I often feel in a very small minority for thinking SWEENEY TODD's Beggar Woman reveal doesn't work. Obviously, it does for some (most?) people... but I don't understand how any clear-thinking person doesn't see it coming a mile away.
And I'm never, ever, ever the person to guess a twist ending or the solution to a mystery story, either because I'm not very sharp or I enjoy being taken for a ride... probably both. But the Beggar Woman is so obviously set up at her first appearance and recurs through most of the show with no purpose whatsoever. You just have to know something is up, and once you do, there's only one logical solution.
And the fact that it doesn't (for me) have a slam-bang "aha" IMPACT! at the end wouldn't bother me if that moment weren't so specifically treated that way both in the writing and in every production I've ever seen. No matter how good a production, the "reveal" always rings resoundingly false, yanks me out of the story, and gives me momentary anticlimax before Sweeney pulls Lovett back into their waltz -- because those are the characters I'm invested in, anyway.
Wah-WAH.
Off the top of my head, whilst I'm here, I'll throw in how the final seconds of THE FULL MONTY always get me. I don't know what the general opinion of the show is, but I adore it. As "Let It Go" builds and builds and the electricity of the audience response approaches climax towards what everyone knows is coming really, really soon, I find myself thinking, "They're never gonna make it! They're never gonna make it!" every. single. time. I saw it on Broadway. I saw a very questionable community theater production. I saw a very impressive community theater production. At the end of each one, that big goofy grin was plastered on my face, and I left elated. I hope to never see a performance with a technical glitch in that moment.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
