Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Tell me about Sweeny Todd
crazy smiles
Stand-by Joined: 5/10/04
#0Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:18pmI was wondering if Sweeny Todd was a good recording. I love Angela Lansbury since she wrote murder. Any information will be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Amneris
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#1re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:19pmum, it's a FANTASTIC recording! It's one of my favorite shows. My high school did it when I was a freshman.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#2re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:19pmThe OBC of Sweeney Todd is a masterpiece, well worth getting. And Ms. Lansbury's performance as Mrs. Lovett is superb. If you're a fan of her's, buy the recording now.
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#4re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:22pmisn't it muder she wrote? or am i getting things messed up? (which happens lots)
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
crazy smiles
Stand-by Joined: 5/10/04
#5re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:24pm
Yes, but I was trying to be funny. Sorry to confuse you.
Thanks for the response guys, I put it on my priority list.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#6re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:25pm
Yes, the TV show was called "Murder, She Wrote." But Ms. Lansbury deserves to be remembered for far more than that- she's done amazing film and theater work.
Sweeney Todd is available on both VHS and DVD. Overall, I like the OBC better. No matter which you take, you get Ms. Lansbury.
#7re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:25pmGet it now! It's a must-have. It's the first Broadway recording I heard and have had an obsession with it ever since. Another great Sweeney Todd recording is the most recent NY Philharmonic Concert Version with George Hearn, Patti Lupone and Audra McDonald.
"The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not..."
#8re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:28pmsmiles- many sorries. the morphine is still rushing through my body (broken arm/surgery) i get it now!!
"Picture "The View," with the wisecracking, sympathetic sweethearts of that ABC television show replaced by a panel of embittered, suffering or enraged Arab women" -the Times review of Black Eyed
#9re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:28pm
Great show. Great recording. It is on DVD, as well. I like the concert cast recording just a bit better becasue it's live, and even the original Len Cariou can't beat GEORGE HEARN!!! Plus, I'm a Neil Patrick Harris fan and I love his Toby. And then there's Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett. Perfection. This too is on DVD. I say get both.
More info:
http://www.freewebs.com/sweeney_todd
Amneris
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#10re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:28pmi honestly think it was a genious concept for the stage. And probably one of the hardest things to do.
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#11re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:31pmJust to make things clear, you don't want the concert recording if you're coming at this from the perspective of an Angela Lansbury fan. She's not in that recording.
crazy smiles
Stand-by Joined: 5/10/04
#12re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/23/04 at 11:33pmI'm up to anything new. I love Audra as well. Though, I guess to start off with I think I'll get the OBC recording and the DVD. Thank you though I love all this info just popping up. Its fun!
PitPro2004
Broadway Star Joined: 2/15/04
#13re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 12:12am
I am doing this show this weekend and it's always a joy to play. The voices are amazing and the music gorgeous.
Of course, it would be more gorgeous if there weren't so many mistakes being played by one of the more important musicians. Sorry, had to vent!!
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium!"
sean martin
Broadway Star Joined: 7/4/04
#14re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 12:53am
The DVD, BTW, is not the original cast. It's still an excellent record of the show.
It's an amazing piece. The Calgary Opera just performed it a few weeks ago, in a brand new production that, frankly, hurled. Despite the fact that the directorial concept and design were waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off the mark, the beauty of the material still came through. Definitely one of Sondheim's best.
And if you like Landbury, you MUST track down PRETTYBELLE. It never even came close to Broadway, but it has some of her funniest moments onstage.
"That duck was a sexual toy, and it was on display!" -- an unknown Nashville town leader
bdwybug55
Featured Actor Joined: 8/25/04
#15re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 1:21amSweeney Todd is just about the best musical ever written. When are they going to do a full fledged revival of that one (not and NYCO!)
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#16re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 1:37amThere was a revival from '89-90, so another revival in at least 5 years isn't out of the question, from a strictly temporal point of view. But you have to think about how expensive it is- if they're going to reproduce the original design, we're talking massive production values. It's not an easy show to put on or cast.
B.B. Wolf
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/26/04
#17re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 1:44am
I personally LOVE the concert version with George Hearn and Pattie Lupone and all the opera singers. The sound is SO FULL! When they come in with "swing your razor high, Sweeney!" I get goose bumps every time. 
Word. Word, indeed.
#18re: Tell me about Sweeny Todd
Posted: 10/24/04 at 1:55amBest theatrical show, musical or play, ever written. Period.
"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Videos