Is this a fair audition?

[hanginginthere1]

Any thespians out there able to give me an honest opinion.
DD is in a youth musical theatre group. Last saturday,she auditioned for the roles of Maria and Anita in West Side Story. She had to sing the song Tonight for Maria. She was disappointed since everyone was only permitted to sing a small section of the song. You may know that Maria is a soprano part, but they were not asked to sing any of the top notes, especially the one right at the end. My question is, how can they really decide who can sing the part if they have not listened to any of the auditionees sing the full song.? Also, one girl was given a different part of the Lib tp act out for the role of Anita. Is this fair? Should they not all have to perform the same piece.
I am a little concerned that this process may not be quite fair. To my mind they may well have cast the show before the auditions, simply on what they think the girls can do. They seem to be filling in the gaps.
DD was waiting to show that she could actually hit the high notes, and did not get the opportunity. She normally sings the alto part, and I think that they just presume that she is not able to sing the role, when in reality she can.
I hate these auditions, I wonder whether I should say something about the situation, but I do not want to be seen as the pushy parent. I have always promised myself that i would not go down that road. I really feel for my DD. I have always kept my council, but there are a couple of girls who always seem to get the parts. I am beginning to wonder if there is an agenda.
Any advice gladly accepted.

Just in case the OP is still around, I just saw on my FB thread that auditions are now open for this...
www.youthmusictheatreuk.org/auditions

I sang Eliza Doolittle and Nancy in Oliver! at school, because I had an excellent singing voice. Unfortunately, I'm not an actor when I'm not singing, which really weakened the production. Looking back, it was poor casting.

Personally, I'd cast a singer as Maria in WSS, but would cast an actor with a reasonable voice as Anita..?

Pink, thanks! DS wanted to apply for that but as a croaky 14-yr-old I think he'd better give his voice another year to settle. Have pounced on an audition date for NYT instead though.

DD could give it a shot but though she sings and acts well she's a two-left-feet sort of dancer.

The fairness one is a bit of a strange one because, professionally, the creative industries aren't fair - professional directors do work on instinct and on finding the actors that feel they can work with. In the industry itself, it's unlikely any two actors will have exactly the same audition process as a casting director will see something in an actor and use the audition to explore it further and experiment with what they can achieve.

If the aim of this group is to prepare young people for the profession, then you can't complain if the young people aren't always given a completely level playing field. However, if the group is primarily about socialising, confidence building and enjoying the arts then the young people should each be given a fair bite of the cherry.

I work in this field and in my personal opinion, the very best groups aim for a balance of both.

Maybe do consider finding another group for your daughter when possible which will both stretch her and build her confidence.