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#126

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 5:52pm

Angela Lansbury was certainly guilty of plenty of mugging and even over-playing by the time the Sweeney national tour was taped, but the major difference - for me at least - is that I was watching Mrs. L mug and play in that case. It felt like it was part of her British music hall esque character. On yesterday's broadcast, I just felt like I was watching "Emma Thompson" with a different accent.

#127

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 6:25pm

I liked it. Terfel was better than I anticipated and I thought Audra McDonald, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Erin Mackey stole the show. Emma Thompson made me laugh which I think is what she set out to do so mission accomplished. Her head voice was indeed unpleasant and unnecessary as I feel like any vocal coach worth their salt could have shown her other ways to sing it. Christian Borle and Jeff Blumenkrantz were miscast. It wasn't their fault that they were awful in these roles. The shouldn't have been on the stage. For a concert, I didn't mind the urban spray painted background and the costumes for the male ensemble seemed to be inspired by the Cabaret revival with actors in various states of undress but I didn't find it distracting. If it had been a full production I might feel differently.

#128

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 6:28pm

First I must state that I have never much cared for the score much in the past, but decided to watch anyway. I will admit that I could only take soo much of it before I had to stop watching, take a break, and after, watch some more. Overall, it was pretty boring but it had it's moments.
Emma Thompson's singing was not that great, but her acting made up for it. I felt that she balanced Terfel's more flat acting. Audra was of course a scene stealer and was a delight (As to be expected!). I was bored through most of it- but that is how it's always been for me (But that's me). The style of music really does my head in but with breaks in-between was able to make it through. But at the end of it all, I thought it was good, but I was left with a headache. LOL. Hence the gif.

Darreyl with an L!

#129

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 6:43pm

I think there's a certain amount of mugging that Mrs. Lovett should be expected to do; the interpretations of her I prefer (and that includes Thompson here as well as the incomparable Lansbury) are the battier, nuttier, more unhinged takes. The mugging is usually a strong counterpoint to Sweeney, who has a particularly extreme darkness to his humor and is unrelentingly bleak without her nuttiness. The audience needs her, but the story needs her too. She has, in my favorite interpretations, an element of the sad clown archetype. She's so twisted up in her loony business she's clownish, but it's rooted in a deep, all-consuming obsession. So for an actress to play her clownish is not a problem for me unless it's unmoored from her desperation.

This is why I don't think a diva like LuPone or Peters should play her. I thought Patti was dreadful in the Doyle revival, and watching Emma in this broadcast I realized that, in addition to all of what I've already said, I can never accept LuPone as anything but a diva: and Mrs. Lovett, in her "times is hard" rags and desperate lunacy, is far from a diva.

Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 06:43 PM

#130

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 7:11pm

"Surely they knew they were being recorded for television, and they should have done something to modulate their performances accordingly, and I'd expect a director with any sense to have seen to it."

I don't think this is possible. There were, I think, five performances and if I'm not mistaken they recorded all of them, but at least three were recorded.

The concert hall is so huge that they had to play to the back of the house. It's a hard call, but they had to play to the live audience.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#131

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 7:48pm

I'm wondering if those of you who were raving about this staging this past Spring saw the broadcast. Any additional thoughts? I imagine this is where the "you had to be there" comments come in.

#132

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 7:50pm

The PBS website video of the concert isn't watchable in certain regions (including mine)

They let us watch the Carousel concert so I had hoped... oh well.

#133

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 7:52pm

Fan - get the "Hola" web extension/add-on for Google Chrome or Firefox. It allows your browser to "trick" a website into thinking you're logging on from a different region. I use it to sometimes watch British Netflix from the US.

#134

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:16pm

"I don't think this is possible. There were, I think, five performances and if I'm not mistaken they recorded all of them, but at least three were recorded. "

I don't think they did record all of them (at least, I attended two performances and I recall that the 'opening night' did not have cameras, but a later performance did). But I absolutely agree that the 'mugging' is just the unfortunate reality that this was a live performance playing to an absolute barn. I actually think that if anything, when seeing it live Emma Thompson was too 'subtle' - I felt like a million miles away and I was in the premium orchestra. It's not a great venue to deliver an acting performance.

"Changed keys or not, Bernadette is vocally wrong. The role should be sung by someone with a strong music hall voice, and Bernadette doesn't have that aspect to her voice."

