Gemignani's Sweeney debut in Toronto

[BroadwayNorth2]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 2:16pm

I believe tonight is the night Gemignani steps in as Sweeney (replacing David Garry, who was replacing David Hess) in the North American tour!

I'm planning to see him and the rest of the all-star cast next Wednesday, Nov 21! (Judy Kaye is getting all the raves from the Toronto reviews!)

In the meantime, I'd be excited to hear any and all reviews of Alex as Sweeney over the next week!



Updated On: 11/13/07 at 02:16 PM

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 11/13/07 at 4:02pm

Aww, you beat me to it. I was TOTALLY going to start an Alex G./Sweeney thread. And now I'm pouting.

:)

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 1:15pm

. . .

Anyone, anyone?

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 1:57pm

Hmmm...Maybe I'll see about rush seats one of these days.

Akiva

[...5678]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 2:12pm

I was thinking about tickets for this...but now I DEFINITELY need to go!

[anfwesternboy]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 4:12pm

I have a feeling Gemignani hasn't started yet. They are still advertising David Garry in the paper today. When I walked by the theatre yesterday it still had Garry's name on the posters as well.

As soon as the producers found out about David Hess, they changed the theatre exterior signage and the programs right away to list David Garry as Sweeney.

No doubt they will change the programs, signage and ad billings as soon as Gemignani is ready to go on. But seeing that David Garry is still advertised in the papers, I don't think Gemignani has started yet.

[Roger246]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 5:19pm

Saw the show on tuesday, David Garry was on as Sweeney Todd.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 5:35pm

Is Hess going to come back to the tour?

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 5:40pm

He's supposedly returning to the tour when it hits Miami at the beginning of next year.

[megs1122]

Posted: 11/15/07 at 6:16pm

Does anyone know if there are rush seats for it??

Updated On: 11/15/07 at 06:16 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 5:32pm

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071201.SWEENEY01/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Theatre/

[Walcer]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 5:53pm

I work at the theatre, I've seen him many times. Cautionary note, I'm not a fan of this show, but I have to say AG breathed a unique life into it when he stepped in. He began playing it very straight which was, to me, a great contrast to the rest of the over the top charactarizations. (Making the final song that much more meaningful "..Is'nt that Sweeney there beside you..?") As the run has progressed though he has become a bit more characterized. The thing with AG I'm finding in this show is that he never plays the part exactly the same from night to night which is interesting to watch. Another thing he does really well is convey the metaphor of the small coffin clearly throughout act 2. (as loose as the metaphors are in this show.)

Funny side note, the cast came out before the show to do their warmup, (stand-ins and musical director included) and at Gemignani's behest, proceeded to play "This Love" by Maroon 5 in Sweeny Todd style. It was quite hilarious.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 6:11pm

Walcer, if you're not a fan of Sweeney, why do you list it in your Favorite Shows on your profile?

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 6:38pm

To fair, he does misspell Sweeney there and once again in his post. My guess is he means he doesn't like the Doyle version. But we'll keep an eye on 'im, just to be sure.

[Walcer]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 6:53pm

bingo on the Doyle version comment. I love the show as it's written, and originaly performed - but just can't stand the new version. It comes off as trying to be symbollic but the symbolism just doesn't lead anywhere. That and it just doesn't move me like the original version does. I saw a comment on a thread here once that said this production seems like a project an mfa student would direct just to be artsy. I agree with that.

I can't tell you how many walkouts we get every night. It's alot to say the least. Last night we had 4 people so displeased with it that they called up the manager and let him know it was the worst show they had ever seen in their lives and they claimed to be regular theatre patrons in London and New York, yadda yadda.

Anyhoo... kudos to the actors on stage. There are some great performances (particularly Judy Kaye) and the talent it takes to do what they're doing up there deserves hats off. I just find the work Doyle did to the production to be very irritating. Really, if someone can explain the purpose of telling this story by playing their own instruments and pairing it down to the bare minimum, I'd love to hear it.

[Revolutionary]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 12:59am

Funny side note, the cast came out before the show to do their warmup, (stand-ins and musical director included) and at Gemignani's behest, proceeded to play "This Love" by Maroon 5 in Sweeny Todd style. It was quite hilarious.

Too f-ing cute. What exactly is 'Sweeny Todd' style though? And like, is that their warm up every day? Random, lol. I guess it's better then their old warm up though...

The globe and mail article was great too. Thanks for the link LC.

Sigh.

[Walcer]

Posted: 12/3/07 at 1:18am

Nah... this was the first time in 4 weeks they all came out onstage. they usually do their warmups backstage. one or two will come out onstage to tune and do soundcheck. everyone in the cast is amazingly laid back, as are the crew.

oh, and by "sweeney todd style" I just meant acoustically minimalist with the key instruments each character plays.

the sound guys also love to play hoedown music through the speakers every night before we let in the house. it fits perfectly with the set design. just replace the chairs with hay bails and it would look just like a barn. hee-haw the musical anyone?