Aaron Tveit, Sutton Foster will next star in ‘Sweeney Todd’- Page 12

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 12:08pm

CATSNYrevival said: "Sutton’s accent sounds better to my ears than Annaleigh. I think she sounds fine I’m just not crazy about the placement. I’m not an expert by any means, but I think it’s the switch to head voice that isn’t working for me, and I kind of want to hear what it would sound like if she sang it like Sutton Foster and not so much of the Angela Lansbury head voice. Aaron is at least singing the score how Aaron would, jumping up the octave. That’s exciting to me. "

Nicholas Christopher also jumps the octave in the same place that Aaron did, and when a baritone does it, it’s way more exciting in my opinion. When a MT pop tenor does it, it feels expected, but that higher range is also the meatier part of Aaron’s voice.

Transpositions don’t really matter to me, but Sondheim knew how to write for singers’ ranges. Sweeney was obviously written for a true baritone since much of the role is sung in a lower range with very select moments of higher sustained notes (the last note of “Epiphany,” for example).

I wish them well, but the standbys really made the show for me; they were magnificent.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 12:31pm

Yeah, some odd vocal choices for Sutton; the shrillness does sound put on, especially because the “with limited wind” comes through clean and pretty and the notes in her “full voice” sound perfectly good. Curious if she’ll stick with it. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 12:45pm

Here's George Hearn doing Epiphany
– Similar mid-song key change ("and I'll never see Joanna...)
– Goes up the octave on "can asuage me"

Calm tf down, people!

As for the audience, that seems normal for an early preview of any revival nowadays. Those crazy fans are gone after a few days.

Updated On: 2/10/24 at 12:45 PM

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 12:53pm

It’s become very popular amongst younger theatre fans who are way too online to hate Sutton Foster no matter what she does, so taking a lot of this with a grain of salt. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 1:04pm

BroadwayNYC2 said: "It’s become very popular amongst younger theatre fans who are way too online to hate Sutton Foster no matter what she does, so taking a lot of this with a grain of salt."

This. I was there and she wasn't perfect and isn't reinventing Lovett but she was very good and VERY funny and will be great once it's in her body more. I'm fine with not liking how Worst Pies is placed, but people seem to think she personally closed Beetlejuice or something and I don't get it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 1:12pm

nasty_khakis said: "This. I was there and she wasn't perfect and isn't reinventing Lovett but she was very good and VERY funny and will be great once it's in her body more. I'm fine with not liking how Worst Pies is placed, but people seem to think she personally closed Beetlejuice or something and I don't get it."

I was going to ask why they hate her. Is it actually just because Beetlejuice had to close to make way for The Music Man and she was in The Music Man? Seriously?

[inception]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 1:25pm

Does Foster do the Homer Simpson bit spinning on the floor like Ashford did?

[BarnabyTucker]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 1:30pm

CATSNYrevival said: "nasty_khakis said: "This. I was there and she wasn't perfect and isn't reinventing Lovett but she was very good and VERY funny and will be great once it's in her body more. I'm fine with not liking how Worst Pies is placed, but people seem to think she personally closed Beetlejuice or something and I don't get it."

I was going to ask why they hate her. Is it actually just because Beetlejuice had to close to make way for The Music Man and she was in The Music Man? Seriously?"

Yes. 

I'm a Gen Z, and I have not been able to gather any evidence other than BEETLEJUICE being booted from the Winter Garden to support the Gen Z and below hate for her.

I can totally appreciate folks thinking she was miscast in THE MUSIC MAN, but that doesn't seem to be the discourse amongst the younger crowd.  Our friend Sweaty Oracle also adds fuel to the fire with his "world's luckiest chorus girl" nonsense. 

I've come to adore her as a performer after her performance in MM.  I think she does have a wide range and I'm excited to see her being cast against type because she's more than capable of turning out an exceptional performance with material that may not seem like a good fit for her at first glance. 

Her Marian was the first time I really believed that this character was a social pariah, and that the clock was ticking for her to sort her life out.  

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 1:45pm

inception said: "Does Foster do the Homer Simpson bit spinning on the floor like Ashford did?"

No. And she doesn’t slide down the stairs, either. Pretty much all of Ashford’s OTT stuff like that is gone now. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 2:01pm

Jordan Catalano said: "inception said: "Does Foster do the Homer Simpson bit spinning on the floor like Ashford did?"

No. And she doesn’t slide down the stairs, either. Pretty much all of Ashford’s OTT stuff like that is gone now."

SO happy to read that the schtick-y bits have been removed. Looking forward to seeing this tomorrow. I've seen both Groban/Ashford and Christopher/DeWaal. Not entirely sold on the new casting, but excited nonetheless.

