Customer Reviews

Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Revival Cast)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Now, by way of London, comes a re-conceptualized staging that had the New York critics spewing superlative praise. Starring Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris, it has become one of the biggest hits of the 2005/06 Broadway season, and Nonesuch has produced a 2 CD set of the new production.

This is a very different SWEENEY recording. Jonathan Doyle's staging takes it down to almost a chamber opera. Where once the emotions were played big they are now small and understated.

All of that comes through brilliantly on the new recording. Yes the smaller orchestration may take some getting used to - but not much.

What is frustrating are the gaps in continuity. (This was also a
slight problem with the original 1979 cast album: there are spots
where the OCR skips dialogue. Four LP sides were not quite enough to hold the entire 2 1/2 hour show.)

With the new Nonesuch set, the first act is fairly cohesive, but Act Two has some glaring gaps where scenes are skipped and because they are referenced in later scenes the cuts become even more obvious.

There is a story behind this. The label intended a single
disc "highlights" recording but discovered they had recorded 88
minutes of music - about 10 minutes more than a standard CD can hold. They could not afford t bring the cast back into the studio (for cast albums each performer is paid a week's salary) so they decided to spread the material over two not-very-full discs.

Fortunately, the label has included a thick booklet with pictures of the production, all the lyrics and a detailed synopsis to help fill in the plot-holes.

Though the role of Mrs Lovett is OWNED by Angela Lansbury, Patti
LuPone offers her own unique take here and sings even better than she did on the 2001 concert recording with the New York Philharmonic.

Michael Cerveris gives such chilling performance here that he just may well eclipse both George Hearn and Len Cariou on the previous records.

While no revival cast recording can ever eclipse the original this is certainly a worthy alternate.

A minor complaint upfront: I wish they included the entire score.

Otherwise, this is an excellent recording of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd": intimate, gritty, and very effective. The conceit of this production is well known by now-- the actors double as a minimalist orchestra and the action takes place in an insane asylum, suggesting a re-imagining of the horror through the eyes of the simpleminded, unwitting accomplice, Tobias. It's a brilliant, daring concept for a musical that's already, well, brilliant and daring.

On the recording, the stripped down orchestra works very well, drawing you into the characters and the story in a way that feels completely new-- even to someone who's listened to the original recording ad nauseum and hasn't seen this new production. The instrumentation keeps the horror close in a way you don't always get with a large size orchestra. (I would not, however, advocate that this version is definitive, just a fantastic new interpretation on its own terms.)

This new recording has a lot to offer. There are moments that are more spine tingling than ever: just listen to this version of "Epiphany," which is downright bloodcurdling in a way previous renditions didn't quite convey. The frequent reprises of "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" have never sounded creepier. There is also a beautiful simplicity newly apparent in many of the numbers; the second act "Johanna," a highlight in every version of "Sweeney," has never sounded better. "Wait" and "By the Sea" also take on a renewed attractiveness. Everything becomes more impressive the more you think about the fact that the actors are completely responsible for all that you're hearing. Overall, this "Sweeney" just feels really, um, cool. Very cool.

The cast is amazing. Michael Cerveris is a powerful and mesmerizing Sweeney, and Patti Lupone is wonderful as a coolly evil Mrs. Lovett. Manoel Felciano sounds perfect as Tobias-- his rendition of "Not While I'm Around" is particularly memorable. I also like the approach of Mark Jacoby as the Judge-- he plays him as less a lecherous pervert, and more like just an ordinary man-- and he's all the more scary because of it. Some might question the casting of a woman, Donna Lynne Champlin, as Pirelli, but within the already surreal parameters established, it's a perfectly suitable alternative.

The one question I have is whether or not this version would appeal to people who are not already "Sweeney" devotees. Ultimately, I think it can be easily appreciated even by those new to the show. That doesn't mean you should skip the original, though. Both are necessary. And if you really feel like being a fanatic, get the New York Philharmonic recording too.

While this recording is fine in its own respect, it just doesn't live up to the original. The original cast recording was massive, loud, and fierce, while this one is a little subdued. I really like both Sweeney's, and I agree that Michael Cerveris is quite creepy. There will never be anyone like Angela Lansbury, so wonderful Patti LuPone doesn't stand a chance. I think her voice is too nice for the part of Mrs. Lovett. Anthony Hope is my character in respect to singing, and Benjamin Magnuson just isn't Victor Garber. His voice sounds to old and operatic for the part. Anthony is supposed to be a young guy in love. One improvement, however, is the part of Johanna. While Sarah Rice was good, Lauren Molina has a much clearer and innocent voice. Sarah Rice's could be a bit too much a times. Altogether, it's not too bad, but I prefer the big sounds of the original cast recording.

Honestly, I don't think that this new production of "Sweeney" works. I miss the dark, lush, sweeping, creep orchestrations of the original. As far as casting, this cast isn't nearly as good. Angela Lansbury is far more convincing and funny as Mrs. Lovett than Patti LuPone. Michael Cerveris is too young to play Sweeney, but he sure tries. The rest of the cast is fine, I guess. No matter what the critics say, this production of "Sweeney Todd," and its cast recording leaves a lot to be desired, and no, it isn't nearly as good as the original, nor is it as thrilling.

I wanted to like this more than I did, and I have the same reaction to the revival. Somehow, the revival and this recording extract all sense of "the human" from this show. Both on stage and in this recording, I see gimmickry (e.g. on stage--the Brechtian tendency of characters not to address each other or make full dramatic use of the stage; on stage and on this recording--the minimalist orchestrations, or a female Perelli). The gimmicky, in turn, detracts from the telling of a delightfully macabre and eerie story. And while I have no qualms with Lupone or Cerveris on stage, in this recording their characterizations somehow seem flat. I don't get the dramatic vigor, the emotional range--the "humanness" that the original recording provides.

