Have you seen any impressive productions of Sweeney on a small scale? I know there was the Brecht-inspired Doyle revival. How have others succeeded in presenting this epic tale of revenge? I'm particularly interested in imaginative presentations of the death scenes.
In Chicago, I saw a production with Alene Robertson as Mrs. Lovett. It was very small-scaled (compared to Broadway) and played extremely well.
The ensemble was small, and for the More Hot Pies number, they used life-sized doll/puppets to fill out the "crowd" (similar to the Angelette March from Best Little Whorehouse...). I thought it was clever and added a touch of humor.
When the production is small, I think the show works better.
Updated On: 5/24/13 at 11:50 AM
There's the legendary eight-person Teeny Sweeney, where the cast was tiny because of how intimate the theatre was. They didn't have room for a multi-level barbershop, so Sweeney dispatched his victims with a meat hook on a pulley, not a chute.
I first saw the East-West Players production of Sweeney in the early '90s in Los Angeles. It was excellent, and had a cast of about 10, as I recall. It was so well received, Sondheim flew out to see it.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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The 1994 National Theatre production in London employed an ensemble of about 7 plus the principal cast - very small company indeed. It was minimalist I believe too, in terms of its design approach. A door for Mrs. Lovett's shop and her counter for example were the only components of her pie shop, and Sweeney's barber chair first appeared as Judge Turpin's courtroom 'throne' in Act 1, which worked because that would be the chair in which he would eventually meet his death. I don't know how the larger company numbers worked in this production - did the supporting players join the 'chorus' when they weren't on stage as their own individual characters... Anyway, all in all, this was a sparse, pared down, intimate production that originally played at the National's Cottesloe theatre which is a black box space.
The first Broadway revival was in 1989 at Circle in the Square. It was a very small scale affair with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler. Based on a production earlier that year by York Theatre Company, it got good reviews and several Tony nominations. Everyone called it either Teeney Todd or The Teeney Sweeney.
Updated On: 5/24/13 at 01:43 PM
I remember that '89 revival-- good acting all around, but it felt like a show without any great IDEAS to offer. Of course, I loved the original grand scale Prince production, but I think a director with a GRAND CONCEPT for the show (a la Doyle) can offer something else to make up for the lack of giant cast or giant sets.
I think the thing that suffers the most with a teeny Sweeney is the delivery of the score. No soaring chorus sound and no soaring instrumentation does a great disservice to Sondheim's work, and there'd better be something amazing offered to compensate.
"I loved the original grand scale Prince production, but I think a director with a GRAND CONCEPT for the show (a la Doyle) can offer something else to make up for the lack of giant cast or giant sets. "
I personally don't think Sweeney Todd needs this. I think it's a great story, and the book/score can hold its own without a 'concept'. Not surprisingly, I also adore the movie.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
I loved the TEENEY TODD. No, it didn't have a high concept (I loved the Prince original, too), but the intimacy revealed all sorts of subtlety in the words and music and interaction between the characters.
It's true that two synthesizers aren't ideal, but on the other hand, I could hear and understand every word. And I'm so glad I got to see Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler!
I think it's pretty wonderful that this musical has such a powerful story (and is told so well) that it can work on a HUGE scale as well as a small scale.
And the story isn't lost or lessened at all.
Bravo, Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler!
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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And, personally, I remember loving the small ensemble from whom I heard every note of harmony as an individual note rather than one brick in a "wall of sound". This is not to fault the original, just to say I enjoyed hearing in a new way a show I had basically memorized.
I have always considered Sweeney Todd to be the Shakespeare of musical theatre. Both intellectual and commercial, a classic tragedy in structure yet with elements of Shakespearean comedy and clowning thrown in.
Also like Shakespeare, the material can stand on its own or in a high concept- consider both the original staging, which attempted to use the material as Marxist commentary, the film which co-opted the same plot in homage to 1950s British horror films, and the Doyle revival. Each one did something different with the same story without stopping it from being Sweeney.
Well put, darquegk. I hadn't thought of it exactly that way. (Though the film will always be "half a SWEENEY" to me, since they left out the role of Mrs. Lovett.)
I had an issue with Helena's singing but thought she acted the part fine. If you're used to Lansbury of course it might seem a bit lame in comparison. But someone who had only seen the movie asked me if the character was still "funny on stage?", lol.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
I'm repeating myself, qolbinau, but I could overlook Bonham Carter's singing. It was her acting that was entirely wrong for the part.
It is Lovett's irrepressible capitalism that drives the action and makes SWEENEY TODD something more than a remake of FRIDAY THE 13TH: JASON'S REVENGE. Bonham Carter was so enervated and depressed, it was hard to believe she ever got out of bed, much less baked half of London into pies.
As I mentioned above, Teeny Sweeney dispatched the victims on a meat hook and pulley, sending them out the theatre door by swinging them through the aisles.