Updated On: 2/10/24 at 02:01 PM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 2:45pm

I've now listened to the full audio of Tveit's "Barber and His Wife," "My Friends," and "Epiphany." He sounds...like Aaron Tveit singing the role of Sweeney Todd. He can hit the low notes well enough and of course has a gorgeous voice. But that's part of the problem for me (and was with Groban too): Sweeney is not supposed to sound like Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance. This is an operetta, and Sweeney is a bass-baritone role. It requires a darker, heavier sound than Tveit's honey-tinged golden tenor. Add in the fact that even at 40 years old and with a beard, Tveit is still boyishly handsome in a way that is just wrong for the role. He's a wonderful actor-singer, but simply miscast, as predicted.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 2:51pm

Here’s my thing and my take on this. We KNEW Aaron wasn’t going to sound like Len Cariou. I mean, if anyone actually thought he’d take to the stage and shock the world with a deep voice he’s never had before, they were deluding themselves. So watching him last night, I judged his performance on what he presented and what this production wanted and based on that - I thoroughly enjoyed him. He’s absolutely drop dead gorgeous and the dark circles under his eyes and dirt on his skin don’t exactly make him look less hot but again - NONE of this was coming as a surprise. I knew they weren’t going to use prosthetics to make him “ugly” so what we have is an attractive Sweeney (who’s very menacing, moreso than Groban ever was I feel)  with a great voice that’s exactly like we knew it would be. 

[Strange Lupone]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 2:57pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Here’s my thing and my take on this. We KNEW Aaron wasn’t going to sound like Len Cariou. I mean, if anyone actually thought he’d take to the stage and shock the world with a deep voice he’s never had before, they were deluding themselves. So watching him last night, I judged his performance on what he presented and what this production wanted and based on that - I thoroughly enjoyed him. He’s absolutely drop dead gorgeous and the dark circles under his eyes and dirt on his skin don’t exactly make him look less hot but again - NONE of this was coming as a surprise. I knew they weren’t going to use prosthetics to make him “ugly” so what we have is an attractive Sweeney (who’s very menacing, moreso than Groban ever was I feel)with a great voice that’s exactly like we knew it would be."

 

 

An absolutely perfect post. Hear! Hear!

 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 3:18pm

CATSNYrevival said: "nasty_khakis said: "This. I was there and she wasn't perfect and isn't reinventing Lovett but she was very good and VERY funny and will be great once it's in her body more. I'm fine with not liking how Worst Pies is placed, but people seem to think she personally closed Beetlejuice or something and I don't get it."

I was going to ask why they hate her. Is it actually just because Beetlejuice had to close to make way for The Music Man and she was in The Music Man? Seriously?"

They thought she was obligated to give her views on every single political and social issue in 2020/2021, and hate her because she didn't. I know that sounds like something made up, but that's literally why a lot of (especially younger) Gen Zers and Gen Alphas hate her.

It's so incredibly strange, and embarrassing.

Updated On: 2/10/24 at 03:18 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 4:37pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "CATSNYrevival said: "nasty_khakis said: "This. I was there and she wasn't perfect and isn't reinventing Lovett but she was very good and VERY funny and will be great once it's in her body more. I'm fine with not liking how Worst Pies is placed, but people seem to think she personally closed Beetlejuice or something and I don't get it."

I was going to ask why they hate her. Is it actually just because Beetlejuice had to close to make way for The Music Man and she was in The Music Man? Seriously?"

They thought she was obligated to give her views on every single political and social issue in 2020/2021, and hate her because she didn't. I know that sounds like something made up, but that's literally why a lot of (especially younger) Gen Zers and Gen Alphas hate her.

It's so incredibly strange, and embarrassing."

Sounds preposterous to me.  Why would they even care about SF’s politics, especially if she kept her mouth shut.  Have they concluded that she’s a MAGA as-hole? 

[UrNotAMachine]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 4:54pm

BroadwayRox3588 said: "They thought she was obligated to give her views on every single political and social issue in 2020/2021, and hate her because she didn't. I know that sounds like something made up, but that's literally why a lot of (especially younger) Gen Zers and Gen Alphas hate her."

 

I (a millennial for the record) am not about to re-litigate that whole debacle (especially because discussions of it were very often deleted from this website). But that's a very disingenuous explanation why people were angry at her. As far as I'm aware, there was only one specific issue people were upset about, and thinking that the the leads of the season's biggest revival have an obligation to speak up about abuse in the industry (particularly when that abuse is tied to the show they're currently working on) is not some insane notion. 

[CreatureKitchen]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 5:45pm

To add to this, I remember that at around the same time there was also a clip circulating of Sutton singing "And I Am Telling You..." from Dreamgirls. People felt she used a strong blaccent during the performance, and that her over-the-top singing came across as intentionally mocking the song. The clip made the rounds on TikTok and compounded some of the issues already mentioned.

Updated On: 2/10/24 at 05:45 PM

[UnderstudiesAndStandbys]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 5:46pm

I just left this afternoon's performance (I was there to see Michael Kuhn's Broadway principal debut as Pirelli, and he smashed it!) and had the chance to see Aaron and Sutton again for the second time.

