Who's playing the Begger Woman NY Phil's Sweeney Todd with Emma Thompson? — Page 7

I really enjoyed Audra. As an experienced MT actor she really knows how to play out to an audience - her beggar woman was incredibly desperate and fragile. It's funny because people around me weren't exactly sure if it was her or not afterwards, so I wonder if the surprise paid off on a large scale.

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Updated On: 3/6/14 at 10:18 AM

oh great. just when i get tickets for saturday. damn.

Someone posted this on ATC (it wasn't me lol). I don't mean to spam this thread but It makes me feel better because I don't want to be THAT person who can never be pleased and I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this:

"Silly? The show logo seems to be this bloody hand print. The ensmble all wear varieties if black garb, and that red hand print is on every one of them somewhere. This seemed like a bad hugh school production idea."

"back to those red hand prints. This was a very good ST for the most part. But in every gig like this that Lonny Price directs there is one WTF element at the least. Here it was red hand prints, and the ensemble lounging around the stage all night"

It just truly was a "wtf were they thinking" moment for me. The idea did feel very high school/amateur and seemed so out of place in the kind of scope this production is. You can barely notice this at all on those close-up stills so I think it will be fine on the broadcast.

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Updated On: 3/6/14 at 12:04 PM

She looks amazing in those photos.

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qolbinau, I can certainly understand that yo are disappointed by the fact that your expectations were not met. The amount of money that you pt into this is considerable, and I understand your frustrations. That being said, I believe that you placed your expectations on the wrong facets of the production.
Being a concert, the emphasis should not be on the concept. The concept in a concert production should be secondary, or even tertiary, if it apparent at all. The primary focus should be on the music and vocal performances. It is after all, a concert. If you seek a great concept, then perhaps a limited engagement concert is not for you. Stick to full productions to avoid the disappointment in the future.

I've had to turn over Emma Thompson's take on Lovett in my mind because it's not what I'm used to - she has her gleefully amoral moments, yes, but it's a...softer? sadder? interpretation than I've seen before. The abusive aspects of the Sweeney/Lovett relationship stood out more than usual.

(Which isn't to say she wasn't funny. She was hilarious, and I'm pretty sure the only thing that kept her from being even funnier is that Terfel didn't give her much to bounce off of in that respect.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/theater/first-to-die-at-sweeney-todd-decorum-at-the-philharmonic.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

"But Ms. Thompson’s real victory was in avoiding the gargoylish or cartoonish excesses the role sometimes encourages to create a fully realized character"


Great description of her relatively subtle performance.

Also, looking at the photo of Borle reminds me of one of his really great moments - he sings those "you foolish boy" lines right before *SPOILER* Sweeney kills him more antagonisingly than I've ever heard before. It's pretty awesome.

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Updated On: 3/6/14 at 06:04 PM

I'm noticing a trend in the reviews (see below). I was really hoping that Terfel would defy expectations and actually act as well as he sings. I still might buy a ticket for the final performance. I don't know that I can resist the opportunity to see Thompson and to hear the NY Phil play this score live. Any seating sections to avoid given the reports on imbalanced acoustics?


From Isherwood's review (linked above):

Mr. Terfel, the great Welsh bass-baritone recently acclaimed for his Wagner performances, may be the most richly gifted singer ever to undertake the title role. (He was scheduled to sing it with the Philharmonic in 2000 opposite Patti LuPone, but withdrew from the performances; I saw him in the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2002.) His rich, pitch-dark voice soared into the auditorium with an enveloping intensity, filling the hall with Sweeney’s thundering avowals of vengeance for the brutal treatment of his beloved wife. Mr. Terfel’s acting wasn’t always as expressive as his singing; he’s got a mean, curled-lip snarl, but it seemed to do duty for just about all of Sweeney’s moods.



From Kayla Epstein's review in The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/mar/06/new-york-philharmonic-sweeney-todd-emma-thompson-review):
Making her New York stage debut as Mrs Lovett (a role originated by Angela Lansbury), Thompson runs off with the show. Her Mrs Lovett is shrewd, conniving and utterly in control of the operation until the final moments. Her voice is silky one moment, brassy the next; it helps that the role is perfect for an imperfect voice.

Thompson's partner in crime, however, could have asked her for a few acting tips. Terfel's intimidating bass-baritone is perfect for Sweeney Todd, and his 6ft 4in frame conveys menace, but Terfel's Sweeney comes across as a monster not a brute.



