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badwrongmrssso, now that its been a bit of time i wanna talk about the sweeny todd performance i got to watch on may 4th (the day before the final performance)! ill just be going through the main cast from the program book but i wanna say that the ensemble was great! they all on point, sounded amazing, and all their costuming was great! i honestly couldn't be happier tbh. also...spoilers ig!
first up, when i went aaron tveit was playing the titular sweeny todd. he was in next to normal as gabe (i think the originated that role), played christian in moulin rouge, and he was danny in grease live (i haven't seen the last two projects but i've listened to them a bit) plus a bunch of other things. i thought he was really great, there were times where it sounded like he was mumbling some of his lines, but it was rare. he sounded amazing though when he sang, i thought the tone of his voice was amazing. i also thought his physicality was good, his sullied mood but still holding this confidence in his abilities, and his rage at the injustice done to him, was really good. i was into it the whole way through. i think i overall prefer a deep tone/voice for sweeny todd, but that in no way takes away from his performance here.
sutton foster played mrs. lovett and i don't know her from anything else, but my program says that she's been in a quite a few things. but she was so so good! she was funny, had this...chatty energy that i like for mrs. lovett to have all while...air-headed isn't the word but...something like a flights of fancy, especially about her and todd's relationship, while still being kind of grounded and a little bit cold, so the ending revelation of her knowing about what happened to lucy made sense. i was able to watch a recording of angela lansbury playing mrs. lovett and she always seemed way more...batty to me in her performance and like she really didn't mean to lie to todd, it's just something that...sorta happened. foster's take was so much fun to watch. she really shone during by the sea too. a true standout!
joe locke played tobias (hes in heartstopper) and for his debut i thought he did wonderfully! his toby was earnest, and kind, and a little thick headed, but just wonderful. it was a real joy to watch him perform live. hopely he does other theater shows!
daniel yearwood played anthony and i've never seen or heard him in anything else before, but i thought he was great. much like locke as tobias, he was very sweet, and earnest, and trusting. and his voice was so sweet, i don't have another word for it. his voice-- in combination with johanna's-- really is like the light of this musical. it really helps in bringing his love story with johanna to life and makes it feel authentic on his part.
speaking of johanna, maria bilbao played her in her broadway debut! much like yearwood with his portrayal of anthony, bilbao also brings a kind of sweetness to johanna, but really sells her desperation and neuroses around her situation. i've always liked to believe that johanna does hold some kind of affection for anthony, but it's secondary to her escaping her life with judge turpin. bilbao is able to convey all of this amazingly. much like locke i hope she does other shows!
now...i'm pretty sure that ruthie ann miles played lucy/the beggar woman in the performance i saw and not her under study. but! anyways, i thought she was great (a theme for the whole performance) her voice held all of the emotions for sadness and craziness. her physicality was wonderful, i loved watching her move across the stage and it made me hold so much sympathy for her and what happened to her. ten out of ten truly.
nicholas christopher play pirelli and that is a character that is made or broken by the actor and christopher knocked it out of the park! the flamboyance and theatrics, within the world of the play, were on point! i laughed, i winched, i had a great time! i am a little sad that his song during the contest was cut in half, but i suppose i understand why. you don't need the tooth pulling bit to really get the point, but i enjoyed christopher so much it was sad that he didn't get more in that bit.
jamie jackson played judge turpin and john rapson played beadle bamford, i'm coupling them together since they're kind of a match set imo. i think both of these actors really captured how hypocritical and despicable they are. rapson really made the beadle enjoy every single word he said and all of the bullshit he got up to. also, im pretty sure this performance falls under the dandy archetype or he's queer-coded. maybe its both. it was really fun to watch. jackson was so good as the judge, but i am so sad that he didn't get his own song "mea culpa - johanna" which i was so sad about. i love that song and i think it brings a lot to the judges character, without it he loses something in my opinion. jackson still did a really good job with what he had, but he could have had more with that song, and i just would have liked to hear it.
if i was braver/more disobedient i would have taken some pictures cause i thought some of the staging made very pretty shots. there was two sequences that took place on a raised platform that served as todd's barber shop and the house where johanna lived with the judge. one was with todd, cast in total shadows and the background behind him was completely red, i can't say that i fully remember when it happened, but it was during act 1 and it was such a strong image. the second sequence was a silhouetted dance that took place during "poor thing" with lucy being attacked by the judge at the party. they were both so amazing to watch in real time. i loved them.
