Sweeney Todd Review (11/05)

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 11/6/05 at 2:02am

Just got back from seeing SEENEY TODD and I just felt like I had to post. I got SRO seats and ended up standing next to a wonderful man from San Diego who saw the original production when it first opened. So here's the review:

The Actors/Musicians/Stagehands/EVERYTHING:
They were all incredible. To be able to do EVERYTHING in a show and make it seamless is, I imagine, a very tough job but they pulled it off perfectly.
Miss LuPone was a fantastic Mrs. Lovett. She completly embodied the character and made every part of her time on the stage part of the character. This was most evident when she dinged the triangle.
Michael Cerveris was incredible as Sweeney. He had a very dark take on the role and was truly scary.
Manoel Felciano was AMAZING as Tobias and was a real scene stealer (even though I highly doubt it was intentional). I'm still not quite sure how he could play the difficult Sondheim score on the violin while singing the songs.
I thought everyone else was incredible as well. I didn't quite get the point of having Jonas Fogg as a character but John Arbo was very good and was CONSTANTLY playing the bass. I also didn't quite get why Doyle decided to cast a woman as Pirelli but Donna Lynne Champlin had such stage presence both while she was acting and playing her various instruments.
THE SHOW IN GENERAL:
I have been a huge fan of this show for many years and was so excited to finally get to see it on stage. I feel that the actors playing the instruments in no way hindered their performances and, perhaps, even helped them.
I also understood the insane asylum thing right away but as I was leaving I heard many people discusing why the director would do that. I believe that the insane asylum was perhaps the most real aspect of his staging. It shows what would have actually happened once Toby was found.
The one thing I didn't quite understand was the small coffin but I believe it resembles Todd's prior life and how he still carries it with him.
My favorite part of the show was probably A Little Priest. The chemistry between LuPone and Cerveris was perfect.

THIS WAS A WONDERFUL SHOW AND I WILL PROBABLY GO TO SEE IT AGAIN BEFORE IT CLOSES.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/6/05 at 2:12am

Oh man, Jacob! I was there! I wish I had known you were seeing it!

I saw the show tonight, and it was absolutely rockin'! Patty and Michael were ALL over each other. More so than usual. AND, when Michael threw the chair, it was with such force that the chair shattered.

On a different note, Michael forgot a few lines in the reprise of "Johanna" in the second act. It just seemed as though he went blank. He never broke character, though, and Patti sand a few bars to get him back on track. It was awesome!

Did you stage door the show afterwards? Maybe I saw you then.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 11/6/05 at 2:15am

I didn't know I was going until about 7:00 when I was walking past the theatre and said to myself "I'm going to see this show tonight"

I was going to stage door and actually stood for a few minutes but decided against it (I wanted to get back to my dorm at a reasonable time because I'm performing in a concert tomorrow).

Where were you sitting?

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/6/05 at 2:19am

He he...you are a better musician than I! I too have a concert tomorrow, but I stage doored the show anyway!

And oh, I was sitting in the front row.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 11/6/05 at 2:30am

"He he...you are a better musician than I!"

Musician??? NO! I am a singer.


I would love to sit in the front row but sadly I am a college student worth *runs to look in wallet* 2 dollars right now.