Oh, good, I had a question about that. I'm learning this song in my lessons right now and it's in a higher key than when Marin or Bernadette sang it. My voice teacher said that it's originally that high and the other versions just lowered it. Is that true?
I trust my teacher and all, it just seems weird to me that those particular singers would lower it.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!
It was originally in a higher key, yes. I think they moved keys around some during previews for Sally Klein, whose version was the best ever as far as I'm concerned. They never should have taken it away from her. When they did it take away from her in the first act, they put it in the key that was best for Jim Walton, who's really a tenor. I'm not sure but I think that key may have been the same as what was in the already published sheet music.
When the LaJolla version came along, they decided to give it back to Beth and to put it in a belt key.
Actually, in the first version licensed by MTI, which was otherwise the version that opened on Broadway, it was Beth's song.
But sheet music keys are often different than what's in the show.
I don't own the vocal score that was published for Merrily. I think it may be that the first act version of the song is in the key Jim Walton sang it in, though the score assigns it to Beth. If so, that would explain it, especially since I think the key is the same that the sheet music was published in. (I hasten to add that I could be wrong about this.)