ThereIs1Director, I would like to attempt to answer your question about what makes Patti's performance good acting. This is only my opinion, so please take it for what it's worth (which isn't much... haha).
I think that the brilliance in Patti's performance lies in the subtleties. She has recreated that character from top to bottom. Nothing against Angela Lansbury at all, truly (I am a HUGE fan of hers and I didn't want to see the revival because I couldn't imagine any other Lovett), but when I saw Patti's performance, she made Mrs. Lovett somehow more likeable to me. I really *got* the characters motivation for her actions. It was just deeper, if that makes any sense.
If one wants to compare the two performances of Patti and LaChanze in terms of the emotion that they need to depict on their respected stages, you really can't. It's apples and oranges. LaChanze is expected to do perform gut-wrenching, over-the-top emotional scenes (and I don't mean "over-the-top" negatively at all) that are right in your face. Patti is expected to perform the dark and the deviant, the... "less obvious," if you will, and still make people care about the character in spite of her actions. For me, personally, that is the more difficult task and the most interesting.
Just one final thought. I have seen Sweeney Todd four times now, and never once did Patti look as though she lost interest. I had almost expected her to, in a way, but I did not get that vibe at all. Again, just my opinion.
"Of course there is the castle - the ruined castle. I find it lovely. Probably because it's ruined, I suppose." - Passion
Updated On: 6/8/06 at 11:57 AM