Les Mis vs. Sweeney — Page 5

Sanda earlier described Sweeney Todd as a musical about hate...which is not what it's about. It's about obsession and loss. Everyone in Sweeney is obsessed with someone or something, which leads their emotions to boil over into revenge or insane acts, ending in tragedy. In the original production, Harold Prince coupled that aspect of the material with the set's conceptual depiction of the Industrial Revolution dwarfing and engulfing the common man, and leading to nihilistic behavior. It was a framing device, but the material is so strong, it works just as well boiled down to its very essence - the obsessions that drive these characters.

I admired Les Miz's sweep and scale in production, as well as its attempt to take on a monumental book in a mere three hours, 15 minutes. I always tended to lose interest in it after Fantine passes away, however, finding Cosette, Marius and the students to be much less compelling. And as I mentioned earlier in this thread, the recycling of much of the Act One music in Act Two, with characters sharing themes for no reason whatsoever drove me berserk. Sondheim's use of leitmotif in the Sweeney score (such as the minuet that underscores all of the Beggar Woman's material, or when Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett's music clashes violently in the Finale) is vastly more theatrical and sophisticated. Sweeney is the grander, more enduring achievement and the better piece of writing, no question in my mind.

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