I'll be straight with you - I didn't know what the heck Sweeney Todd was about until I went to New York earlier this year. I saw the theatre that housed this show and the dash of blood strewn across the title caught my attention. I didn't go and see the show, I saw 'Wicked' instead, which is brilliant, but that's another story.

My partner read an extremely positive review of Sweeney Todd in the playbill from 'Wicked', I think (??) so he purchased the soundtrack a couple of months later and loved it straight away. I wasn't convinced immediately, as it seemed too old-fashioned and 'operatic' for me. But I gave it a chance, and now I listen to it every day!

Sweeney Todd has opened my eyes and ears to a new genre of music and story-telling! It's intriguing and sad and dark, even romantic. I love Patti Lupone's psychotic voice and evil laugh, the 'crazy old hag, pickin' bones out of alley ashcans' is a lot of fun... and I like to scare my friends and associates by emulating Tobias with 'Razorr, razorr, cutta cutta cut'.

Pure Brilliance! Saving up to go and see the show at the Sydney Opera House. A beautiful example of sublime music and singing. Lovably twisted!

If you are like me and can't get too much of Sondheim's dark comedic masterpiece, you will NEED this CD. The interesting, minimalist way they've done it works, partly due to the wonderful Patti Lupone. But does she meet the formidable challenge of making fresh a role so defined by the original? I am a fan of Patti's after Evita, Sunset Blvd. and seeing her live show(electrifying). This is a welcome addition to any Patti fan's collection.
I saw a previous conceptual revival of Sweeney (tag line: Some People Would Kill For A Good Musical)in the 90's--the Circle-In-The-Square theater in New York (with Bob Gunton as Sweeney I believe)which was also much stripped down from the original production, with a tiny band but still very good. Both these versions prove the durability and classic status of this modern opera about a serial killer and cannibalism (Silence Of The Lambs??) and keep it alive for new audiences to see, and old audiences to see again with new eyes.

No one has equaled,or even threatened to equal, the performance of Angela Lansbury who created the role. Don't listen to this new Sweeney if you have never heard the original. Your first exposure to this great show should be the best one, which still remains the 2-CD set of the Original Broadway Cast. Better yet, see the long-awaited-but-recently-released DVD of a live version of Sweeney Todd (where Lou Cariou was replaced by George Hearn)which faithfully preserves Angela's Mrs. Lovett and the original Hal Prince stage production. Six stars out of five for that DVD. Very highly recommended. Four stars out of five for this CD. Only the original gets five from me.
I think this show is Sondheim's best and strongest(so far that is-- he's not done yet.) His problem of weaker second acts was solved here with a terrifying, building climax of butchery, blood and too many deaths to count, all mixed with love stories, witty lyrics and guilty laughs enough to satisfy any hunger. Bon appetit.

Having splurged on seeing the show twice in its first month, after being riveted on first viewing, I was avidly anticipating this release and am happy to report that the recording captures the mood and spirit completely. The wonderfully spare instrumentation is a character of its own and the sublime lyrics are both enunciated with clarity and colored by the musical shadings and the committed performances. Michael Cerveris intensity and Patti LuPone's clucky warmth shine right through, and the extremely talented and charismatic Manoel Felciano doesn't disappoint on record. Perhaps some of the other singer/musicians aren't as vocally "polished" as those in the Lansbury version, but this is part and parcel of the ragged edges of this staging, which no one visiting NYC should miss.

Sweeney Todd is the greatest musical that has ever been made, Sondheim is the greatest lyricist and composer of musical theatre, and the revival production on Broadway was the single greatest thing I've seen on Broadway in the past 10 years. This cast recording is the best recording of anything that I've ever heard, period.

The wickedly talented Michael Cerveris owns the role of Sweeney, it really is going to be the crowning achievment in his impressive career. He's just that good in it, and throughout his performance he repeatedly broke my heart and scared me to death, often simultaneously like in the case of 'Epiphany'... Lupone is a goddess of musical theatre, and it shows here as usual, and supporting players like the scene-stealing Alex Gemignani and the loveably charasmatic Mano Felciano are standouts among an exceptionally talented cast.

Buy this CD, it's a must have for everyone who is interested in musical theatre. No, it's not 100% complete ('Parlour Songs' and 'City on Fire' are the two obviously missing songs), but this recording still retains it's flow without them. It would've been great to have this be a complete recording, but unfortunately due to time constraints and budget the cast was only able to record a 'highlights' version, and yet, besides the two missing songs mentioned, this feels more complete than most cast recordings do.

I was so lucky to have seen this twice on Broadway before it closed on September 3, 2006. I felt like I was witnessing something that would truly only come to Broadway once in my lifetime. Trust me, there won't be anything like it again for a very long time.

I, like everyone, was thrilled to learn of the new production, staging, concept. I flew my old body to NYC to catch the revival. I have concluded that this version is totally dependent on your having thrilled to the original. While much of the staging is very clever and the stage is just one meat pie shy of a fully energetic cast, something nagged at me...Mrs. Lovett. Can that be the real Patti LuPone? She acted dull and bored, and delivered her lines and sang as such. I looked forward to OCR to catch her at the top of her game, and found out she really is dull and bored as Mrs. Lovett. I just cannot love it. But give it a go. This OCR still beats lisitng to the Master's own voice.