The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Mrs. Lovett cures the blues!-dble post

[Malice]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 6:33pm

Here it was, Friday November 11th and I was feeling pretty sorry for myself because it was officially one year ago that I broke up with my ex-boyfriend. I was determined to do something to take my mind off the date, and a depressing year of singledom, and my closest friend was m.i.a. After work, at about 5:20 I got literally the last standing room ticket for Sweeney Todd. Somebody up there knew I needed cheering up .
I can't say enough how friggin' great this production was. Where to begin? Michael Cervis blew me away as my favorite barber. He was able to make me feel such empathy for his character.
Mark Jacoby was awesome as the judge, as well as Alexannder Gemignai as the beadle. Benjamin Magnuson was decent as Anthony, but was a little lackluster compared to the other power houses. Lauren Molina was great as Johanna, and the girl can play the cello! I absolutely loved Manoel Felciano as Tobias, his rendition of "Not While I'm Around" brought tears to my eyes.
Now on to the real reason why I have been dying to see the show, oh mighty theatrical goddess Madame Lupone, I am not worthy! If she doesn't win the Tony for this performance I will protest! I never was fortunate enough to see the original production with Angela Lansbury, so forgive my gushing about Patti Lupone. She managed to combine the perfect mix of sexiness, vulnerability, sweetness, scariness, nastiness, and sarcasm all into Mrs. Lovett. And she rocked my socks off with her tuba playing! Her duet with Tobias was my favorite part of the show. After being such a big fan of hers for years, and willing to give my right arm to have seen her play Eva Peron, and never seeing her live, the wait was well, well worth it.
Updated On: 11/12/05 at 06:33 PM

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 6:38pm

Glad you enjoyed the show. This is my second favorite Broadway production of all time. The first being Cabaret. I love the concept of actors playing instruments.

[Nokros]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 6:59pm

Haha. Interesting, I saw Sweeney on Friday, too. It was ridiculously fantastic in every way imaginable.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 7:32pm

I'm maybe in the minority, but I found Ben and Lauren's work quite lovely. This Anthony isn't handsome, and he lacks the dashing charm. But in a way, it makes him more consistent with the productions's schematic madhouse design -- some poor inmate who must participate and in the process opens up emotionally and finds a venue for his soul. Something about his not being type cast made him oddly endearing.

But to me, even without the cello, Molina would be a Johanna for any occassion, any production. The part is often played vacuously, as a bit of a simp. (I'm not a fan of the Betsy Joslyn one recorded for posterity.) Molina finds youthful, eerily contemporary vigor, and sings gloriously. One of my favorite sequence in all of Sondheim is the "Kiss Me" quartet, and she makes the most persuasive case for the impossible-to-enunciate lyrics. ("Is that the gate?!") She is comic and heartbreaking. And yes, makes the cello a piece of the story.

This SWEENEY no doubt requires a second viewing, to fully appreciate everyone on stage. The sense of a theatrical company, joined in common purpose, permeates. "Strong ensemble" has never more apt praise.

[Jenny1284]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 8:08pm

The second time I saw Sweeney Todd was on Halloween, when I thought my friend ditched the plans we made to be with her boyfriend (it turns out that she fell asleep because she had been up all night studying for a midterm). Aside from being rather appropriate for Halloween, I knew the show would cheer me up, so when I saw tickets were available in the fourth row, I went for it. I thought I would like this production, but I didn't expect to become as obsessed with it as I am. I love almost everything about it and all the performers, but I feel like I could watch Michael and Patti do "A Little Priest" every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 9:19pm

I doubt you are in the minority Auggie, as an avid lover of all things Sweeney, this production I think really solidified in my mind the ultimate Johanna/Anthony pairing. They were both such strong presence in both acting and making the couple so much fun. I really knew they were "different" when I actually cared about both of them instead of just considering them as side characters with less purpose to me than the others onstage.

[InTheRed]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 9:34pm

Jenny 1284: Here here!!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 10:16pm

Nicely stated, C. I guess I've read more about the Tobias and Pirelli, both of whom deserve kudos. Like you, I never realized what relative "weight" Anthony and Johanna have in the doings. I've seen Garber and all who replaced him, and Gaines, and others, but found myself moved, deeply in moments, by the way this Anthony pines for this Johanna.

[bdwybug55]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 10:52am

I also LOVED this production. Because I am a huge Sweeney fan I was expecting to hate it but was pleasantly surprised. I thought the chamber effect made it that much more eerie and creepy. I wasn't thrilled with all of the singing voices but the acting was some of the best I have ever seen in a production of this show. The cast is amazingly talented.

[OasisBroadway]

Posted: 11/14/05 at 11:00am

I got standing room for this on Sunday. It was probably one of the best $26 I have ever spent. I was blown away by the performances of Patti and Michael. And Manoel's version of "Not While I'm Around" is wonderful. I expected that the actors' playing the instruments was going to be a distraction but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't. It is very well done.