How was Lansbury and Hearn as Lovett and Todd?

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 8:30am

I have seen the dvd that is out and liked Angela's acting, but not her singing. I didn't like Hearn at ALL!

Any comments or thought would be greatly appreciated!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 9:14am

So you saw it and you want people to tell you how they were?
Updated On: 7/11/08 at 09:14 AM

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 9:38am

I want others opinions Phyllis. Why waste your time posting if you aren't going to post anything relevant to the thread topic?!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:02am

buy the dvd and check it out for yourself

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:06am

He's already seen it. He wants people to tell him how it was.

And whatever, Zeitgeist, I asked a valid question. You asked how they was, not how other people thought they was.
Updated On: 7/11/08 at 10:06 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:10am

Since you ask:

I saw Lansbury do the role on Broadway and on tour. She was excellent on Broadway. She had started mugging a bit while on tour, and by time it was put on video she had really started going over the top.

I saw Hearn on the tour, and didn't like him as much as I had liked Cariou. Hearn just screamed and shouted a lot, it was a very one-note performance, I thought. There wasn't much of a progression, he was a psycho when he got off that boat and was just as psycho when he started raving in Epiphany. I didn't find him as moving as Cariou.

Others will disagree. I'd read/heard that Sondheim preferred Hearn to Cariou.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:19am

I saw Lansbury and Hearn on Broadway. Their performances (Along with the rest of the cast) and the show itself just blew me away. It was perfection, IMO.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:38am

Are they one creature now?
I did not know that.

Thought would be appreciated, but obviously it isn't going to happen.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:56am

I'll always prefer Cariou to Hearn in the role. Period.

Lasbury can do no wrong as Lovett, in my book. I have no problem with her vocals on disc or dvd.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:56am

Thanks so much, Roscoe

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 10:57am

You're welcome, Z.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:10am

I adore Lansbury in the role. Hearn was too angry for me.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:21am

Exactly Spork! He was just yelling and screaming the whole time... I hated his take on the role.

Oh and also Johanna pissed me off... She couldn't sing for beans!

[D2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:25am

Uncageg, I beg to differ on who you saw on Broadway in those roles. Lansbury and Cariou left the cast on the same day in March, 1980, and were replaced by Dorothy Loudon and George Hearn. When the show went on tour, Lansbury and Hearn played the roles. They never played them together on Broadway.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:29am

So Sondheim preferred Hearn's take on the role over Cariou's??...thats shocking.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:34am

I no longer have the Playbill, but I seem to remember that when I saw it, Hearn played Sweeney. I remember expecting Cariou. Maybe it was the understudy but I know I saw Lansbury. Is it possible that Hearn stepped in before he was scheduled to and did it with Lansbury? For some reason I seem to remember hearing that Cariou left the show early. I could be wrong.

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 11:34 AM

[D2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:35am

Sorry, Cariou never missed a performance.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:44am

Then I saw Cariou

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:51am

I saw the dvd cast on tour and was blown away. I adored Lansbury from that day on (didnt know who she was until then...but recognized her, probably from "World of Henry Orient".) I loved Hearn as well, and Sweeney can be interpreted many ways. Hearn yelled his way through "La Cage" as well. That's what he does. Heck, he did it on Golden Girls. I am in the pro Betsy Joslyn's loopy Johanna camp, tho many disagree. I love her on the dvd.

I've only seen Cariou on, well, you know...and it seems he was wonderful and sang prettier, but even on the recording there are some pitch problems.

Hearn was TERRIFIC in the Lincoln Center concert with Patti LuPone. I was shocked that he sang it so well, so many years later.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:53am

Roscoe, I felt the same way. I thought she was totally mugging. I'm like, what the hell is this. Then I finally got my hands on the original cast recording last year and she sounded amazing and I thought, "THAT'S why people loved her as Mrs. Lovett. I don't know what it is but it's there." Well, maybe not those words exactly. I even found myself loving Cariou more than Hearn.

[jennyish]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 11:56am

Original Cast Recording > DVD.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 12:26pm

I think it's the worst musical ever written. Yes, even worse than Sunset Blvd. and Cats, and that's saying something, for me. I saw the show twice. Once, because my friend was in the chorus and I love Angela Lansbury; then again, with Lansbury, because the same friend was now playing
Tobias. It's not possible for me to have hated it more. I have no opinion on how good I thought anyone was, because I hated what they were doing, so much.

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 12:39pm

I had the privilege of seeing Angela Lansbury three times in SWEENEY TODD - twice on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center for the tour. I thought she was brilliant (as was the case with her performances in GYPSY and DEAR WORLD, which I also had the pleasure of seeing).

When I saw the tour with Lansbury and Hearn, my impression was that the show had been re-directed to play up the comedic moments as much as possible. Cutting throats and baking people into pies can be tough stuff for audiences (remember, this was late 70's), and I think they wanted to soften the edge a bit.

I liked Hearn, but no one can deny the powerhouse performance that Len Cariou did on Broadway.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 12:43pm

I think it's the worst musical ever written.

Of course you do. It's all making sense now.

I loved Lansbury, but not Hearn. His scenery-chewing makes it difficult for me to watch the DVD.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/11/08 at 12:56pm

JohnBoy2: Wow, you're brave.