Sweeney OBC Set- Page 2

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 10:37am

If you have some old Tony Awards footage that might help you out. The Gershwin was the most popular site for the Tonys before they were moved to Radio City in the late 90s.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:17am

On the sides of the set were staircases and platforms. On stage right, there was a structure on the second level that represented Judge Turpin's house. Actually, this was all in the national tour and can be seen on the DVD.

Some people did complain about the original production that there was a huge set and much of it wasn't used very often. Which was true, but I wasn't bothered by it.
Updated On: 10/2/08 at 11:17 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:20am

You can't really tell from the pics, but that catwalk/bridge unit was able to move from upstage to downstage. On the touring set, it stayed at the upstage wall.

And for those who've only seen the video of the tour, the orignal set had a trapdoor. During the organ prelude, two workers were seen digging a grave. Later, a body wrapped in cloth was thrown in. Sweeney then emerged from the trap. On the tour, the body was tossed in the oven, and Sweeney & Lovett both came out of the oven.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:12pm

That's not entirely true of the tour. On the LA DVD, you can very clear see George Hearn entering from behind and around the oven at the end of the Ballad (although he wouldn't be seen from the audience due to the chorus).

And I believe at the end Sweeney and Lovett just walked on.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 7:20pm

This just needs a bump, incase someone might have a pic or two!

[lakezurich]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 9:21pm

Wow... I feel so very stupid. I always thought the DVD was of the Broadway production, not the touring production. And in what parts of the DVD can you see the side sections?

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 9:34pm

Jon, did the bridge move side to side as well AND up and down? If so, that's pretty cool!

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 9:41pm

Lake, the side sections where removed for the touring production.
The production drawing on the first page is for the full New York production.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 9:56pm

Ok. nobodyhome said that they were included, and can be seen in the DVD, and I was very confused, because I most definitely have never seen them on the DVD I have. LOL.

[Jon]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 10:09pm

The bridge moved vertically (up and down) and forward and back (from upstage to downstage).

[James885]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 10:48pm

Didn't the bridge on the tour move upstage/downstage as well as vertically? I could have sworn it did because on the DVD, in the "No Place Like London" sequence the bridge is further downstage, and then later in Act II during "Johanna", it's further upstage. Or did the tour have more than one bridge?

[Mythus]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:06pm

I have a libretto that came with cassettes of the original cast recording, it has some good pictures in it that I'd never seen previous to purchasing it. I can't remember if there's any good pictures of the set, I should look.

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 1:55pm

I might be wrong, but I think the tour had two bridges. Anyone know for sure?

[morosco]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 2:08pm

I might be wrong, but I think the tour had two bridges. Anyone know for sure?

You are correct. The bridge downstage was used for the opening scene with Todd and Anthony and later for Joanna and Anthony during City on Fire. The upstage bridge was used during Kiss Me/Ladies in Their Sensitivities.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 2:38pm

Wasn't there also some safety issue with the bridge? I remember reading that (due to concerns of the bridge crashing down on actors) they installed a safety chain (sort of like a roller coaster) to SLOWLY lower the bridge if there were problems. I think Angela and Len were under it and heard the clicking of the safety chain and stepped forward to avoid injury. Anyone else recall that?

[wickedfan]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 2:49pm

Yes, Paul Gemignani discussed that in an interview for the Sweeney Todd movie. I think it's on the DVD special features. I don't have a scanner, but anyone who has the libretto of the show, there are two major pictures of the set. One is of it being loaded in (construction workers on the stage, platforms being built etc.) and the other one is of the stage from the view of the mezzanine during Pirelli's Miracle Elixir. Needless to say it was a massive set. I'm a fan of the craft that went into it, but I personally don't think it works entirely for Sweeney. Even Sondheim states that though it worked for Prince's interpretation of the show, it was too big to have the full effect that was intended for the show.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 3:34pm

Well, I had NEVER seen Sweeney in any format prior to seeing the revival . . . I was BLOWN AWAY! I sat sobbing in my seat at the end. I thought it was a very powerful telling of the story. My partner saw the original and HATED it, but was also blown away by the revival. One of the reasons he didn't like the original was that he felt the story got lost in the massiveness of the Uris, massiveness of the set, etc. I saw the DVD of the original (tour) and appreciated it, but wasn't as moved by the story.

I'm sure seeing the original live, I might have had a different reaction . . . I wish I would have had the opportunity, but it didn't happen.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 10/3/08 at 8:50pm

I so rarely watch the national tour video that I'd forgotten that they'd cut down on the side sections. There are staircases and there's a door at the top of the stairs on stage right, but it's much less than in the Broadway production.

The side areas really were not used much in the Broadway production.

I do think that sketch is perhaps a little deceptive in making the side areas appear larger than they were (though it may also be that my memory is inaccurate). One thing I'd forgotten about is that somewhere on the sides (I can't remember now if it was stage right or stage left) there was some sort of machine with wheels perhaps or something that made a mechanical repetitive circular motion. The machine was started by a foreman shortly before the show started and it even made a little bit of a noise, which continued through the organ prelude. But once the first "Ballad" started, the machine was shut off.

Does anyone remember more detail about that?