Sweeney on TCM?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:38pm

This is just a random comment/question...

Not sure what thread this should go in, but when I got home this evening I saw that TCM was airing Sweeney Todd. I assumed it would be an old film version, though our tv listings claimed it was the Depp version (which seemed odd for TCM but sometimes they show modern movies)--then I switched it on and it's the Hearn live filming. Has TCM shown filmed stage works before? (I'd love it if they started showing them weekly or something)

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:40pm

It's because Angela Lansbury is their star of the month. Definitely a nice treat.

[Sonia&Vernon]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 10:57pm

On occasion, TCM will show a non-film as part of their Star of the Month series. When Grace Kelly was Star of the Month, they showed some of her live television work and for Frank Sinatra, TCM showed a couple of televised concerts.

Updated On: 1/25/12 at 10:57 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:00pm

I just posted about this on the Off Topic Board, but Angela considers Mrs. Lovett to be THE role she will be remembered for.

So they're showing her most memorable work, according to her.

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:01pm

I was so excited when I saw that in guide. Gypsy, Funny Girl and There Is No Business Like Show Business were on earlier.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:04pm

TCM rocks. No question about it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:19pm

Whenever I watch this I'm reminded of just how much I hates that LuPone revival.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:43pm

^I second that!

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:43pm

double post. But I doubly hate it.

Updated On: 1/25/12 at 11:43 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 1/25/12 at 11:58pm

I like LuPone in the role, but I'm bummed I missed this. I've heard Angela on the OBC, but I've never actually seen her in this one.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 2:23am

Thanks for clearing that up.

CATS I believe you can find the DVD for relatively cheap. There are some flaws (I think some of the directing for the filming is a bit strange--the same director, Terry Hughes, did better later with Sunday, Betsy Jocelyn, who wasreportedly better earlier in her run, has a very manic and shrill--with vocals pitched up--take on Joanna, some say Lansbury is a bit too broad by this late point in the run being the end of the tour filmed in LA and I wish we had got Cariou, though Hearn is more than fine), but it's really worth seeing and does capture well the glorious Prince production.

[AADA81]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 3:38am

Most of Lansbury's film work available to TCM is in supporting roles (unusual for their star-of-the-month series) so showing "Sweeney" gives them a chance to feature her in a star part that also highlights her theater work. It's great because TCM's willingness to go outside the box means unusual programming gets aired, not ignored.

This version of ST is also available on DVD and is well worth seeking out. I saw the original Broadway production and except for Hearn and Groenendal in for Len Cariou and Victor Garber, this is a faithful representation that gives a feel for what that classic production was like in all its glory.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 4:51am

Just to be clear and at the ricks of ruining any reputation I may have ever had on here--I have had this production on video and then on DVD since I was 12 in 1992--but it is worth pointing out for those who don't have it

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 6:31am

It's also worth pointing out that George Hearn won an Emmy for his performance in this live/taped version of "Sweeney Todd," and he was competing directly against Lansbury in the same category.

They lumped both male and female performers in a catch-all category of Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. The competition was Lansbury, Billy Crystal on SNL, and both Patti LaBelle and Gregory Hines from "Motown Returns to the Apollo."

Hearn took home the award for playing Sweeney.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 8:40am

I was so happy to have been flipping channels and land on this just as it started

No matter how many times I see this production, I find something new and love it more.

Updated On: 1/26/12 at 08:40 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 8:46am

When I saw the listing on my cable guide, I thought it had to be a mistake, but I set my DVR and was thrilled to have recorded it.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 10:20am

i came across this showing last night on TCM and although i remember seeing this when it first ran on PBS, it was delightful to see again...now with that being said, i forgot how whimsical Angela played MRS. LOVETT...and through the years i have seen PATTI, CHRISTINE BARANSKI and of course HELENA BONHIM CATER do the role, (i love Angela Lansbury), but what i really like the most is the concert version that Patti did a few years ago with George Hearn...to me PATTI plays MRS. LOVETT, with a better mix of whimsy and passion...last night, GEORGE HEARN was the STAR in this PBS version

Updated On: 1/26/12 at 10:20 AM

[Rainbow High2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 12:59pm

I was watching it last night when I really should have been studying. But, I can multi-task! :)

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 2:11pm

I'm not sure "whimsical" is the word we want for Lansbury's portrayal of Lovett.

