Transposition on Broadway

Out of curiosity, how often do songs get transposed for Broadway actors? I'm listening to Diana DeGarmo sing "Once Upon a Time" and noticing it's not in the original key. I'm sure it happens all the time with celebrities, but what about Broadway regulars?

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Elphie - I guess if he could have sung the original, they wouldn't have transposed it...

Well Laura Bell Bundy could sing So Much Better in the original key during Legally Blonde. But after a while they had to lower it because she asked that it be lowered, which it was, or she wouldn't be able to renew her contract.

Songs aren't always transposed down, either. A friend of mine who works for Avenue Q recently told me that at some point, "My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada" was raised for one of the actors playing Princeton/Rod. I don't know who the actor is/was or when this happened. Elphie3 is right: it's about tailoring it to the actor.

I directed Thoroughly Moderen Millie in the Fall. Several numbers were in a different key than what was on the recording -- so there were changes there too.

I suppose what suprises me there is that I would have expected the score to reflect the original production...not the original intention.

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Sierra Boggess's key for "Part of That World" is much higher than the original. In her interview on Broadway Chatterbox she' proud of "her key" and talks about it.

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Sierra sings "Part Of Your World" in G, a whole step (two half steps) higher than the original (if you are referring to the film).
That's not Waaay higher, but it takes the song up just enough to make it a little more of a challenge (vs. the original, which was within the reach of most good high-school freshmen singers) -- and also into a brighter key: F has a bit more of a sedate characteristic, and G is a little more penetrating.

I love it in G.

In "Everything's Coming Up Roses", Ethel Merman sings an A# instead of the written C# in the phrase "nothing's gonna stop us till we're through!". It does not mess up the harmony with the accompanying orchestra, but makes it easier for her to sing.

In the years following GYPSY when Ethel Merman toured and gave concerts with a large orchestra backing her, "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was transposed down significantly to enable her to get through her signature song successfully. Also, a noticeable vibrato crept into her singing as the years rolled by.

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I'm not sure about Lansbury. Not being happy with the CD of her production, I seldom if ever play it. And although I saw Lansbury both in London and NYC, I just don't remember whether she hit the C# or settled for the A#.

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I just finished a production of Footloose and the keys were completely different than the OBCR

wait, they transposed Mrs. Lovett's songs down for the Doyle revival? I thought the OBC was lower than the revival?

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"What is the story with the Ethel Merman Everything's coming up roses key?"

This probably isn't what you're asking about, but aren't all of Rose's songs in lower keys in the published score than on the OBCR? The story as I've heard it a number of times (and this is what Kellow says) is that several months into the run, Merman burst a blood vessel in her throat. When she returned to the show, the songs were taken down and (though Kellow doesn't say this part) that's what was published.

Of course, some of the later Broadway Roses sang it lower than the published score. I believe that Lansbury took most of it a whole step down (though some parts were not a whole step down, and "Rose's Turn," which goes through a bunch of key changes, was all over the place in order to reduce the overall range as much as possible). Daly was mostly a half-step down from the published keys. I think Lavin sang it in Lansbury's keys.

Dolores Grey also sang in Lansbury's keys, and then in performance she'd sometimes opt for lower notes still.

I think that both Peters and LuPone sang in the published keys.

This is the first I have heard about the published score (which I have) being in different keys than the OBCR. I have neither a tuning fork, a piano, or perfect pitch so I cannot compare the OBCR or any of the other GYPSY recordings with the printed score. I gather, Nobodyhome, that you are saying that Merman's songs on the OBCR are in a higher key than any of the other Rose's songs in the subsequent cast recordings. All very interesting and confusing.

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