Multitasking- The Official 2005 Revival Thread

[-epic!insomnia-]

Multitasking

Welcome to the official thread for the 2005 Sweeney Todd revival. Here you can discuss pretty much any aspect of this version of the musical. However, discussions of the original plot would be better suited to the original musical thread. This thread is a place for revival-specific discussion.

Guidelines for posting:
Your reaction- to the revival, the orchestrations, the actors, etc.
Symbolism- the white coffin, the buckets, the white sheet, etc.
Changes made- Toby becoming the subject of the musical, the asylum setting, the lack of the barber chair and the other throat-slittings, the role of Pirelli portrayed by a woman, etc.

Rules:
You no breaky the TOS or you get a time out.
Follow the main guild rules.
Don't pagestretch. Insomnia serves pagestretchers to the unsuspecting public.
Spoilers are OK in this thread. No complaints if you haven't seen the revival yet.

 

[-epic!insomnia-]

Revival News

This thread was created with the assumption that those who post here already know the plot of the original. It was also assumed that they probably know how the revival differs from it. Just in case, here are some links for those of you who don't know about the revival yet and are eager to learn.

Newsweek article

Here are the more interesting points of the revival:
It takes place in the asylum that Toby has been placed in after he went crazy from being in the bakehouse.
The actors ARE the orchestra.
And there's a lot of symbolism (and blood).

 

[Gelasius]

I didn't like the revival very much. First reason, during the intermission, someone actually had to tell his companion what had happened during Act One. This revival was good if you already knew the plot, I guess, but if you didnt, I guess you were lost. I also think the idea of the actors also being the orchestra was distracting. It certainly distracted me. I really wonder what the musician's union thinks about this (and the recently closed revival of Company)

In short, the director should never have received the Best Director Tony and though I really like the musical itself, the revival should never have won for Best Revival. I just pray there isn't a revival of Assassins with the assassins playing musical instruments as well as doing their thing. It's a very bad concept for a musical, in my opinion, especially on Broadway, where tickets are about $111 a pop. give me the old way of a musical. Actors singing and dancing and musicians playing the music. I hope we see an end to this awful trend.

there's a trend to bare bones staging of shows. I first thought this of the revival of Chicago. The revivals of Sweeney Todd and Company bring the bare bones part to an awful extreme. It isn't helped by the fact that Sondheim always thought of Sweeney Todd as an intimate musical and not the fantastic large production of 1979.  

[-epic!insomnia-]

I liked the revival, but I felt that it was meant for fans of the original and not for newcomers. In my opinion, it's sort of like we're inside Toby's mind, seeing his impression of everyone. And I do wonder a little about the instruments- I'm not crazy about the concept. And the fact that they move the set when it needs to get moved. Are they going to do away with stage crew eventually? Say it ain't so- that's what I love.
So I feel that the revival is a new way of looking at things for the old fans. But...I'm not crazy about the cast, except for Manoel Felciano, Donna Lynne Champlin, and Mark Jacoby, whom I thought did a nice job. Especially Jacoby- he's the only Judge Turpin whom I ever felt any sort of sympathy or understanding for.
(Oh, and welcome to the guild!)  

[Phantomette]

Gelasius

This revival was good if you already knew the plot, I guess, but if you didnt, I guess you were lost.

How so? One person may have difficulty comprehending the plotline, but it was laid out on stage. It was simply not the traditional staging where the characters are performing direct, simple actions. The actions, objects, etc. were all part of the symbolism of the revival, which I actually thought to be quite brilliant of John Doyle. The revival was what got me hooked, and I understood the plot clearly from the CD and the bootlegs on YouTube when I first became interested. It was only months later, when I wanted to learn about the show itself in depth that I even needed to look up the libretto and sypnosis.

Quote:

I also think the idea of the actors also being the orchestra was distracting. It certainly distracted me. I really wonder what the musician's union thinks about this (and the recently closed revival of Company)

I thought that even though the concept was somewhat strange, the end result was amazing. Personally, I enjoyed the overall sound much more than what I have heard of the original. The sound was fresher and fit the show. The cast was technically part of the musician's union, seeing as how they were paid to play the score of the show, so I assume that the musician's union was quite alright with it. The revival of Company doesn't close for another few days, actually.

Quote:

In short, the director should never have received the Best Director Tony and though I really like the musical itself, the revival should never have won for Best Revival.

John Doyle's ideas are very, very unorthodox, and that scares many traditional theater fans. In my opinion, his directing doesn't make any part of the show less enjoyable or more difficult to understand, he simply makes people think harder while watching the show instead of mindlessly getting lost in the glamour of Broadway, not the plot. In the revival, most people do not even realize the significance of the instruments. All of the characters play one except the main man, who does so towards the end of the show, when he "blossoms," more or less.

Quote:

I just pray there isn't a revival of Assassins with the assassins playing musical instruments as well as doing their thing.

I do have to agree that I don't think it would work very well for Assassins. However, I don't think it will be revived any time soon because the last revival was so recent, so no worries for a while.

Quote:

It isn't helped by the fact that Sondheim always thought of Sweeney Todd as an intimate musical and not the fantastic large production of 1979.

If Sondheim himself liked the revival more than the original production, I see no reason to discourage the trend, particularly after both shows done by John Doyle have been nominated and won Tony Awards. He has to be doing something right.

But theater is all about individuality and expression, so I see no reason for you not to express your opinion. I'm delighted that you did, actually. If everyone agreed, this guild would get nowhere.  

[Delacroix_Ghost]

I still haven't seen it...does anyone know where one curious little Del could find a loverly video on these vast intrawebz I call my home? Legality is in the eye of the beholder, remember that.  

[Shigures Editor]

I'm so sad that I didn't get to see the revival before it closed. It would've been so different from the fully-orchestrated Sweeney that I'm used to listening to. I dunno if that would be a good or a bad thing, judging from the previous posts, but still. I would see it just to see it.

By the way, has anyone seen this video?

Sweeney/Company parody

 

[Delacroix_Ghost]

Oh that's brilliant! xD  

[Shigures Editor]

Delacroix_Ghost

Oh that's brilliant! xD

XDD Isn't it? Makes me wish I'd seen the revival, so I'd get the coffin bit better. I know it's supposed to be symbolism, though. >>;

 

[MrsPiccolosWife]

I loved the revival. The actors as the orchestra made the whole thing even more impressive. I didn't find it confusing at all. I had already seen a local production of Sweeney before seeing the revival, but it was at least a year before I saw the revival, so I had already forgotten many plot points. I loved the cast. Patti Lupone and Michael Cerevis have such amazing chemistry! I don't think it was hard to understand for newcommers either, because I went with my aunt and uncle, who had never even heard of Sweeney Todd before, and they loved(and understood) it.  

[peace_love_jello]

I really, really love the revival! I really liked the whole cast(Patti Lupone=favorite Mrs. Lovett) and I enjoyed the actors-are-the-orchestra. It was a while ago that I've seen it, but from what I can remember, the actors stayed in character while they were playing the music. The actress playing Johanna did, anyway. I don't think it was hard to understand because, as MrsPiccolosWife said before, our aunt and uncle saw it and "got" it, and that was the first time they had seen Sweeney. I also liked the "bare-bones" feel of the stage, because more focus can be paid to the plot, music, etc. And the set was really cool looking. smile
I absolutely loved Manoel Felciano as Toby! He was really fantastic.


Shigures Editor : I just discovered that "Teeny Todd" thing a few days ago and I have to watch it at least once a day. It's so hilarious!!