The idea that Bernadette does not have the voice for this role when we have people like Emma Thompson and Imelda Staunton getting acclaim in the role is so ridiculous it is laughable! I see the challenge for Bernadette to be about stamina/being able to work through the fast sections of "Worst Pies" and "God That's Good" (which are barely even sung), but Bernadette will very easily be able to sing the 'sung' parts of the score like Poor Thing, My Friends, Wait, and the relevant parts of Not While I'm Around. Her warm, slow vibrato/classic vulnerability will bring new life to these songs in particular.

I know this idea does not sit well with others, but I would love to see Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin reunite for a performance of Sweeney Todd. Mandy Patinkin seems so unhinged it would work well for the character, and I would love to hear them sing "My Friends" together. He still can sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MCVsMSsIJU

Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 08:16 PM

#135

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:23pm

I saw the show from 8th row center orchestra and loved the staging. I didn't really care for the broadcast last night because I did not hear the Philharmonic clearly. I WAS sitting on my couch saying "you had to be there" and thank God I was.

I didn't think the camera work was that great but I am still grateful I had a chance to see it again courtesy of PBS. For me, Jay Armstong Johnson and Audra were the highlights.

#136

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:26pm

"I attended two performances and I recall that the 'opening night' did not have cameras"

The PBS broadcast has a curtain call including Lonny Price and Steven Sondheim. Was that not opening night or did Sondheim attend another night?

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#137

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:31pm

Wait, what? When did Sondheim join the curtain call? Did I miss that?

#138

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:40pm

"Wait, what? When did Sondheim join the curtain call? Did I miss that?"

He comes out of the audience at the very end of the curtain call. Look on the PBS website link around the 2:22:50 mark.

If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 08:40 PM

#139

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 8:58pm

I'm watching it right now. Love Emma Thompson's acting choices. Really like Jay Armstrong Johnston a lot.. can't wait to see him in On the Town, and hopefully a lot of other things... he seems to be a complete triple threat package and a looker to boot! The kid playing Toby is so genuine and unforced... very nice to see. I don't need to say anything about Audra! Enjoying this so far, wish I had time to watch in a single sitting.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 08:58 PM

#140

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 9:53pm

Question: Did they have plastic water bottles during the time period Sweeney takes place? I remember in one scene, I think it was 'Worst Pies in London' in which Thompson hands Terfel a plastic Water Bottle - "Drink This, You'll Need It"

Darreyl with an L!

#141

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:01pm

^^^ No, they didn't have disposable plastic water bottles. The type of plastic used in bottles wasn't invented until the 20th century.

The use of the water bottle was (a) a joke, and (b) a way to get water to the leading man.

#142

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:05pm

They would have water bottles at any present day concert performance, regardless of when the story was set.

#143

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:07pm

Yes I get that, but it just seemed Weird and stood out to me- that is all.

Darreyl with an L!

#144

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:08pm

Wait, so they didn't use musical instruments to grind human flesh in victorian times either?

Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.

Updated On: 9/27/14 at 10:08 PM

#145

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:25pm

Who cried during Nothing's Gonna Harm You? That song is so beautiful.

#146

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:32pm

"Wait, do they didn't use musical instruments to grind human flesh in victorian times either?"

@ qolbinau - you might want to edit that. LOL

Darreyl with an L!

#147

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 10:36pm

Whoops :P

Give me claws and a hunch, just away from this bunch.

#148

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/27/14 at 11:07pm

He and Eddie Korbich - best Tobys I've seen. And this kid is 16!

#149

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/28/14 at 12:02am

Haven't watched it all yet (up until The Contest), but the first chunk was pretty great IMO. One of the few moments I really didn't enjoy was Terfel's acting in the scene between Poor Thing and My Friends. He seemed so.... Unconcerned... But I thought his voice was phenomenal. And the orchestra itself made up for any major issues I had with the production as a whole.

Also, did anyone think the woman playing Johanna (who was absolutely amazing) looked a little like a really young and blonde Ana Gasteyer? Something about her face really made me think she looked like her.

#150

Sweeney Todd PBS

Posted: 9/28/14 at 1:02am

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always been a fan of Terfel and appreciated his subtlety and that superb, rich, deep voice. Emma Thompson was definitely entertaining despite some vocal choices ( and abilities). Kyle Brenn has such a great future ahead of him.

I really liked the staging of the opening song as it transitioned from the traditional concert performance with music stands into the costumes and staging around the orchestra. The whole time I was watching it, I kept telling myself, " I wish I could have seen it live".

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