How to Choose Songs for Your Pantomime

Songs are one of the great joys of pantomime, and one of the areas where productions most often go wrong. A well-chosen number lifts a scene, builds character, and brings the whole audience on board simultaneously. A poorly chosen one interrupts the story, loses momentum, and makes the performers look like they're waiting for something to be over. The difference, almost entirely, comes down to song selection and what you do with it.

I've put together the Panto Songs page as a resource for exactly this. It's a curated collection of suggestions across different categories, from opening numbers to villain songs to the all-important finale. That page is the place to go when you want a long list of options to work through. What I want to do here is talk about the principles behind the choices: what makes a song work in a pantomime context, and what to watch out for.

Length and Structure

The most common mistake with song selection is choosing something too long. A three-minute pop song that's been a radio staple for years will feel like a very long time indeed in the middle of a scene, particularly if the story has paused to accommodate it. The sweet spot for most pantomime numbers is two to three minutes, which typically means a couple of verses and a chorus, enough to establish the song, develop it, and finish before the audience's patience is tested.

Two verses and a chorus is also a practical structure for amateur performers. It gives the cast enough to work with choreographically, but it doesn't require them to maintain energy through four or five minutes of material that might be beyond the rehearsal time available. If a song has a longer album version and a shorter edit, find the shorter edit.

Hansel and Gretel - Catsfield Amateur Dramatic Society

Fit the Occasion, Not Just the Mood

Every song in a pantomime should have a clear dramatic purpose: what is this song doing here, and why is it being sung now? Opening numbers establish the world and the energy of the show. A friendship song when the going is tough reinforces the camaraderie required to continue the quest, or an adventure song tells the audience that our heroes have unfinished business in Act Two. similarly, a love songs earn its place if the relationship it expresses has been developed enough for the audience to care about it, but the wrong love song just doesn’t work. Take Uptown Girl, by Billy Joel as an example: it’s a great song for Aladdin to sing about Princess Jasmine, but it doesn’t work so well in Cinderella!

Songs that feel like they've been dropped in because someone liked them, or because the show needed another number at that point, read as exactly that. The audience doesn't disengage completely, but they do disengage a little, and that leakage of momentum can be hard to recover.

Visit the Panto Songs page for suggestions broken down by occasion: villain songs, friendship songs, comedy numbers, opening and closing numbers, and the song sheet selections that are guaranteed to get the audience joining in. Matching the song to the moment is much easier when you can filter by category rather than working through everything at once.

Cast Familiarity Matters

This is something directors sometimes underestimate: the cast should feel comfortable with the songs you've chosen, not just capable of performing them. A song that requires pitching skills or a vocal range that's a stretch for your leads will take much more rehearsal time and produce a more anxious performance than a song that sits naturally in the cast's voices.

Talk to your Musical Director early, if you have one. They'll have a clear sense of what's achievable with the voices you have, and they can often suggest arrangements or alternatives that work better than the obvious choice. If you're working with backing tracks rather than a live band, check that the key of the available track works for your lead, a song that sounds great in the original key can be genuinely difficult to sing in a key that doesn't suit the performer.

Check what's available online before you settle on a choice. Backing tracks for well-known songs are widely available, but availability varies significantly by title and by key. For some songs, you'll find professional backing tracks with multiple key options; for others, you'll find almost nothing usable.

Robin Hood - Society

The Ensemble Run-On

One of my favourite tools in a pantomime, and one that's underused: the full ensemble running on to join a number, regardless of whether the song is technically "theirs." It works for almost any upbeat number, friendship songs, adventure songs, magical moments, and it works for a simple reason: more people singing together sounds bigger and more joyful, and the visual effect of a full stage joining in is an immediate lift that the audience responds to every time.

The same principle applies to the audience themselves. Getting a room full of people singing together, even briefly, creates a shared experience that individual strong performances can't replicate. The song sheet at the end of the show is the fullest version of this, but it can apply to other moments too. A clearly structured chorus that the audience can join in with, whether they were invited to or not, is always a bonus.

Licensing

A quick but important note: Nick Lawrence Pantomimes does not hold rights to any songs or music. The suggestions on our Panto Songs page and in this post are offered for guidance only. Performing copyrighted music in a public production requires the appropriate licences, and your group should seek these independently. Most amateur societies will have existing licensing arrangements through PRS for Music or similar bodies, check what's covered before you finalise your song list.

If you'd like to see how songs fit into a specific script, request a free Perusal Script, the scripts indicate where songs fall in each scene, and some include suggestions that work well with the specific material. You can browse all our pantomime scripts to find the right fit for your group.