From Steven Suskin's review in the HuffPost (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-suskin/aisle-view-the-demon-barb_b_4912462.html)

If we seem to have neglected to say anything about Terfel, there is alas a reason. He sings the role well, as one might expect, and presents a suitably menacing appearance. Missing, though, is the inner turmoil written into the role. The finest Sweeneys show us a man who is deadened; who becomes alive again, in the presence of his razors; and who lapses into insanity in the brilliant tour de force which Sondheim calls "Epiphany." All this, with the half-remembered love-and-beauty represented by "Pretty Women." Terfel--who withdrew as "indisposed" from the 2000 Philharmonic concert version--sings the role well, but doesn't give us the extra-emotional theatricality of Sweeneys past.



This is literally the ONLY thing that NY Daily News's Joe Dziemianowicz said about Terfel's performance (http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/emma-thompson-steals-sweeney-todd-article-1.1712323):

Thompson was the perfect foil for the vengeful demon barber played by opera star Bryn Terfel, whose burly baritone was a fine fit for Sondheim's beautiful and haunting songs.



And then there's AM NY's Matt Windman, who, to be fair, wasn't as fond of Thompson as everyone else was (http://www.amny.com/entertainment/theater-review-sweeney-todd-2-5-stars-1.7305144):

Terfel, while cutting an imposing figure and offering a deep baritone voice that suited such a chilling character, maintained a stony facial expression that hardly ever varied. Thompson, despite her considerable comedic energy and insight, proved unable to handle many of the songs. She has a passable singing voice but that's not sufficient for playing Mrs. Lovett.



Here's The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sweeney-todd-theater-review-686603):

The title character is impeccably sung, if a little stiffly embodied, by Welsh operatic bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. An escaped convict shipped from 19th century London to penal-colony Australia on inflated charges, he is now hell-bent on revenge against his jailer, the nefarious Judge Turpin...

...Terfel nails the hulking presence and brooding scowl of Sweeney, but his acting doesn’t have the depth to convey this wronged man’s corrosive sense of injustice, of being hollowed out and refilled with hate. There’s menace in his performance but a shortage of pathos. However, for most audiences that will be a small trade-off when Terfel’s mellifluous voice swells from tortured introspection to thunderous rage in the character’s first-act "Epiphany," or lingers with broken tenderness over "Johanna" in the second act.

I can understand why expectations of the audience are varied. This isn't a full staging, but it isn't a straightforward concert, either. So what is it exactly? What are the most important aspects to consider whenever a semi-staged musical is presented? The music alone? The unique concept? The staging (simple, but still staging nonetheless)? Should aspects of it be dismissed or given a pass? Or should it be treated as a cohesive experience, including all of the above?

Terfel "sounds" perfect for Sweeney according to most impressions, but also by many accounts mentioned, he isn't up to the acting challenges of the role that one would expect from a full theatrical staging. If they had just presented it in concert form, he likely wouldn't be getting these reviews. Also if he wasn't acting opposite a brilliant actress as his partner in crime, it might be on a more level playing field. Perhaps a Mrs. Lovett with a "perfect voice" for the role would have been better than one who can act the hell out of the part and sing it in character, more in line with a theatrical staging than a concert.

The two leads seem to be at odds with each other as far as "casting priorities" go.

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Both leads were magnificent.

I can't remember when I've had a more thrilling night at the theatre!

Agree with every word PJ wrote yesterday.
Thrilling. Thrilling. Thrilling.

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Thompson is zany, hilarious, vulnerable, heartbreaking, and wildly different than I have ever seen her before. Vocally I wasn't expecting a great deal. And with the caveat that I had the privilege of sitting very close to the stage (and am not sure how she sounded to the back of the house), I found her singing to be a complete delight.

She has also never been sexier than she is in this role (don't get me wrong I love her but her prim nasality and signature reserve have never struck me as particularly hot) and this, above all, for me is what makes her Mrs. Lovett so captivating.

I liked Terfel's expressionistic and, yes, monolithic intensity and thought he and Thompson balanced each other splendidly. His singing was, not surprisingly, superb, and he acted the songs powerfully.

Updated On: 3/7/14 at 04:33 AM

Someone else asked, but was not replied to.

Has anyone stage doored this show?

I'm so thrilled to read the reviews here. Thanks to all who posted them. I'm looking forward to Saturday!

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