i can't explain most of the choreography. there was a lot of arm movements, rhythmic arm movements. and when the whole ensemble was together there was a lot of moving together, leaning together and all of that. it was all just very good. i'm so glad that i got to see it! i feel so lucky tbh.
anyways, that's it!
first up, when i went aaron tveit was playing the titular sweeny todd. he was in next to normal as gabe (i think the originated that role), played christian in moulin rouge, and he was danny in grease live (i haven't seen the last two projects but i've listened to them a bit) plus a bunch of other things. i thought he was really great, there were times where it sounded like he was mumbling some of his lines, but it was rare. he sounded amazing though when he sang, i thought the tone of his voice was amazing. i also thought his physicality was good, his sullied mood but still holding this confidence in his abilities, and his rage at the injustice done to him, was really good. i was into it the whole way through. i think i overall prefer a deep tone/voice for sweeny todd, but that in no way takes away from his performance here.
sutton foster played mrs. lovett and i don't know her from anything else, but my program says that she's been in a quite a few things. but she was so so good! she was funny, had this...chatty energy that i like for mrs. lovett to have all while...air-headed isn't the word but...something like a flights of fancy, especially about her and todd's relationship, while still being kind of grounded and a little bit cold, so the ending revelation of her knowing about what happened to lucy made sense. i was able to watch a recording of angela lansbury playing mrs. lovett and she always seemed way more...batty to me in her performance and like she really didn't mean to lie to todd, it's just something that...sorta happened. foster's take was so much fun to watch. she really shone during by the sea too. a true standout!
joe locke played tobias (hes in heartstopper) and for his debut i thought he did wonderfully! his toby was earnest, and kind, and a little thick headed, but just wonderful. it was a real joy to watch him perform live. hopely he does other theater shows!
daniel yearwood played anthony and i've never seen or heard him in anything else before, but i thought he was great. much like locke as tobias, he was very sweet, and earnest, and trusting. and his voice was so sweet, i don't have another word for it. his voice-- in combination with johanna's-- really is like the light of this musical. it really helps in bringing his love story with johanna to life and makes it feel authentic on his part.
speaking of johanna, maria bilbao played her in her broadway debut! much like yearwood with his portrayal of anthony, bilbao also brings a kind of sweetness to johanna, but really sells her desperation and neuroses around her situation. i've always liked to believe that johanna does hold some kind of affection for anthony, but it's secondary to her escaping her life with judge turpin. bilbao is able to convey all of this amazingly. much like locke i hope she does other shows!
now...i'm pretty sure that ruthie ann miles played lucy/the beggar woman in the performance i saw and not her under study. but! anyways, i thought she was great (a theme for the whole performance) her voice held all of the emotions for sadness and craziness. her physicality was wonderful, i loved watching her move across the stage and it made me hold so much sympathy for her and what happened to her. ten out of ten truly.
nicholas christopher play pirelli and that is a character that is made or broken by the actor and christopher knocked it out of the park! the flamboyance and theatrics, within the world of the play, were on point! i laughed, i winched, i had a great time! i am a little sad that his song during the contest was cut in half, but i suppose i understand why. you don't need the tooth pulling bit to really get the point, but i enjoyed christopher so much it was sad that he didn't get more in that bit.
jamie jackson played judge turpin and john rapson played beadle bamford, i'm coupling them together since they're kind of a match set imo. i think both of these actors really captured how hypocritical and despicable they are. rapson really made the beadle enjoy every single word he said and all of the bullshit he got up to. also, im pretty sure this performance falls under the dandy archetype or he's queer-coded. maybe its both. it was really fun to watch. jackson was so good as the judge, but i am so sad that he didn't get his own song "mea culpa - johanna" which i was so sad about. i love that song and i think it brings a lot to the judges character, without it he loses something in my opinion. jackson still did a really good job with what he had, but he could have had more with that song, and i just would have liked to hear it.
if i was braver/more disobedient i would have taken some pictures cause i thought some of the staging made very pretty shots. there was two sequences that took place on a raised platform that served as todd's barber shop and the house where johanna lived with the judge. one was with todd, cast in total shadows and the background behind him was completely red, i can't say that i fully remember when it happened, but it was during act 1 and it was such a strong image. the second sequence was a silhouetted dance that took place during "poor thing" with lucy being attacked by the judge at the party. they were both so amazing to watch in real time. i loved them.
i can't explain most of the choreography. there was a lot of arm movements, rhythmic arm movements. and when the whole ensemble was together there was a lot of moving together, leaning together and all of that. it was all just very good. i'm so glad that i got to see it! i feel so lucky tbh.
anyways, that's it!
