NY Times: Stephen Sondheim on Sweeney Todd film

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 11:56am

Sondheim talks to the NY Times' Jesse Green about the changes to Sweeney for the film version, and also shares his feelings about the film of West Side Story, as well as what might be his next stage musical to make the leap to screen.
Sondheim on Sweeney

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:05pm

Thanks for the link. What a fascinating interview. I especially enjoyed this quote due to the recent discussion on this board about how FOllies would work as a film. You could have a killer cast though!

"Even so, Mr. Sondheim said he thought some of his other shows could make the leap, especially “Company” and “Follies,” which is already in development with the director Sam Mendes and the writer Aaron Sorkin. When asked if he was willing to tear apart those great scores too, Mr. Sondheim said, “Oh yeah,” and described a gift from the librettist Peter Stone that now sits on his desk. It is in fact a slab of stone; carved into it are the words “Nothing is written in stone.”

[devonian.t]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:07pm

I worked on a very Marat/ Sade production of Sweeney, set in a lunatic asylum. The lunatics, dead and alive sang the Ballad. Sounds a little like the cut idea for the film.

It worked well.

[sondhead]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:19pm

Where did you ever get the idea to set it in an insane asylum? Not the John Doyle revival, did you?

You and every creativity-less regional theatre in the country.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:26pm

I don't get quite get why the mentally ill would talk about Sweeney Todd, unless the community production also had the link with Tobias.

Anyway, I want to know why they cut "Kiss Me" but left in "Ladies in Their Sensitivities." Bad choice, IMO.

Updated On: 12/15/07 at 12:26 PM

[sondhead]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:33pm

I think cinematically Kiss Me would be very hard to do because it is so static unless you count the suspense of the Judge and Beadle walking in on them, but I don't think the simultaneous singing/locations would work on film. Anyone who's seen the Now/Soon/Later montage of the Night Music film can tell you how uneffective that attempt was.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 12:51pm

The reasons why songs like "Kiss Me" were cut are explained in the article. Sondheim says:

"A song like ‘Kiss Me’ has its delights onstage if it’s played well, because it’s funny and silly, and I’ve always meant it to be suspenseful, because you worry if the Judge is going to discover the lovers. But that’s just not how the sequence in the movie is written, and if you don’t have that, then you’re stuck in the parlor with the lovers singing and singing and singing and singing and — nothing. So there’s no point."


As for "Ladies," the Beadle sings a bit of the "Excuse me my lord" section, but not the song itself (ie: "Ladies in their sensitivities, my lord/Have a fragile sensibility..." etc.). The "Excuse me my lord" melody remains, I believe, so that the Judge can sing the "You see sir a man infatuate with love" section a moment later prior to "Pretty Woman".

Updated On: 12/15/07 at 12:51 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:04pm

"Even so, Mr. Sondheim said he thought some of his other shows could make the leap, especially “Company” and “Follies,” which is already in development with the director Sam Mendes and the writer Aaron Sorkin."

What a thrilling prospect that would be.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:22pm

I think that if they cut "Kiss Me," they should have also cut "Ladies in Their Sensitivities." I think that the latter scene could be done pretty easily with dialogue.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:25pm

BUT they needed some of the melody from LADIES so the Judge could sing his parts in PRETTY WOMEN.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:27pm

True. I dunno. I've never really liked "Ladies in Their Sensitivities"; I only really listen to it because it leads into the second part of "Kiss Me."

[TomMonster]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:32pm

"Ladies in Their Sensitivities" is NOT in the movie. Just the lead in that is identical to the lead in to "Pretty Women."

"Kiss Me" in the film would have slowed the movie down to a crawl. You need to get the Judge in the chair sooner.

I didn't miss any of the cuts in the film version. It works fully on its own.

You still have the DVD of the original if you need to see the entire show!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 1:52pm

I don't need to hear every song in the movie. But I've heard that "Kiss Me"'s absence is felt in terms of Anthony and Johanna's relationship.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 12/15/07 at 2:10pm

I didn't feel that; their relationship is nicely developed. You'll love the Foggs nuthouse scene.