Review - Sweeney Todd in Concert

Last night, I went with a much-too-handsome pal to see Sweeney Todd in Concert at Lincoln Center.  He and I went to the Company concert together and had such a grand time, we knew we couldn't miss this one.  Plus, hello, EMMA THOMPSON was starring as Mrs. Lovett!  This was a must-see, as far as we were concerned!

I adore Sweeney Todd.  When I moved to New York, right out of grad school, I arrived on a Friday.  On Saturday, I went to TKTS and bought a ticket to the revival of Sweeney Todd at Circle in the Square for the matinee (then I saw Mandy Patinkin's one-man show in the evening.  I saw Les Miserables the next day.  It was quite a first weekend in NYC).  I've been listening to various cast albums for years, I see every production I can, and just find it thrilling.  I even enjoyed the revival directed by John Doyle, though his aesthetic has since worn thin on me.  I admit to being excited about hearing a full orchestra and chorus tackling the music again.  And, boy, I was not let down.

Since last night was the first performance, there was a red carpet set up outside.  When I met my pal, we waited to see if we could spot any celebrities.  I saw Stephen Lang, who I remember so fondly from Speed of Darkness from many years ago.  Then we saw Himself, Mr Sondheim, enter.  We figured that was all the celebrity we needed, so we wandered up to our seats.

**From here on out, spoilers abound.  If you're seeing the show later this weekend, I'd wait until after to read my thoughts.  :)  Also, I took the photos below from the internet and will remove them if so asked.**  We had excellent seats in the second ring, center.  We settled in, audience-gazed, and happily waited for the show to begin.  We noticed in the program, the actor playing the Beggar Woman was listed as "?"  Hmmm.  Interesting.  At the beginning of the show, everyone came out in formal wear (and I thought, hey, do I see Audra McDonald?!), perfect for a concert version of a musical sung in front of the NY Philharmonic.  Emma looked especially stunning in a red satin gown.  Then, at one point, during "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," Bryn Terfel stopped singing and just looked at the conductor.  I thought, uh oh, he's gone up already?  We just started!  Then Terfel threw his script to the ground.  There was a pause, then Emma pushed her script to the floor.  Then the rest of the cast did the same.  Then all hell broke loose - cast members began tearing their formal clothes, pushing set pieces to the floor, and some chorus members even picked up the (now apparently fake) grand piano in the center of the stage, turned it over, then dropped it with a musical thud.  Then the musical began.

Photo credit: Chris Lee

Oh, well, ok.  That was interesting.  I see how we're going for gritty and punk-like instead of a formal concert version.  But that was an awful lot of running around and busywork at the top of the show.  I was too busy watching what crazy things the ensemble was doing instead of listening to the music.  I hate that.  I came to the Philharmonic to hear Sweeney Todd.  Hello.  OK, rant over.

I did like much of the staging, though a lot of the business the actors had to do was really schticky.  I liked the idea of using the actors' hands to smear blood after their throats were slit, but did we have to see a projection of a bloody hand each time?  And did we need the placards at the side of the stage telling us the location?  Especially since none of those placards wanted to stay in place (there was almost always an ensemble member trying to fix them).

But what made this evening ultimately thrilling and ever-so-fun, and well-worth the visit, was the amazing cast and the orchestra playing that beyond-amazing score.  Bryn Terfel is certainly no actor, but he has an imposing presence that works for Sweeney and he sings like a dream.  That voice was just hypnotic.  So gorgeous.  Emma Thompson was FANTASTIC.  She is so funny, so real, she just owned that stage.  If she doesn't quite have all the notes (her break didn't quite match up to where the breaks are in "Worst Pies in London"), I didn't care.  I thought she was tremendous and I pray she returns to the New York stage soon.  I loved her performance, and the staging, of "By the Sea."  She was heartbreaking during "Not While I'm Around" before she took Toby to the bakehouse, and she was nearly demonic at the end, singing to save her life.  Really really wonderful stuff.  And she just has this generous spirit that surrounds her, the rest of the cast couldn't help be lifted by her.



Photo credit: Noam Galai

Yes, I was right, that was Audra McDonald on stage as the Beggar Woman, a role she played in concert about ten years ago.  Apparently, she'll be unable to do the whole weekend of performances, so they didn't announce her in advance.  She was good, sounded great, as always.  I especially loved Jeff Blumenkrantz as the Beadle and found Philip Quast as Judge Turpin to be near-perfection.  Christian Borle got all the comedy and menace out of Pirelli, but he didn't easily have the top notes (they sounded a tad thin).  I loved Erin Mackey as Johanna, I thought her "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" was first-rate.  Jay Armstong Johnson was attractive and virile as Anthony, and sang beautifully, but he was rather wan in his dialogue scenes.  The "Johanna" reprise was stunning and my heart was beating pretty rapidly by the end.  Everything you want from Sweeney Todd.

The curtain call brought rapturous applause from the audience, then the conductor and Emma Thompson went out into the audience to find Sondheim himself.  They brought him on stage and it was so nice to give him our rousing appreciation.

Audience-wise, most everyone was on their best behavior.  I tried to repress the girls behind me, singing along.  I almost told them at intermission that this was not the Sing-a-Long version of Sweeney Todd, but I kept it to myself.  There was also someone to the left of me who banged out the beat on her program throughout.  Sigh.  Thankfully, I was so thrilled by the production that I couldn't let these people really bother me.  Though Mr. I Need Twice The Personal Space So I'll Just Take Yours on my left was killing me at certain points.  Perhaps I should've started muttering about meat pies to see if he'd back away...

I had a GRAND time at Sweeney Todd.  I know people grouse about how it was just here, why not pick another show to celebrate?  I get their point, but I just love hearing this score so much that I relish every opportunity to hear it again, especially with a huge orchestra.  There's nothing like it.