Pan

Song Year: 1954

If Peter Pan were to live with a personal philosophy, I Won’t Grow Up could be considered his manifesto. In this cheeky anthem, Peter Pan denounces his participation in all things that would be associated with adulthood.

“Any Dream Will Do” From Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat

Song Year: 1968

In Any Dream Will Do, Joseph tells the tale of receiving his famed coat, how he lost it, and in the process, began losing his hopeful outlook along the way. Fortunately, despite all the anguish that Joseph would endure, he does eventually become reunited with his coat. 

Any Dream Will Do borders between a hymn and a sort of tropical folk song, with its vocal delivery intending to be light and elevated as if one were suspended in a dream.

Top Musical Theater Audition Songs For Kids, Final Thoughts

The majority of these songs were taken from family-friendly shows. For parents, this aspect can be a little reassuring, knowing their kids aren’t being subjected to adult subject matter during repeated viewings of the production. 

Between all of the songs listed here, a solid repertoire can be formed that displays a diverse range of singing and acting delivery. Many of these songs will benefit from a child’s natural tendency to have very animated personalities.