"The 'as written' part of the question is weird to me. Meredith Willson didn’t write the songs in a specific key, those keys were adjusted for Barbara Cook. If Sutton had played the role originally, the songs would have been set in her keys."
You have a good point, but still, I think it's common to use the phrase "as written" in referring to the way a song is written in the show's vocal score, in terms of both the arrangement and the key. Also, unless Willson or Cook were ever quoted on this, do we have any way of knowing whether he wrote Marian's songs in those specific keys because that's where he wanted them? I would think, for example, that there isn't much latitude regarding the key for "Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You," because Marian needs to sing it in counterpoint with the barbershop quartet.
Do we know how early in the creative process was Cook cast? |
