Groban & Ashford in SWEENEY TODD On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 37

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 5:12pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Seems that Nathan Salstone is going on in one of his understudy tracks tonight. He covers both Anthony and Tobias. I'll be at the show tonight, was hoping to see the full company. However, will report back with who is on for who, etc."

Gaten seemed fine & healthy on Fallon last night, so perhaps he's on for Anthony?

[JSquared2]

Posted: 3/21/23 at 8:20pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "BCfitasafiddle said: "Seems that Nathan Salstone is going on in one of his understudy tracks tonight. He covers both Anthony and Tobias. I'll be at the show tonight, was hoping to see the full company. However, will report back with who is on for who, etc."

Gaten seemed fine & healthy on Fallon last night, so perhaps he's on for Anthony?"

 

Jordan Fisher appears to be out tonight (per Twitter).  

[musikman]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 12:09am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "BCfitasafiddle said: "Seems that Nathan Salstone is going on in one of his understudy tracks tonight. He covers both Anthony and Tobias. I'll be at the show tonight, was hoping to see the full company. However, will report back with who is on for who, etc."

Gaten seemed fine & healthy on Fallon last night, so perhaps he's on for Anthony?"

Full principal cast was in this evening minus Jordan Fisher.  Nathan was on in his place.  
 

The nicest thing I can say is that I’m glad that at least some people here enjoyed this production and that Josh Groban is introducing his huge fan base to Sondheim. Otherwise, I’m going to crack open the OBC for a cleanse. 

Frustrated to note that the sound issues have not been fixed.  Why bother having a 26 piece orchestra if you can barely hear them?   

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 12:16am

This is an uneven production.

Groban sounds very good but there is very little characterization. There isn't enough menace, darkness, or intensity. This man is out for blood, after years of torture and fury and has traveled over land and sea to seek his bloody revenge. This is sort of Disney's Sweeney Todd.

Ruthie sent chills up and down my spine. My whole body was covered in goosebumps. She is doing a sort of Sméagol/Gollum thing and it's very chilling. She gave the most exciting performance of the night. At times she did a Scottish accent which I didn't really understand but it was certainly intriguing. The direction failed her at times, leaving her out at sea and wandering aimlessly a bit. When Toby is told to THROW THE OLD WOMAN OUT, I wanted to SEE it. As a whole the production needs to pick up the pace big time. More zing, more urgency, more suspense. Keep it moving, people! Some of the tempos were bizarrely slow.

Gaten is perfectly cast and does a wonderful job.

Ashford is giving an incredibly canned performance. Every single second on stage is a bit for her to act like a clown. We've seen her do it a dozen times in New York and it's really wearing thin. There's no sincerity, no subtly. And she sings it like a valley girl lazily singing along to the radio. I wanted fuller richness, vulnerability, deviousness. It's feels so contemporary and is just begging the audience for laughs every dang second. Her accent is absolutely abysmal. And at times impossible to understand. I'm sorry but I just don't care for a mugging, cloying performance like that. It's the same thing every time. The audience laps it up (as will the critics, I'm sure), so what do I know?

It's slick, clean, and sounds fabulous when the mics are turned up, which actually isn't very often, now that I think about it. I quite liked the set (a bit too clean but nice) and the lighting. The choreography was strange and appeared at random. The orchestra is divine but needs to be way louder. The costumes are serviceable but totally forgettable. I didn't care for the jewel tone design in the second act. I want Tarantino blood SPRAYING everywhere and I want that damn train whistle. I want the whole thing to be freakier, scarier, darker...super twisted and MUCH LOUDER!

 

This was...cute.

Updated On: 3/22/23 at 12:16 AM

[musikman]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 12:26am

TotallyEffed said: "This is an uneven production.

Groban sounds very good but there is very little characterization. There isn't enough menace, darkness, or intensity. This man is out for blood, after years of torture and fury and has traveled over land and sea to seek his bloody revenge. This is sort of Disney's Sweeney Todd.

Ruthie sent chills up and down my spine. My whole body was covered in goosebumps. She is doing a sort of Sméagol/Gollum thing and it's very chilling. She gave the most exciting performance of the night. At times she did a Scottish accent which I didn't really understand but it was certainly intriguing. The direction failed her at times, leaving her out at sea and wandering aimlessly a bit. When Toby is told to THROW THE OLD WOMAN OUT, I wanted to SEE it. As a whole the production needs to pick up the pace big time. More zing, more urgency, more suspense. Keep it moving, people! Some of the tempos were bizarrely slow.

