Changing Keys for Understudies?

[A1st]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 1:32am

Hi everyone!

 

Ok this may seem like a silly question, but recently, I had the pleasure of seeing Kinky Boots. During the show, I noticed that Andy Keslo (who plays Charlie) sang most of the songs in a different key than Stark Sands originally sang them. I then remembered that Andy Keslo was originally in the ensemble and understudied the role of Charlie, which is what made me wonder:

 

What happens when an understudy goes on for an actor who sings in a different key? Does the orchestra play in the understudy's key for that night? Does the understudy just attempt his or her best to sing in the key of the original actor? (Can one even do that? Sorry I am not very musically adept)

Thanks!

Updated On: 9/29/15 at 01:32 AM

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 1:46am

I'm not sure about normal understudies, but I remember when Carly Rae Jepsen took over for Laura Osnes they lowered all of the keys. Her alternate, Jessica Hershberg, could sing it at the original keys that Osnes did, but I'm pretty sure she sang it similar to Carly. I guess just for the sake of the orchestra/ensemble?

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 2:13am

It depends on the case. Usually keys are only changed for replacements, but theres an exception here and there.

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 2:13am

It depends on the case. Usually keys are only changed for replacements, but theres an exception here and there.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 9:17am

Well, Andy is not an understudy, he's a replacement. So I imagine they changed it for him when he took over.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 9:51am

These days you are going to start seeing more and more key changes made for replacements as necessary (though probably not as often as understudies, unless it's a case where they understudied the original actor and it works better to keep them in that original key, rather than learning the replacement's new key). With the advent of computer scoring programs it can now be done way faster than in the days when it all had to be written out by hand.

 

Personally, I'm all for finding keys that the actor is going to be most comfortable with. I know that people often like to view the "original" keys as sacred, but I would remind you that key changes are often made throughout the rehearsal process as the creative team works to find the keys that strike the right balance between the abilities of the originator of the role and the needs of the song/show (sometimes changing the key too far in one direction or the other can indeed drastically change the sound of a song).

[A1st]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 11:57am

neonlightsxo said: "Well, Andy is not an understudy, he's a replacement. So I imagine they changed it for him when he took over. "

No I know he is a replacement. But originally he was an understudy. My question was did they still change the key for him before he took over the role. (Or really just for any show for understudies in general)

[temms]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 12:15pm

My guess is that when he was the understudy, he sang the songs in the original key and then they changed them when he took over the role full time. I would imagine that the current understudies sing it in whichever key is best for them, and the conductor tells the orchestra which versions of the songs to have up before each performance.  It would be unusual to have new sets of orchestrations made just for the understudy; but if multiple versions already exist, it makes sense to use whichever key works best for each person (remember that every role has at least two people covering.)

 

When Faith Prince took over in "Little Mermaid", the keys for her songs were lowered quite a bit. Heidi Blickenstaff remained the understudy, and when she went on, still did the songs in the keys she always had.

 

It is a lot easier than it used to be to create transposed orchestrations, but there is still a bit of labor and cost involved. A new set of parts needs to be printed and bound and distributed, and changing the key can affect things like the synthesizer programming where you often have split patches and the left hand plays one sound while the right hand plays another. Changing the key may mean that a note that used to be on the RH oboe sound is now on the LH cymbal sound, for instance. 

 

Updated On: 9/29/15 at 12:15 PM

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 12:29pm

I believe it you have regular understudies, the orchestra changes keys for them as needed..which may be for the day or for longer periods.

 

There are a lot of extremely talented and dedicated pit musicians out there. I don't think they often get the recognition that they deserve.

[eperkins]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 1:35pm

I don't think they normally change keys for an understudy. In the case of Andy Kelso, he sang the same key as Stark when he went on for him. The key change was made after he took over the role, which in actuality was the original key they were written in. They were changed for Stark, then changed back to the originals for Andy (since they were a better fit for him).

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 2:32pm

I know when Erik Altemus went on for Matthew James Thomas in Pippin a couple of keys were changed slightly and he didn't do some of the ridiculously high alternate notes. I don't think it was anything you would really notice if you weren't super familiar with how Matthew sang it, though. 

[wicked4l]

Posted: 9/29/15 at 2:33pm

I believe the key can be changed for understudies IF only they are singing. For example, in Kinky Boots, Step One could be changed, but not Soul of a Man because if affects the actors singing back up. Same with Lola's songs, Hold Me In Your Heart can be lowered.