Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd..)

Is it true he had to leave original production because he couldn't handle the vocal demands over time?

I read this on another board, and I am wondering if it is true?

All I know is he scared the crap out of me in the part. Something George Hearn did not.

George was amazing as Sweeney, and gave an electifiying performance... but he didn't SCARE you the way Len did. It was an incredible performance by an incredible actor.

---

I totally prefer Len over George, there is something about his voice that just IS Sweeney. I'm rambling, hard to explain.

Len internalized everything more. He did the "slow burn," mentally ill Sweeney. Think Hannibal Lecter... who was very calm and soothing... and freaked us all out. (Not that Len was calm and soothing, just under-played.)

If you've ever seen the movie "Lady In White" with him and Lucas Haas... check out a scene toward the end of the film... where Len is suddenly trying to break into the car to go after Lucas. Watch his face. See if he doesn't crawl under your skin and blow you away.

THAT's the way he played Sweeney. You honestly felt you were going to have nightmares from it.

EDIT: Sorry to use a film reference here, but it's the closest we have today to seeing what he did on stage. And it's only a brief moment... but if you watch this movie, you'll get a glimpse of it at the end... and it's worth it. (Not a bad film either!)

---

Updated On: 12/9/05 at 07:06 PM

Ken Jennings said in an interview on Sondheim.com that Len never missed a performance, even though his doctor told him he should because the dirt they were using for the grave in the opening scene was getting into his lungs. He had a gravelly voice even THEN...and I heard him recently doing a book on tape and his voice sounds completely ripped to shreds, but that may just be because of his age...

Anyway, Cariou and Lansbury left at the same time--I think it was simply a matter of their contracts being up and the fact that they were ready to move onto other things.

I never saw him and don't really know much about him, but I'm listening to him right now

It makes me sad that Hearn gets all the credit for Sweeney. Because most have seen his performance on the video. All we really have of Len is the cast recording.

It is still easily one of the top ten best performances I have EVER seen on a stage.

Len was a wonderful Broadway leading man back in the day: Applause, A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd, among other accomplishments.

Hey… That's actually another difference between Len and George... Len is really a leading man. Taller, stronger, more of a stage presence... George is really a character actor who plays leading roles. He's not as tall, dashing or "strong" a presence physically... which is probably why he was more extraverted in his approach to Sweeney. Len had the weight and relevance just by "being" on the stage. He could approach the role internally and it got under your skin in the audience. George had to try harder and rise to the occasion in other physical ways to achieve Sweeney's impact.

---

I was not fortunate enough to see either performance but comparing the Hearn DVD Sweeney to the Cariou OBCR, I really prefer Cariou.
I am sure the intensity was much greater on stage, but it still is evident on the disc. Hearn is far too over-the-top in places, and I prefer a brooding, intense sound to a "perfect note" sound in the voice. Sweeney is a dangerous, intense sort, served better by the quite deadly style.

I know it is sacrilege in a thread like this, but Cerveris is doing a marvelous, dark, intense Sweeney right now.

---

What's strange is that I've always preferred Cariou's performance, and I've only heard the OBC. While Hearn sings wonderfully, he always seems awkward in the role...

Warning: "My Opinions" ahead

Sweeney, to me is crazy through and through. Someone who has been locked away for a long time wouldn't be as calm as Len was in the beginging. Hearn portrayed him the way I immagined him...effing crazy. Len, don't get me wrong, was a wonderful Sweeney, but the two CAN NOT be compared. George's take was a full on looney and Len's take was a more subdued looney. Sure, I'm going to favor Hearn becuase he was Albin/ZaZa, The Wizard, and other amazing roles, but Len has been dissapearing slowly and I guess since the only video of Sweeney Todd is the tour with Hearn, that's the one everyone's going to think the best...so let's just leave the conversation to rest knowing that they can't be compared.

Certainly the two CAN be compared as several people have been doing it. There is no definitive answer as to who is "better" but a comparison is both accurate and important.
I did not compare the "performances," since I was unfortunate enough never to see either. Hearing Len on the Cast recording and seeing George on the DVD, I still prefer Len. Because in comparing them, the intense internal loonacy is my personal preference. I agree totally with Pab's post on "predictablity," with an internal Sweeney there is really no telling what he might do, and since it is circumstance that drives him to his actions, he becomes a chatacter one may be more inclined to "like."

I may also prefer Cerveris to either, but that is because he combines the internal simmering lunacy with that essential third element, I saw him do it live. I am not saying he is better, but being able to see him in person makes him more effective for me.

---