Gaten is perfectly cast and does a wonderful job.

Ashford is giving an incredibly canned performance. Every single second on stage is a bit for her to act like a clown. We've seen her do it a dozen times in New York and it's really wearing thin. There's not sincerity, no subtly. And she sings it like a valley girl lazily singing along to the radio. I wanted fuller richness, vulnerability, deviousness. It's feels so contemporary and is just begging the audience for laughs every dang second. Her accent is absolutely abysmal. And at times impossible to understand. I'm sorry but I just don't care for a mugging, cloying performance like that. It's the same thing every time. The audience laps it up (as will the critics, I'm sure), so what do I know?

It's slick, clean, and sounds fabulous when the mics are turned up, which actually isn't very often, now that I think about it. I quite liked the set (a bit too clean but nice) and the lighting. The choreography was strange and appeared at random. The orchestra is divine but needs to be way louder. The costumes are serviceable but totally forgettable. I didn't care for the jewel tone design in the second act. I want Tarantino blood SPRAYING everywhere and I want that damn train whistle. I want the whole thing to be freakier, scarier, darker...super twisted and MUCH LOUDER!



This was...cute."

 

The pacing of the music in act 1 was like a DIRGE.   This show should not be 3 hours long.

 

[EssWiser]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 7:04am

TotallyEffed said: "Ashford is giving an incredibly canned performance. Every single second on stage is a bit for her to act like a clown. We've seen her do it a dozen times in New York and it's really wearing thin. There's not sincerity, no subtly. And she sings it like a valley girl lazily singing along to the radio. I wanted fuller richness, vulnerability, deviousness. It's feels so contemporary and is just begging the audience for laughs every dang second. Her accent is absolutely abysmal. And at times impossible to understand. I'm sorry but I just don't care for a mugging, cloying performance like that. It's the same thing every time. The audience laps it up (as will the critics, I'm sure), so what do I know”

Saw the same performance and am so glad someone has finally mentioned the accents. Visiting from the UK and honestly, it sounds like they’ve never heard a British accent, never mind a cockney one. I’ve been scratching my brain as to how they’ve arrived at this choice, but unless it’s that they wanted a mix of Moira Rose and What We Do in the Shadows, then I’m none the wiser.

Some things we did enjoy: the set worked hard to pick up the action, when the orchestra could be heard they were sublime and during the Johanna quartet, it felt like everything came together for a moment to deliver a highly engaging scene.

However, none of it makes up for the accents across the board - it felt like everyone was being pulled onto each other’s accents.  The sloppy direction (we’re talking basics - why was Johanna down from her window?!) and the random choreography didn’t help lift what was already holding the show back.

It’s been mentioned before but there just wasn’t enough darkness to everyone’s roles. Groban can sing it well, but he just seems like a broken man waiting for someone to hand him revenge. Because of  this, Lovett ends up with too much power in their dynamic, and uses her body far too much to engage the audience…can we talk about the Homer Simpson spinning on the floor laugh moment?! Similarly, Turpin and Beadle weren’t menacing enough. Turpin particularly seemed to have more of a tantrum throughout the show than being someone to fear - this was especially noticed with Mea Culpa being cut. 

While Beggar Woman’s performance is fantastic, again the direction removes any subtlety ending in no journey for the audience to that crucial final reveal.

Lighting (and the audience laughing) let down Toby’s final scene, but it was delivered extremely well by Gaten.

Finally - and then I’ll shut up - I know this is previews, but there’s a lot to fix and if Beanie Fieldstein was accused of playing to the audience for laughs during Funny Girl (which we saw in Previews too and…disagree) then it’ll be interesting to see where this lands with critics. 

And yes. The factory whistle is desperately needed. 

 

 

Updated On: 3/22/23 at 07:04 AM

[binau]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 7:59am

I am not usually fussy about accents (although I am in the UK) but they really are all over the place in this production.  

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 8:36am

Not seeing it for six weeks, but a question for those who have:

This characterization discrepancy noted among the posters, Todd underplayed to the point of bland naturalism and Lovett cooked into caricature: could this be an overcorrection, designed to honor what Sondheim always claimed: that Lovett (via Lansbury, impossible to fully untether) is a British music hall creation, a woman who adopts the 'theatrical' performative persona, and drives the action thus, vs a shell of a man? Much criticism of the film focused on the two actors playing the same realism, or its reverse, the Bonham-Carter Lovett oddly enough more grittily real than the flashy Depp Todd. Many found that it ruined the first act, prior to "Priest" (though arguably, Bonham-Carter's second half had sublime moments). 