I think they're maturing in the roles quite a bit in a short amount of time! They're getting more comfortable with each other and the script. I didn't 'dislike' last night's performance, I just thought it was a bit all over the place (but still entertaining!). I was satisfied with what I saw today and would happily come back.

Back to the important part:

 

[BarnabyTucker]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 5:57pm

I think we're all forgetting that a first performance for a replacement is all about survival and standing in the right place at the right time. Most actors I've seen interviewed about replacing seem to describe the first night experience as a complete blur where their colleagues gave them "shoves of love" to make sure they get to the curtain call. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 6:00pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I've now listened to the full audio of Tveit's "Barber and His Wife," "My Friends," and "Epiphany." He sounds...like Aaron Tveit singing the role of Sweeney Todd. He can hit the low notes well enoughand of course has a gorgeous voice. But that's part of the problem for me (and was with Groban too): Sweeney is not supposed to sound like Frederic inThe Pirates of Penzance.This is an operetta, and Sweeney is a bass-baritone role. It requires a darker, heaviersound than Tveit's honey-tinged golden tenor. Add in the fact that even at 40 years old and with a beard, Tveit is still boyishly handsome in a way that is just wrong for the role. He's a wonderful actor-singer, but simply miscast, as predicted."

There are no true baritones between 35 and 55 with big enough names to sell tickets. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 6:21pm

Broadway Direct has no tickets left for tonight's performance. When I wrote earlier this week I forgot to consider what was sent to TKTS. I want this show to continue to draw people to Sondheim. Even Sondheim imperfectly done.

[Hochtun1988]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 6:59pm

I was there this afternoon (Aaron and Sutton's second performance) and these are my thoughts I'd thought I'd share. 

Let me start by saying I'm a huge Aaron fan and I love Sutton. When I heard this casting, even though I bought tickets, I was very skeptical like the majority seems to be. I saw the show a few months ago with annaleigh and Josh's understudy was on. I fell in love with the show and the understudy who played Sweeney. (I'm sorry I wish I knew his name!!! Christopher maybe?!) Let's all be honest, the reason the baritone voice is so appreciated in this show is because it adds not only to a gorgeous score but adds another layer of terror to the story. So this afternoon, I went in prepared to be very critical of this show.

After 30 mins into the first act I let go of the fact that this role was made for a baritone and accepted the new tenor voice before me. Look, in my opinion it works. Is it preferred? No. But it works. Aaron was great. The audio people have recorded do not do his live performance in the theater justice. Believe me, I listened it the snippets last night before seeing it live and I wish I didn't because they weren't good compared to what you witness with your eyes. He had moments of intensity that is fairly new for him since apart from the last 20 mins of MR you have never really seen him perform before (Graceland aside but it's not the same as on the stage). I think after a month his dynamic and intensity will improve even more. The second act was seller in acting in my opinion. He's very good in the role and I think while he's not the best Sweeney most have seen, he certainly proves why he's on Broadway and so loved by people.

Now Sutton. I prefer her to annaleigh. And that's saying something because I loved Annaleighs performance. Sutton is easier to understand and has this energy that I personally love. I found her hilarious. So much so that she even broke Aaron in one scene. Sutton proves why she's a two time Tony winner and rightfully so. She's just awesome.

To summerize, if you chose to see it with Aaron and Sutton, go in knowing it will sound different than any portrayal of this show. That's not necessarily a bad thing! Know that these are two excellent Broadway performers that have made a name for themselves and have for years. It's worth it in my opinion.

[SweetLips22]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 7:29pm

In reference to 'the screaming/Justin Bieber' effect. I don't understand the intrusion of screaming into a show unless it is an arena concert. Laughter,yes, but screaming? Entrance applause, at the end of an exciting vocal number, yes. Reality shows create this type of an audience and if I'm paying top $ and have to sit surrounded by this disturbance then my $ stays in my pocket.

Hopefully this nonsense will die down after a few performances but in the mean time help build confidence for the performers.

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/10/24 at 8:27pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Perennial reminder that the SWEENEY keys have shifteda lotover the years. Patti LuPone, George Hearn, Dorothy Loudon, Denis Quilley, and others have all had various numbers transposed to best fit their voice. That's not a concern to me.

I do have some other concerns from this audio. But I'm reserving judgement and interested to see how they grow into these roles."

I saw Michael Ball's Sweeney in London, and I think he upped the keys to match his lyric baritone as well..

[starlightlocamotion]

Posted: 2/11/24 at 12:13am

Saw the show several months ago with JOSH & ANNALEIGH both in for that performance … left not particularly thrilled either of their performances. But truthfully not understanding the commotion around Ashdod’s Lovett which I only found serviceable. Odd couple they were.
 

Sutton & Aaron are a perfect match. Aaron is great. While miscast, he makes the role his own & I found to be more frightening than Josh. 
 

Sutton is perfect for this role. I knew she would be. I didnt understand the hesitation people took with her & this piece … but prepare to be utterly pleased with her performance. Just so so good. 
 

Also can confirm Joe is astonishingly good as Tobias.