Liz Smith: Cyndi May Cop Role For Sweeney Todd

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:16am

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/lifestyle/bal-to.liz25apr25,1,5566233.story?coll=bal-artslife-today

Girl who wants to have fun may be up for 'Todd' role
Liz Smith

Originally published April 25, 2005

IMAGINE THIS! Broadway's most distinguished living composer is Stephen Sondheim, and his 1979 musical Sweeney Todd is a priceless jewel in his crown. Recently, Todd was revived in London with an odd production wherein the cast played musical instruments while singing and acting.

In October this production is coming to Broadway with seven producers listed. So who do you think is rumored to play the female leading role of Mrs. Lovett of meat-pie fame? Why, none other than Cyndi Lauper, pop-queen-turned-chanteuse, now to be a legit stage star?

She'd be following in the footsteps of the original Tony-winning Mrs. Lovett, Angela Lansbury

[apdarcey]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:20am

did you not see the numerous other threads devoted to this?

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:31am

No I haven't. This is the first time I've been to this board.
And this is the first I've heard of columnist Liz Smith giving an almost confirmation to Cyndi Lauper getting the part.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:38am

here you go... not to mention the cover story on the website. but thank you for the liz smith article..

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 9:53am

How does a rumor translate to "almost conformation"?

[Plum]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 10:05am

This is a gossip columnist we're talkgin about.

[rcalhoun]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:09pm

Updated On: 4/25/05 at 01:09 PM

[rcalhoun]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 1:09pm

Liz Smith is not your 'average' run of the mill gossip columnists.


She's a reliable source, and has an excellent track record when reporting entertainment news.


I believe Cyndi Lauper has a very good chance of getting this role.

Lets just wait and see what happens:)

Updated On: 4/25/05 at 01:09 PM

[Shirley Hemphill]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 2:17pm

i don't see what the problem would be if Lauper did indeed get the role? Cyndi Lauper is a Grammy award winning artist & Emmy award winning actress -- She's got an amazing & powerful voice & great comedic timing & skills. Plus she's a name who can help publicize the show & do all the morning, daytime & nightime talk shows & promote the hell out of it -- and sell actual tickets.

i see no problem whatsover with the possibility of Lauper getting this role.

and... Liz Smith usually isn't wrong. If you read it in her column, it's either true -- or what someone wants us to think is true. :)

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 3:13pm

Will Cyndi Lauper Make "The Worst Pies in London" for New Broadway Sweeney Todd?
By Ernio Hernandez
25 Apr 2005

Pop songstress Cyndi Lauper is in the running for the Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd heading for Broadway this fall, Playbill.com has learned.

Steven Baruch, Thomas Viertel, Marc Routh and Richard Frankel will co-present the work with Ambassadors Theatre Group (whom recently co-produced a run with The Watermill Theatre at the West End's New Ambassador Theatre). Adam Kenwright and Maidstone Productions are also attached to present.

A source confirmed to Playbill.com what New York dailies are reporting, that Lauper has auditioned for the stageshow's lead role of Mrs. Lovett. The role was originated on Broadway by Angela Lansbury in a Tony Award-winning turn. No official casting has been announced.

A recent casting notice reveals that the role would require an actress who "Ideally, plays trumpet, glockenspiel, cymbals or other instruments, but may not play an instrument." Lauper has performed on a number of instruments including guitar, dulcimer, zither, recorder, bass recorder, omnichord, banjo, ukelele, tin whistle, and drums among others.

Lauper is known for her 1980's hit debut album "She's So Unusual" which included the hits "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "She-Bop," "Time After Time" and "All Through the Night." She has appeared on film in "Vibes," "Off and Running," "Life With Mikey" and "The Opportunists." Lauper lent her voice to the recent Roundabout Theatre Company Sondheim and Manhattan Theater Club fundraising galas as well as helped announce last season's Tony Award nominations. She appeared in the 2001 summer run of David Henry Hwang's Largo at the New York Stage and Film and is at work on a musical theatre project, Find Me, with Rosie O'Donnell.

Director John Doyle — who staged the London run — will rejoin musical director arranger Sarah Travis for the work slated to begin previews stateside in September and open in October.

The unique staging casts actor-musicians to retell the story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and company. A cast of nine actors (with no ensemble) will be required to perform on instruments ranging from flute, glockenspiel, trumpet and clarinet to piano, cello, accordion and double bass.

The new staging of Sweeney Todd — which features music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler — uses the adaptation by Christopher Bond. The story follows a vengeful barber in Victorian England and his neighbor who owns a pie shop that has recently come into favor due to a surplus of meat pies.

The work made its Broadway debut Feb. 6, 1979 starring Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury — both earned Tony Awards for their turns. Harold Prince directed the 1979 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. The work was also seen in Washington, D.C. as part of the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration with stars Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski. Mitchell has gone on the record as wanting to play Todd on Broadway.

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/92550.html


There's No Time Like The Present....
Updated On: 4/25/05 at 03:13 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 3:52pm

Did anyone see her in that pop star salute to Broadway that was on Bravo a couple of years ago? First, she needs a crash course in acting, then at least a year with a speech/dialect coach. I love Cyndi's music, but I think Mrs. Lovett is a bit far-fetched. The only thing confirmed is that she auditioned for the show as did countless others, I assume.

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 3:59pm

Yes...and she was fantastic.
She did "There's No Business Like Show Business," and was terrific.
Cyndi will make an incredible Broadway debut(fingers crossed). She can sing(like there's no tomorrow), act both comedy and drama, and has incredible comedic timing.
She has an Emmy Award...doesn't need any crash course in acting. But I can name countless others on Broadway(on and off that can use a few courses).

.................................................................
There's No Time Like The Present Updated On: 4/25/05 at 03:59 PM

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:08pm

as I posted on another thread - just rent Vibes and watch her performance - she's wonderful in a cute little film, and at one point she sings in a very legit voice and it is beautiful.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/25/05 at 4:45pm

"She did 'There's No Business Like Show Business,' and was terrific."

I love Lauper, but that was cringe-worthy. She kept doing the here-are-my-palms thing and and shaking her head as if she were asking the audience questions. It made no sense at all. I think she's cute, but I haven't seen her doing anything that suggest she could take on Mrs. Lovett. Who knows? Maybe she'll surprise me.

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 11:00am

Either you get into Cyndi Lauper or you don't. There's no in between. It's a love or hate thing- like Streisand.
It doesn't make sense that you say you love her music and then talk about her performance on Bravo as if you can't stand her.

????

http://www.pbase.com/germando/image/28479204
Updated On: 4/26/05 at 11:00 AM

[thejoker]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 11:47am

Matt, it's your opinion and I have to respect that, but you also missed the point as to why Cyndi was asking the audience questions and nodding her head...she was supposed to be an usher, handing out programs, and asking the crowd if they were enjoying the show, before and after she sang. That was the reason for the bow tie and the red jacket thing. As for 'here- are-my-palms...'I don't remember that.
Updated On: 4/26/05 at 11:47 AM