The two characters were always in different worlds with Lansbury and Cariou (I saw them 6 times) -- she was a wide-eyed pragmatist who used hoary comedy as a survival tool, Todd a bone-dry, humorless man (save "Priest," which is why the number was transformative in the plot.)  This strange duality -- a contrast in dynamics -- is seemingly required to make the piece cohesive, and to create tension among actors.  It wasn't really in the Doyle staging, since the production's conceit drove the stylization, everyone caught up in instrumentation and presentational antics.  But is this a strategic return to the original's values, a kind of deconstruction? Perhaps that explains this as yet unsuccessful disconnect in the lead performances.  Again,  questions, not a provable thesis. 

Updated On: 3/22/23 at 08:36 AM

[BentleyB]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 10:03am

Saw it last Friday.  I saw the original at the Uris Theater.  Groban was out.  11 others went with me.  All but one agreed on the following.   Volume was too low and they could not hear the songs or dialogue, except for Lovett and Pirelli.  It was too slow.  Pacing is way off and needs to improve.  It was in no way a “thriller” it needs way more blood.  They had no idea that Lucy was raped during the party scene. “Kiss Me” was a muddled mess and no one understood what they were saying, again sound issues. 

I did love Ashford’s Lovett, a very different take, though it could be tamed down some. The orchestra was amazing. It was just so frustrating that I wanted everyone to fall in love with my favorite show, but my husband ranked it as one of the worst things he has ever seen on Broadway and was bored out of his mind.  Everyone else ranked it last of the 5 shows we saw.  The Jonas Brothers leaving the Marquis to shrieking young girls that you could hear during the final sequence pulled you right out of the show at a crucial time.  I am going back in the fall, but I was sadly disappointed. Okay, I wanted the whistle too.

[binau]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 10:11am

The sound issues are an interesting one - personally I actually didn’t have much issues the 2 times I saw the show but I was in the orchestra and I know every word anyway. 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 10:42am

Saw it last night and I liked it a lot. When it works it really works, but when it doesn't you can feel it.

First, I must commend Nathan Salstone on a beautiful debut as Anthony. My only main concern seeing the show was the reports on Jordan Fisher, but I am grateful I had a beautifully sung Anthony. 

Josh Groban had me. I bought all of it and can honestly say I loved his performance. Not only is he a perfectly sung Sweeney, but I thought his downward spiral to madness was delicious and nuanced and organic over the course of the show.

I hear what people are saying about Annaleigh's schtick and I can't disagree. It can be tacky, predictable, and a little muted. But then she'd do something like "Wait" or "By the Sea" or even the finale and I was totally transfixed on her and devastated for her Lovett. So, all in all I'd say I have mixed feelings on her. 

Ruthie was superb, Gaten was a highlight, Maria Bilbao has a gorgeous voice, ensemble was great, the orchestra could've been louder for my taste.

 

[binau]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 10:54am

The tone of Jordan Fisher’s performance to me comes across like he is an American Idol contestant who has been stunt cast into the show. I think he looks sexy and his vocals are serviceable, even good at points (I think he’d be better off trying to pull back than stretch his vocals too much and struggle as I felt he did at times). It would not be my dream Anthony but I do think it works within the context of this production. 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 11:07am

I do have a minor worry that the somewhat muddled storytelling and recurring sound issues don't bode well for people coming to the show for the first time.  If you can't catch all the lyrics (for whatever reasons) and/or the staging and lighting cause you to not grasp some of the key incidents that unfold, you really lose out.  I also went with someone who had no idea that Lucy was raped.

Updated On: 3/22/23 at 11:07 AM

[Observation]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 11:26am

My very first experience with Sweeney Todd was the 2005 revival. My friends and I knew nothing going into the show, and we could not figure out what the hell was happening on stage. We tried so hard but at intermission we had someone next to us explain a little bit, I think our earnestness helped. It wasn't until we watched the movie that I REALLY understood what the show was about and became obsessed and listened to the 2005 Revival Cast recording (I hope that's the correct verbiage, I just know NOT to call it a soundtrack, lol!) 

I'd be interested to see this revival told in a more "traditional" sense. I have heard a recording of one song with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford and it sounds fun! I am on the fence if I will prioritize this show when I visit later this year. 

