Sweeney Todd Tour Review 4/23

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 1:02am

I must first start off by saying that Sweeney Todd is one of my all time favorite shows. I love the score, the book, and everything about it. That being said, I have never seen a worse production on the professional level in my life. I will also admit that I saw John Doyle's version a few years back, with the Broadway cast, on a video that should not exist, and thought it looked great. This just goes to prove that you should never judge a production by a bootleg video.
The first thing you notice is the set. I am a fan of minimalism, I believe if you can make a minimalist set work, then you should go for it. The key to making a minimalist set work is having amazing actors tell the story with enthusiasm and energy so that a lavish set is not missed. An enthusiastic and energetic cast is what this production was sorely missing.
David Hess is a very poor Sweeney Todd. He definitely did not have the enthusiasm to carry the show, nor did he even have the energy to carry a single scene. He was occasionally off key and very wooden. He seemed to be moving around the stage without any purpose. His songs lacked any feeling. The only time he seemed to come alive at all was while grabbing Judy Kaye's ass during 'A Little Priest'. There was also very little humor in his interpretation of Sweeney.
Judy Kaye was really the only reason I stayed for the second act, that and I have yet to leave a show, she was amazing. Judy Kaye really carried the entire first act on her own. She was funny, energetic, and just great. She was also in good voice, I was very impressed by her performance.
Lauren Molina and Benjamin Magnuson each delivered rather lackluster performances as well. I honestly can not think of a single good thing to say about Magnuson's performance as Anthony. He did not sing the role well, his acting felt very forced and lacked any chemistry with Molina. Molina was able to pull off being cute on stage and I may have enjoyed her more if she had an Anthony that could act like he was in love with her.
Keith Buterbaugh as the judge was also very uninspired. I saw him in Company on Broadway right after the Tony's and I though he was good in that and was looking forward to seeing him again., I feel let down. He wasn't angry, he wasn't mean, he seemed like nothing to fear. He was kind of timid and blah.
Edmund Bagnell really helped Judy Kaye carry the second act. He was amazing throughout the entire show. He interacted with all of the characters so well, even when it was not his turn to be the center of attention. He delivered his role with youth and fervor that anyone could wish for. He sounded amazing and was fun to watch.
Benjamin Eakeley as the Beadle was simply ridiculous, and also very wooden. He never seemed to be into the role at all.
Fogg, Pirelli, and the Beggar Woman, were each moderate at best.
Diction was a large problem for most of the cast. Part of that may have been helped with a better sound design. As soon as the show started people all around me were complaining that it was difficult to hear, and it was. Eventually my ears get used to straining and I could catch everything they were saying, but I am sure that me knowing the whole show almost by heart helped with my understanding what they were saying.
The staging in general is just awful. This is where i was truly disappointed. The entire show felt stagnant. It did not move well and got very boring to watch. When I saw Company on Broadway, I really liked the staging, but the same concept did not serve Sweeney well. Everyone was very clumsily moving their instruments and "set pieces" around in a very confusing looking manner. The actors facing forward without looking at each other got very old very fast, for a lot of the show there is very little actual interaction between characters. It just looked like a mess. This entire production failed to tell the story well.
I took my dad with me to see it, and he was really struggling to follow the plot through the poor diction and confusing staging. I heard many people around complaining of the same thing. We lost five people sitting near me during intermission, never to be seen again. I definitely can not recommend this production to anybody. After the show Lauren Molina was saying that when this closes a non-equity tour will start, I hope for the shows sake the non-equity cast has more energy to make up for the lack of anything else interesting in this production. I wanted to like it, I really really did, but I have to give it a C-.

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 1:17am

I thought it was brilliant on broadway! sorry to hear you did not enjoy it... But glad you enjoyed Judy Kaye!

[Becky2]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 10:28am

I was thinking about the revival version not too long ago, and though I like it, I'm wondering how easy it would be for someone who's never seen the original stage show to follow what was going on.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 11:41am

I saw it last month - Judy Kaye was amazing, though I did not care for the Sweeney much - he seemed to play the part almost drunken/dazed as opposed to angry hostile. It took a while to warm up to the concept since I had not seen the revival on BW. I think it might be difficult for someone who was not familiar with the original production.

I gave it an 8.

I just saw the touring production of My Fair Lady and loved it.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 11:57am

He seemed to be moving around the stage without any purpose.


Isn't that what every Sweeney does. Pace the stage now and then.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 12:17pm

I found him to be more staggering around stage than pacing.

My friend who saw it also thought he was playing it as though he was tipsy.

[crc03772]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 1:32pm

Wow...did you see the same show I did? I saw it the week before in AZ (3 times mind you) and thought it was absolutely amazing...then again I guess it's not for everyone...

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 1:49pm

After reading reviews from a lot of the tour stops, I'm really glad that I didn't see David Hess when I saw the show in Boston.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:27pm

It is true that most Sweeney's pace about the stage, but they pace with a purpose. Hess paced for no other reason than John Doyle told him to pace here.
I am glad to hear they were better the week before in AZ, in Chicago it just seemed that most everyone was tired of the show and ready to move on to a new gig or something.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:29pm

jimmy - you hit the nail on the head - there was no purpose or emotion in many of his movements. At later points it got more intense, but it just felt as though he was almost dazed or dreamlike in some parts.

Maybe it is just a different interpretation.

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:35pm

I see it tomorrow. The Chicago papers RAVED about it.

[zooxanthellae]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 2:59pm

Isn't that what every Sweeney does. Pace the stage now and then.

Maybe that's what David Hess does, but perhaps you should get the DVD of the National Tour with George Hearn. Or Look for some of those wonderful videos of Len Cariou playing Sweeney. Those two are not even in the same league as David Hess, in playing Sweeney.

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 3:59pm

Well, you have to take into consideration that in this concept Hess isn't necessarily playing Sweeney Todd, he's playing a random lunatic playing Sweeney Todd. I'm guessing that figured into his interpretation.

I enjoyed him in the role, at any rate, and he was really nice at the stage door.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 4:38pm

Chicago Papers probally didn't see the bootleg of the original and the Pro-Shot of the original!

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 4/26/08 at 5:17pm

On three everyone. One, two, three...

Wah wah waaaaaaah.