Groban & Ashford in SWEENEY TODD On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread — Page 8

g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I'm trying, but there's just nothing to hold onto. Got anything I can grab hold of, sugar?"

Nothing to hold onto, just like your claims that this production was stolen from you. 

Kad said: "g.d.e.l.g.i. said: "I'm trying, but there's just nothing to hold onto. Got anything I can grab hold of, sugar?"

Nothing to hold onto, just like your claims that this production was stolen from you."

The production as it now stands? No, I will fully concede that it is not stolen from me. You're right about that. But the initial concept they abandoned, and the opportunity in general? I think I've got a(n admittedly circumstantial) claim, not that I would pursue it, beyond having written about it so it was documented somewhere. Life's too short.

FANtomFollies said: "They updated the website with the new art and I'm 100% loving it now."

https://sweeneytoddbroadway.com/

I’m excited that they probably will be able to bring the sexual chemistry/appeal to the production, which is something I always thought Bernadette would bring to the role. Ashford looks stunning! 

Looks great from what we can see, and appears to pay a lot of homage to the original set. 

Anneleigh Ashford really has climbed the Broadway ladder. What a talent. I'm not a Josh Groban fan but I'm excited for this!

I suspect they won't, but I would love it if they restored Turpin's "Johanna (Mea Culpa)". It has been done in concert performances.

It's one of the most frequent reinsertions; I highly doubt they wouldn't.

(Me, I want to see if they put back the tooth-pulling or not. I would assume not.)

If we're talking optional material, I really hope they include the Beggar Woman's extra lullaby section (to the melody of "Poor Thing" in the final sequence.

The extended Contest sequence and Parlor Songs are something that I enjoy on an album, but for a narrative musical that’s trying to move along the plot, I think they’re better off cut. We get Pirelli’s deal after the shave sequence, and it’s not like the show is lacking humor elsewhere.

The Judge’s flogging scene adds a great deal to the show and ups the stakes of Johanna’s escape. 

Further, the tooth pulling, properly done, is the kind of dark comedy that elicits a sort of guilty laughter, and in a show packed with tension, it's important by whatever means necessary to leaven it by lightening up the mood for variety.

Besides, personally speaking, I wouldn't ask for the full "Contest" as most people know it anyway. I'd be advocating going back to what they did on Broadway originally: cut everything Pirelli sings before the first "To shave-a da face..."* Plenty of time for the tooth pulling then.

* (Despite what both Sondheim and Prince have said over the years, the tooth-pulling sequence was not cut from the original production in previews, borne out by a widely circulated bootleg video of Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury; what was gone by opening night was the "Now, Signorini, Signori..." section. Later productions, including the first national tour and the original London run, made the now-standard cut and restored half of "Now, Signorini, Signori...", with a small lyric adjustment that kept the Pope and dropped the Queen of Poland and her swollen tooth. The change was made early and became standard quickly, so we can forgive them for being confused.)

Updated On: 1/15/23 at 04:24 PM