[mshalo18]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 11:35am

I won't be seeing this until next month, but I'm getting the impression that Sweeney isn't the shoo-in to win best revival at the Tonys. It will be interesting to see the reviews, but word of mouth so far is somewhat tepid. My money's on Parade.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 11:50am

If the show receives a tepid reception from critics, then it’ll be another example of a highly anticipated musical revival with such a high profile cast and creative team that doesn’t live up to everyone’s expectations along with Carousel (2018) and The Music Man (2022). It's similar to how Oscar predictors expected Damien Chazelle’s Babylon, Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, and Florian Zeller’s The Son to all be major contenders this past season…before anyone even saw them. When people did start seeing them, the reactions were all like “Eh. Never mind.”

[Pashacar]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 12:45pm

I was there last night and have to say I frankly found it infuriating. And I like the vast majority of the shows I see.

I enjoyed the two leads enough – Groban has pipes and they have chemistry, which is important – but every single other thing was so misguided it was almost laughable. A gaggle of people near me started cracking up at Mrs. Lovett's death, it was so badly done. The choreography is truly embarrassing, easily the worst I've seen on any professional stage. And as others have said, you wouldn't be surprised if someone told you it was a five-piece pit. The orchestrations, tempos, and mixing are all so off you go between wondering if these folks are complete frauds who've ridden Lin's coattails all these years or if for some reason they decided to sabotage this outing on purpose.

Speaking of that feeling...the direction. The amount of elementary direction rules that were broken were immense. From one scene to the next, it felt like you were watching six different productions. Different acting styles, scenic styles, lighting styles – none of it held together even remotely. (As one example, [very minor spoiler] the lighting is dim and subtle throughout, and then 80% through we get to Fogg's Asylum and see these intense strobe-like flashes, totally incongruous with anything we've seen yet. Like, THAT should be the scariest scene in this show? Really?) Tommy Kail has devoted his life to musical theater and gets to direct one of its greatest pieces in a high-profile Broadway production, yet he comes in with seemingly no perspective, no excitement, no unifying vision whatsoever. I just don't get it. For an evening that should produce dozens upon dozens of thrilling moments of theatrical catnip, there are one or two that maybe begin to flirt with it. And then Ashford comes in and does a pratfall or something to kill the moment.

I still had a decent enough time – it's talented folks doing my favorite musical. But wow, what a mess of squandered potential.

[binau]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 1:25pm

"The choreography is truly embarrassing, easily the worst I've seen on any professional stage."

Mmm it almost comes across like a high school production to me, both in terms of the actual movement and also the amateur decision making of using Dance where it doesn't seem to add anything. 

"I won't be seeing this until next month, but I'm getting the impression that Sweeney isn't the shoo-in to win best revival at the Tonys."

I think there is no chance it will win best revival but I think that's ok - I just hope the critics are kind enough to emphasise the positive elements of the production. At the end of the day, professional Sondheim is still professional Sondheim and Sweeney Todd in particular is near the top of the tree. I think the production deserves a place on Broadway even if it doesn't win any awards! (I wonder if Groban has a shot).

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 1:38pm

I have quibbles but felt this was a largely effective, safe revival. Not perfect, but surely better than FUNNY GIRL or MUSIC MAN or Jack O'Brien's CAROUSEL.

Thoughts on the casting: Annaleigh is doing great work but in a few of her bits she is laughing more than the audience and it's a little much. Did not like the Antony understudy in acting or voice. Ruthie is the MVP. Gaten is lovely but felt his breakdown at the end was a little too much compared to what he's doing the rest of the show - need more mental instability earlier in the show. This Joanna was a reminder of how small that part is. Great Judge, decent Pirelli, LOVED John Rapson as the Beadle, in what's usually a throwaway part. If I had closed my eyes, I might have thought it was Doug Sills. The Parlor Songs drive act 2 to a halt, but he's so entertaining that I didn't really care.

Thoughts on everything else: Loved the choreo and the set. Wish they had used the set levels a little more. No sound issues for me: it's full and rich and, as with an opera or other older acoustic musicals, audiences need to train their ears for it to be less bombastic than something like MJ or even Some Like It Hot. It's plenty loud when it needs to be (Epiphany, City on Fire, etc)

I have thoughts about Groban and some staging choices, but will try to write more later.

[MiserablyWicked1]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 1:46pm

Been lurking all the Sweeney Post's and am intrigued. I will be seeing the production on April 1.

I saw the original at the Uris and was amazed. I saw the revival 2005 and liked it but did not love it.

