I think Marlo was speaking of Dunne solely in relation to Anna. And I think when she was younger, Dunne probably could have sung Eliza. She sang Magnolia in Show Boat for months onstage, and she certainly could sing extremely well. It definitely didn't lie too high for her, although the moving back and forth between belting and legit singing might have been difficult for her as it has been for so many actresses, including Andrews.
Anyway, keys could have been adjusted for Dunne (although she never would have played it since she was way too old by the time MFL came along). It's fairly rare for songs in musicals to be performed in the keys in which the composers wrote them. They are usually put in keys that work for the performers. Keys have been adjusted for Elizas in some later production. If memory serves, at least "Show Me" was put in a higher key for Christine Andreas, which might sound like it would make the song harder, but in the higher key she would have had to move through her break a bit less. |
