Sweeney Todd at NJPAC?

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 1:24am

has anyone seen it? it was playing from the 17th until this sunday. the star ledger gave it a good review..

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts/index.ssf/2009/07/jersey_teens_are_bloody_magnif.html

i just bought a ticket for this sunday. it's my first time seeing Sweeney (minus the movie, which i wasn't fond of)so hopefully it's good.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 1:40am

I must be the one to chime in and say that the DVD with Angela and George Hearn is absolutely the pinnacle of what you must check out if you have interest in this show, which clearly you do.

I am very interested in this NJPAC production but will not be able to see it, so definitely revisit this thread and relay your thoughts on it if you are able! :)

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 10:20am

the show is transfering to the Algoquin theater in Manasquan, NJ. i'll give it a review sunday night. hopefully i can make the train back and grab a ticket to the final norman conquests show.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 10:45am

I'm pretty sure this is a youth production... as in, the oldest you could be is a senior in high school.

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 11:05am

the age range says it's 15-22

[tothestage615]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 11:18am

it is a youth production, but it's not a high school production. unfortunately i won't be able to see it, but i know a couple of people in it and i've heard nothing but really good things about it (not that they're biased or anything lol) so i'm sure it would be worth it to check it out. do let us know what you thought, yay_gerb, i'm curious. enjoy!

[jagfkb]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 11:21am

Personally knowing a few of the actors, I must say to RUN, don't walk, to see this show. From the performers alone, you're in for a treat. Add in the fact that they're doing Sweeny Todd, perfectly if I may say so myself, I'm asking why you're not already buying tickets right now!

[mattrob]

Posted: 7/23/09 at 2:33pm

Here is a promo vid for the production:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwAoWNYpCes

We run at NJPAC until Sunday and begin performances at the Algonquin Arts Theatre in Manasquan, NJ on 7/31. We close there on 8/9. njpac.org and algonquinarts.com for tickets. Thank you for the support!

[TISHI LOLO 15]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 12:18am

This was recently written by Peter Filichia of the Star Ledger:

...Though this weekend, you could also easily travel 12 miles west across the river and get to Newark. Why, you ask? The New Jersey Youth Theatre is doing Sweeney Todd.

What, you’re saying – children doing Sweeney Todd? No, not quite; teens and twentysomethings under the direction of Cynthia Meryl, an original cast member of “Nine.” It’s handsomely produced by her husband Ted Agress, who appeared in the original Shenandoah and Dear World.

What a school they run! What productions! I’m certain that someday you’ll hear about Kevin Melendez (a very centered Sweeney) and Jaclyn Ingoglia (a saucy Mrs. Lovett). They and the astonishingly accomplished cast do every word Hugh Wheeler wrote and every song Sondheim penned. This was hardly Sweeney Todd, Jr. Even the Judge’s “Johanna” is included – and good thing it is. Take it from someone who’s seen Sweeney 12 times dating from the first New York preview, I’ve never heard anyone sing this difficult piece of material better than Adam Bashian does here.

The show continues this weekend in Newark, before then moving to far-off Manasquan. Even that shlep would be worth it, but why not take a New Jersey Transit train to from Penn Station New York to Penn Station Newark? You’ll find yourself there in less than 20 minutes. The intimate Victoria Theatre is a handsome part of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and is only a 10-minute walk at best from the train station. (www.njyouththeatre.org)

My aforementioned girlfriend Linda, a demanding theatergoer who’s notorious for walking out of about half the shows we see – and who has very little patience for kid performers – reluctantly attended (even though for years I’d raved about the troupe’s Ragtime, Carousel, and 1776). But on the ride home, she said not once, but twice, “I’ll go see anything they do from now on.” Even though she wasn’t in New York, she didn’t feel as if she were missing anything...

link: http://www.theatermania.com/peterfilichia/index.cfm?date=20090724

Better get your TIX for the NJPAC soon! We have three performances left!
(Of course there is always our tour down to Manasquan July 31st - August 9th)

njpac.org or algnquinarts.com
Updated On: 7/25/09 at 12:18 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 12:25am

I love how Mrs. Lovett looks exactly like Helena Bonham Carter. Was that a requirement?

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 12:29am

Did they REALLY need to include the Judge's Johanna? That's a bit of a turn-off for me. The last thing I need to see is a teenager perform that number.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 12:38am

I love how Mrs. Lovett looks exactly like Helena Bonham Carter. Was that a requirement?

haha, I noticed that, too! I read an interview with her and the actor playing Sweeney, and I honestly had to cringe a little when she said the movie was her first exposure to the show.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 2:02pm

^ just made me cringe too. the same with a teenager performing the Judge's "Joanna"

Updated On: 7/25/09 at 02:02 PM

[THDavis]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 3:44pm

A production company in Minnesota is performing Sweeney Todd true to it's original staging using primarily actors between 18-22 with some older performers as well (including the Beadle and Judge Turpin). They've put many rehearsal videos online, here's the link to their opening in rehearsal.
Sweeney Todd at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center

[jagfkb]

Posted: 7/25/09 at 4:46pm

Just so you know, he's NOT a teenager, but 20 years old, and an Upcoming Junior in college. He (Adam Bashian) directed/ starred (as Sweeney) in a production of Sweeney Todd at my high school two years ago for a senior project, and might I say it was incredible.