"Daft", maybe, but Lovett is too driven for whimsy. What makes that portrayal so brilliant is that ultimately we see she is just as bonkers as Todd. Worse, really, because he has a legitimate grievance. (For me, the moment Nellie's insanity became clear was "now and then you can do the guest in" in "By the Sea." Before that, I was so caught up in her manic energy, I was actually following her logic. I mean it was "such an awful waste" and a "downright shame".)

Lovett is the role for which Lansbury SHOULD be remembered! She was thrilling in MAME, deeply moving in GYPSY, but absolutely astonishing in SWEENEY! From the very first preview it was apparent one was watching a once-in-a-lifetime performance. (I mean HER lifetime, but, frankly, I haven't seen much to equal it in my lifetime either.)

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 2:29pm

Gaveston2...i dont disagree with your choice of daft v. whimsical. The dictionary has this about whimsical: "full of, actuated by, or exhibiting whims (see whim)). 2. a : resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially : lightly fanciful " ... but i am not sure i would ever use the word "driven" for Mrs. Loffet...she seems to react more to the immediate situation at hand, rather than have any long range plan as does TODD...therefore i see her as 'exhibiting whims', or more capricious in nature...to me it is TODD's rage the fuels the drama...

[morosco]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 2:38pm

"...Angela considers Mrs. Lovett to be THE role she will be remembered for."

I remember being surprised when I heard her say that. I thought it would be Murder She Wrote or Mame but maybe she was referring to Sweeney in an artistic achievement context?

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 3:09pm

^^^

Morosco, I'm sure that's what she meant. Lansbury's savvy enough to know that most people remember her from TV.

broadwaybaby, to some extent we're arguing angels on the head of a pin, so if I offend you, just say so and I'll apologize and back off.

But I think we should remember Nellie saved Todd's silver tools for decades, years during which she very much needed the money she could have gotten for them in a pawn shop. And she saved the tools without even knowing for sure that Todd would ever return. (He was "transported there for life", you'll recall.)

Later, the whole meat pie enterprise is HER idea, not his, and obviously it is hers to execute while Todd fiddles with his barber chair. So I don't agree she merely goes where the wind blows and never plans ahead (except in the film, where Bonham Carter's portrayal is a crime, or rather, criminal negligence). Frankly, Nellie Lovett doesn't have time for anything I'd call "whimsy".

Lovett's drive is for middle-class respectability; more than anything, she wants to be a member of the petty bourgeoisie. That requires a successful shop AND a proper husband (Todd) AND eventually a vacation home "By the Sea". Really, everything she does is intended to serve that end, including carefully managing Todd himself and "adopting" a child in Toby to make their "family" complete.

As I implied above, it's for this reason that "By the Sea" isn't just an excuse to give Lansbury an extra number in Act II. In that song, Nellie really lays out her own dream, which is just as strong as Todd's thirst for revenge. But even nuttier.

To me, Lovett takes SWEENEY TODD from a simple and straightforward revenge tale and turns it into razor-sharp social commentary. This was never more true than with Lansbury in the part.

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 3:29pm

Gaveston2..no worries...it is just so much fun for me to be able to discuss Broadway...i am in it for the back and forth...but believe me i am no 'angel'...:)...and please don't hate me but i really liked the way HBC played Mrs. Lovett...i guess the more realistic approach hit home for me...and this is not to take anything away from Angela...different directors in different mediums do it their own way...in my opinion movie musicals should not be so "broad" way...

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 4:00pm

broadway, I have to admit I want a degree of political, historical and socioeconomic content in plays, musicals and films I see. I want it dramatized, not lectured at me, but I want that content all the same.

So I was very disappointed with Bonham Carter, all the more so because she is a favorite actress of mine.

But I too enjoy the discussions. And we can't have that if we all agree. I not only don't "hate you", on the contrary I appreciate your willingness to exchange views.

Please assume you have made a new friend in me today. :)

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 1/26/12 at 8:06pm

Also, to add to the Angela discussion, nearly everyone I know who saw her live on stage said that that filming--at the very end of the tour after she had played it for years--did have Angela playing the character broader than she had for much of the run--and of course this broadness is accentuated by being a stage show filmed for camera. Still, it's a great performance. (I've seen an awful bootleg of her and Cariou on Broadway and she does seem to be more sinister and a bit more contained).