I saw the SF Symphony concert with (Lupone/Hearn) and really enjoyed it. 

I will come back for a review after seeing it.

 

[Pashacar]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 1:53pm

^ Agreed, forgot to mention how good he was as the Beedle!

(And always love to see a Doug Sills shoutout )

[musikman]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 2:13pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I have quibbles but felt this was a largely effective, safe revival. Not perfect, but surely better than FUNNY GIRL or MUSIC MAN or Jack O'Brien's CAROUSEL.

Thoughts on the casting:Annaleigh is doing great work but in a few of her bits she is laughing more than the audience and it's a little much.Did not like the Antony understudy in acting or voice.Ruthie is the MVP. Gaten is lovely but felt his breakdown at the end was a little too much compared to what he's doing the rest of the show - need more mental instability earlier in the show. This Joanna was a reminder of how small that part is. Great Judge, decent Pirelli, LOVED John Rapson as the Beadle, in what's usually a throwaway part. If I had closed my eyes, I might have thought it was Doug Sills. The Parlor Songs drive act 2 to a halt, but he's so entertaining that I didn't really care.

Thoughts on everything else:Loved the choreo and the set. Wish they had used the set levels a little more.No sound issues for me: it's full and rich and, as with an opera or other older acoustic musicals, audiences need to train their ears for it to be less bombastic than something like MJ or even Some Like It Hot. It's plenty loud when it needs to be (Epiphany, City on Fire, etc)

I have thoughts about Groban and some staging choices, but will try to write more later."

More than any other show in the entire musical theatre canon, the orchestra in Sweeney is another character in the show that is integral to the success of the piece.  I come from an opera background so training my ear to hear something is nothing new.  There’s a difference between hearing an acoustic sound at the Met and hearing what sounded like I was listening to a pit orchestra rehearsing behind closed doors last night.  
 

Listen to any recording - no matter if it’s live or in a studio - of this masterpiece with the original orchestrations, and you hear vast amounts of  colors, terrifying sounds, bombast, thrilling moments, and sequences that send chills up your spine.  Take that away and you lose a vital piece of the puzzle that is Sweeney Todd.   I was sitting front-ish mezzanine and had another person in our party sitting mid orchestra. All of us complained about the curious lack of sound.  

[BentleyB]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 2:32pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "I have quibbles but felt this was a largely effective, safe revival. Not perfect, but surely better than FUNNY GIRL or MUSIC MAN or Jack O'Brien's CAROUSEL.

Thoughts on the casting:Annaleigh is doing great work but in a few of her bits she is laughing more than the audience and it's a little much.Did not like the Antony understudy in acting or voice.Ruthie is the MVP. Gaten is lovely but felt his breakdown at the end was a little too much compared to what he's doing the rest of the show - need more mental instability earlier in the show. This Joanna was a reminder of how small that part is. Great Judge, decent Pirelli, LOVED John Rapson as the Beadle, in what's usually a throwaway part. If I had closed my eyes, I might have thought it was Doug Sills. The Parlor Songs drive act 2 to a halt, but he's so entertaining that I didn't really care.

Thoughts on everything else:Loved the choreo and the set. Wish they had used the set levels a little more.No sound issues for me: it's full and rich and, as with an opera or other older acoustic musicals, audiences need to train their ears for it to be less bombastic than something like MJ or even Some Like It Hot. It's plenty loud when it needs to be (Epiphany, City on Fire, etc)

I have thoughts about Groban and some staging choices, but will try to write more later."

So perhaps my "untrained ear" along with 11 other people who couldn't understand a word of "Kiss Me" or "City on Fire" haven't seen enough opera or musicals, but we could hear Ashford.  Her sound was great.  Exactly how many are needed to train my ears?  I have seen 100's of musicals on Broadway as, well as others on tour.  The sound was terrible and we were all in the orchestra sitting by the crew that was filming Friday.  I was hoping to be thrilled by the 26 piece orchestra and they were even hard to hear.  

[east side story]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 3:24pm

Seeing this production in two weeks, and some of these comments have absolutely taken the air out of my sails.  Particularly the chatter regarding the orchestra not being easily heard.  

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/22/23 at 3:32pm

I sat in the front of the rear mezz and row E of the orchestra and I had a much better experience with the orchestra from the orchestra. The music sounded loud enough, crisp, and rich from the front orchestra. 
As another person mentioned, you can’t expect the sound of a pop musical or even something like “Some Like It Hot.”

Updated On: 3/22/23 at 03:32 PM