Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury, Cariou, etc.
Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury, Cariou, etc.
#1Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury, Cariou, etc.
Posted: 11/29/07 at 7:03pm
From the LA Times:
Sondheim shows 'Sweeney Todd' to Lansbury and pals.
Composer Stephen Sondheim obviously is quite proud of Tim Burton's screen adaptation of his "Sweeney Todd."
He held private screenings for V.I.P.s in London last week and in New York City last night. At the Manhattan unveiling were lots of stars who appeared in past productions, including two who won Tony Awards for originating the lead roles on Broadway in 1979 — Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou — plus Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters, who starred in subsequent productions. Also Hal Prince, who won a Tony for directing the 1979 show.
"Ms. Lansbury stayed and chatted after the screening for about an hour before we took her to her car," a studio rep reports.
Attending the London screening: Paul McCartney, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Barbara Cook, Trevor Nunn and Cameron Macintosh.
Tonight "Sweeney" will be shown to U.S. media in New York and Los Angeles for the first time. I'll be at the New York screening being held at AMC Lincoln Square at 7 p.m. ET. Technically, there's an embargo against reviewing the film, but I think we journos are permitted to give general impressions and report on audience reax. Afterward, I will report what I can.
Posted by tomoneil on November 29, 2007
#2re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 7:38pm
At the Manhattan unveiling were lots of stars who appeared in past productions, including two who won Tony Awards for originating the lead roles on Broadway in 1979 — Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou — plus Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters, who starred in subsequent productions.
...Peters has never appeared in a production of SWEENEY TODD.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 11/29/07 at 07:38 PM
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
ashbash1990
Broadway Star Joined: 10/15/06
#2re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 7:40pmI'm interested to know what past stars thought of the movie... Why wasn't Michael Cerveris invited?
What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin!
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#3re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 7:44pm
It doesn't say the entire guest list.
Plus, Cerveris is doing Cymbeline.
#4re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 8:22pmhas Peters ever sung Lovett in a concert? or... a any song from the show? or were they just a poorly researched Times reporter?
that's a really big mic...
#5re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 8:31pmI would have loved to be at that screening.
I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.
#6re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 8:33pm
"I would have loved to be at that screening."
ME TOO! I wonder what they all thought.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#7re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 8:36pm
Um, EVERYONE knows that Bernadette Peters was the FINAL Mrs. Lovett when the original Broadway run ended. This prompted Sondheim to use her for SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE.
#8re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 8:41pm
...plus Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters, who starred in subsequent productions...
It seems odd that LuPone would be there - didn't she once say that she doesn't like to revisit the memories of productions she's been in?
Then again, she seemed to really love the time she spent on SWEENEY...
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
#9re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 9:12pmI'd like to have heard opinions in that article, but cool news.
Parks
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/04
#10re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 9:43pmI had no idea she did Sweeney Todd! Interesting!
"If it walks like a Parks, if it wobbles like a Parks, then it's definitely fat and nobody loves it." --MA
#11re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 9:55pmWho, Bernadette? She was never in it.
#12re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:25pm
I have a feeling Patti may be softening on that. There was an article on her not long ago (You all probably read it) but it talked about how she cried on her porch when she didn't get a part she wanted and it just seemed, from the tone of the article, that even though she is kind of a diva, she is ready to relax, so to speak, a bit. It sounded like she really wants to be back on Broadway and she kinda has to put herself out there. Some of us know her from tv a long time ago, but there is a new generation of fans she has to cultivate, so to speak.
And just a Sweeney Todd thought (Thought I would put it here). I just saw an interview with Nicole Kidman where she said she would like to Work with Johnny Depp...uh huh, I am going to say it....I started wondering what she would do with the role of Mrs Lovett? I'm kinda picturing it! Just my random thoughts!
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#13re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:37pm
Well her take on Mrs. Lovett, as a woman with so much plastic surgery that she no longer can show emotion might be itneresting but I'd prefer an actress who looks vaguely human.
PS Bernadette Peters never played Mrs. Lovett.
#14re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:46pmMaybe Bernadette should play Mrs. Lovett.
#15re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:49pmI thought that about Kidman, especially whe that surgery was REALLY evident. But she went to someone and got it fixed. It is still evident, but not as much as it was a while ago. I think she could have possibly pulled it off.
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#16re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/29/07 at 11:54pmI can't seen Bernadette in the role at all. I think if she was right for it, she would've have played it a while ago.
ashbash1990
Broadway Star Joined: 10/15/06
#17re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:34amI could totally see Bernadette as Lovett, shame it hasn't been done... Why does Patti need to cultivate a new generation of fans? I am a huge fan of her's just from cast recordings...
What a night! I was in more laps than a napkin!
#18re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:46amI guess that was for lack of a better term. She just hasn't been on the boards as much over the years as other actresses have. (I had a long "explanation" typed but scratched it! getting tired.)
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder
#19re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:53amI'm not a Sweeney Todd fann, but I do think Bernadette would be a good Mrs. Lovett.
philcrosby
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/17/04
#20re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:23amIf Peters could sing it (and one never knows how much strain that little voice can take), she would make an excellent Lovett. Very slatternly!
#21re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:32amI'm pretty sure I heard Bernadette had screen tested for the part.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#22re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:05am
Noone is hoping for success here more than me, but this guy is a gossip columnist...not a real critic.
I never trust reviews that talk so heavily about whether the film, it's director, or it's stars deserve oscars. It's so....gossipy.
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"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#23re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 11:14am
There was a rumor that Peters screen-tested for the role indeed, but then again, there was a rumor about just every actress in Hollywood who fit a certain age-range.
She would make a fabulous Mrs.Lovett and I'm surprised she is yet to tackle the role.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
flamingo
Understudy Joined: 5/18/03
#24re: Sweeney Todd private screening last night given by Sondheim to Lansbury
Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:24pm
To answer the question by JulianHookbucks, did Bernadette ever sing Lovett or a song...
Yes she sang "Johanna" in her concert in 1996 at Carnegie Hall (Sondheim, Etc), also repeated at her 1998 London concert (recorded on video). Her interpretation is stunning.
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