Sweeney

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:18pm

I just saw Sweeney Todd for the first time the other night... the one in concert with Patti Lupone and George Hearn. Nearly gave me a heart attack! I have always loved listening to the music, but watching the show was amazing! I can now say I'm in love with Neil Patrick Harris. I'm sure it wasn't really as great as the original stage versions, most of the stuff was pantomimed and not much was changed throughout the show. I really thought it was wonderful and just thought I'd share how pathetic I am with you guys. One more thing... Sorry to be stupid, but can anyone tell me what the sound is whenever someone gets killed? Thank you!

[WOSQ]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:24pm

Originally a steam whistle.

Sweeney will be presented at NY City Opera in March 2004 with huge pieces of the original NY scenery and directed by Hal Prince.

I think tix are on sale now.

[magruder]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:24pm

Sure. That sound is a factory whistle. It left over from the original Hal Prince staging which featured an enormous iron foundry on stage, dwarfing the actors (to suggest the dehumanization of humanity during the Industrial Revolution). The whistle going off during the murders is also a bit of a Grand Guignol scare tactic. The first time it went off during the original production, I nearly jumped into the row in back of me.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 3:27pm

magruder, I almost peed my pants... LoL. That's what I thought it was, but I couldn't be sure. Thank you for that information as well, WOSQ.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 4:30pm

And if you're a student with valid ID, go to the box office on the day of the show for NYCO (NY State Theatre). $10 student rush tickets are available after 4 PM. Damned good seats, too. I saw La Finta Giardiniera from the third row centre.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 4:46pm

The only problem with student rush is that the tix have to be available.

I think the Show Queens From Hell will come out of the woodwork for this one.

A Little Night Music went clean last March without substantial discounts.

Still, City Opera is where students in particular can see good adventuresome works for a tiny bit of money.

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 4:56pm

There was a VHS video released of the National Tour of Sweeney Todd, with Angela Lansbury and George Hearn in the leads. That video is out of print, although the last time I checked there were copies available on E-Bay (fairly pricey). There have also been reports on these Boards about plans to reissue that video in DVD format. If you enjoyed the LuPone/Hearn concert version, I'm sure you would enjoy seeing the almost-original-cast do their thing with the original staging and the touring scenery.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 4:57pm

Usually there's one performance where you can get in, though. If not, I've always been a fan of getting $12 fifth ring seats and then moving down at intermission.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 5:07pm

i've seen both and they're both wonderful in different ways. The sequence of "Sensitivities" with the Judge and Beadle taking a walk over the moving bridges and catwalks in the Lansbury one is beautifully staged, as is the "Kiss Me" duet done on a sofa as the barbershop spins. The camerawork of the first video really "opens up" the stage experience without being intrusive. Since i never got to see Lansbury do it live, it's a great record of the performance.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 5:15pm

I loved the concert. It had wonderful talent.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 10/31/03 at 7:49pm

How about a Sweeney Todd with all his victims NY critics ? Imagine Reidel's throat being cut. The only problem is who would eat meat pie ala Reidel ?

[tpdc]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 12:24am

TxTwoStep, Lansbury was better live on Broadway than she is on the video. I saw the final preview and her performance then was startling and chilling. Her tour performance seems more modeled on Dorothy Loudon's take on the role. A friend tells me that Lansbury molded Lovett to suit Hearn's Sweeney. Since he had spent months opposite Loudon, maybe that's true. Loudon's Lovett was much funnier and warmer than Lansbury. But Lansbury's was very brave and scared the hell out of you (and still got the laughs). I've loved all the Lovetts I've seen except for Christine Baranski, who was hysterical, but only played the laughs.

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 11/1/03 at 6:40am

I saw the Lansbury/Hearn Sweeney Todd tour at the Kennedy Center in 1979 (after having seen the show twice on Broadway). I felt at the time that the touring production was intended to emphasize whatever humor could be found in an otherwise dark tale. It is difficult to imagine now how shocking the subject matter of Sweeney was when it first opened. And note that the Judge's number involving whipping himself was cut from the original - but included in the recent Kennedy Center revival. I think they (director, actors) had to find ways to make the make the show as "entertaining" as possible for audiences in the touring cities. Even on Broadway, Lansbury's character was the more likeable one opposite Cariou's brooding Sweeney. It made it all the more surprising when her motives are revealed at the end.

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 11/2/03 at 6:51pm

I grew up listening to the music, because of my mom's side of the family, but I hadn't seen the real show up until then. I love Angela Lansbury, and have heard her recording, but Patti Lupone just did it for me.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 11/2/03 at 7:04pm

I was privileged to have seen the original production of Sweeney on Broadway - with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou (in fact it was the first show I actually saw on the Great White Way). Miss Lansbury's performance was electrifying - and the entire show was simply fantastic.

I've seen a number of productions of it since, including the original West End reproduction of Hal Prince's show and the RNT's presentation with Julia Mackenzie. It's a great show and every staging of it I've seen is thoroughly enjoyable but nothing has blown me away quite like the original.

The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden are doing it early next year - and I've already booked my ticket!

[PJ]

Posted: 11/2/03 at 7:05pm

I love Angela. I would have loved to have seen her live just once...in any show she's done.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/2/03 at 7:14pm

I saw the original Lansbury/Cariou production of SWEENEY TODD five times, and the Loudon version once. Then there was the vestpocket production (dubbed "Teeny Todd") starring Beth Fowler and Bob Gunton at Circle in the Square. I guess I saw the City Opera's version two or three times and I was at all three concert performances that Patti LuPone did with George Hearn at Avery Fisher Hall a few years ago (if you have the CD, you can hear me leading the cheers for the magnificent Patti LuPone at the end of "Best Pies in London").

By the way, is there any truth to the rumor that Sondheim is considering a "pre-quel" to this show? I understand it's to be called SWEENEY TODDLER and concerns an infant who crawls through the streets of London slashing people with his safety pin. The concept is interesting, if nothing else.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 8:52pm

dollypop, i'm hoping you were kidding when you said "Best Pies in London"....it's "Worst Pies In London"...ha ha...

[BroadwayPhil]

Posted: 11/13/03 at 8:34am

Though I never seen Sweeny live ever, It is one of my favorite shows. I got the recent Concert DVD and really tried to like it, everybody is great exept for Pattie LaPone. She just does not do it for me. Kinda ruins it for me. If they ever re-release the Lansbury / Hearn version, I'll be first in line to get it.