Sunday Showtunes

Tuesday night I saw the new version of “SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET.”   

Some remember how much people laughed at the last revival of Sweeney, which had reduced orchestrations and was called "Teeny Todd."  Well, this production continues the diminution - it has no chorus, only uses 10 actors to play the roles, all of whom play instruments onstage (blocked as part of the staging) and are the only orchestra.  (For the record, here is the entire cast and what they play (no chorus, only Principals in this production): Mrs. Lovett (Patti Lupone) played tuba, bells, percussion; Sweeney (Michael Cerveris) played guitar, bells, percussion; Judge Turpin (Mark Jacoby) played trumpet, bells, percussion; Pirelli (Donna Champlin, yep, a girl) played accordion, keyboard, flute; Tobias (Manoel Felciano [sic]) played violin, clarinet, keyboard; The Beadle (Alexander Gemignani) played keyboard and trumpet; Jonas Fogg (John Arbo) played bass; Beggar Woman (Diana Dimarzio) played clarinet; Anthony (Benjamin Magnuson) played cello and keyboard; and Johanna (Lauren Molina) played cello.  (Pretty much the entire night).  Next I'm looking forward to the ultimate reduction, Sweeney Todd as a one-man show using a harmonica. 

The “orchestration” (which puzzlingly won a Tony award) is really just a solo piano augmented by instruments.  Besides the orchestrations being thinned out, the show is trimmed of some bits of the musical numbers and most crossover music, and "applause points" have mostly been eliminated.  (The first time we are able to applaud is after Anthony's "Johanna").  The concept of this production is lifted out of "Marat/Sade" - this production of Sweeney takes place entirely in Fogg’s insane asylum, where the inmates are acting out the story.  No one leaves the stage; when they are not in a scene they sit in one of the onstage chairs and play instruments.  (They also play instruments even while they are singing, accompanying themselves in solos/duets/etc.).  They stay in character the whole time (glazed over faces, seeing imaginary things, drooling, etc).  Every now and then a guard or nurse threatens someone with punishment if they start to act out of line or stray from the story. 

The show is done in a very bare and stylized way with a stark set.  There is no barber chair, only an odd little white coffin (huh?) that Sweeney carries around, which made no sense to me  (apparently Sondheim wrote new lyrics for "God That's Good" since that number relies on the chair workings), very few props, only a bare wood plank floor and back wall (which looks exactly like Margaret White's house in "Carrie" the musical), 6 or so chairs, a bookshelf, and a black wooden coffin on two wooden supports that is moved around to be used as a table and platform.  There are also two white ceramic buckets that are used to symbolized the throat slittings - when someone is dispatched, a cast member pours the contents of one of them into the other - stage blood.  This is done, very slowly, as the whole stage is frozen and washed in red light.  It's a very theatrical concept but not very scary. 

The entire production feels like a chamber concert, especially since the actors are in a mix of modern and period costumes and the director has instructed them never to look at each other.  Except for some of the non-sung dialogue, almost the entire show is delivered with the characters facing full-front (often standing on chairs) even if their dialogue is to each other in a scene or song.  Again, part of the stylization concept. 

The musicianship of the actors is surprisingly good, but as a musician myself I was totally distracted by watching the choreography of the instruments (everyone switches off on instruments, and many play multiple instruments - this conceit is even occasionally worked into the blocking of the show as humor) as well as the actual playing while in character.  And all from memory:  all 10 actors have their entire scores memorized!  It was a pretty amazing feat musically, in its own way.  I will say that when they had nothing else to do, everyone played the triangle, and I never heard so much triangle so continuously in a show.  I grew sick of it by evening's end. 

I was in the front row, inches from the actors, who tended to come downstage and hang their toes over the edge of the stage, no doubt to put the audience in a state of unease.  (Or they didn’t pay attention in beginning acting class about pulling focus).  I had Michael Cerveris and Patty LaPone (and others) literally towering over me and spitting on me.  I have seen Cerveris live many times (including often in Titanic)  but I had forgotten how much he spits – or should I say SPEWS - while he is onstage.  I found myself wincing and gumming my lips each time he crossed over my way.  Patti Lupone had a cold (and kept coughing when not in a scene) and believe me, I was close enough to catch it!  Thank God I didn't. 

I was amazed during the show to hear a sudden burst of laughter coming from backstage - very unprofessional!  I had never seen such an amateur thing during a Broadway show.  Also, while the actors were in places for Act II behind the scrim, one of them was practicing "Auld Lang Syne" on the cello - not appropriate, I thought, and also unprofessional. 

Performance-wise, the show was great - except that Patti Lupone did her first scenes with bored indifference that made me wonder if she was going to be phoning it in this night.  It wasn't until "Wait" that she started picking up fire - maybe that was when the cold medicine kicked in!

On the whole, I respected this show for its daring concept, but I can't really say I enjoyed it as a production of Sweeney Todd.  For one thing, with all the stylization, non-connection between the characters, and no sets or props, plus with everyone constantly playing and switching off instruments all the time, I think if someone didn't already know the show it would be impossible to tell what the hell's going on.  (In fact a man at intermission asked me to explain the plot to him!)  It seemed more like an interesting chamber concert idea or experiment but I would not recommend it to someone as their first production of the show.

[Note – the current revival of “Company” also has the actors playing the instruments.  Will it never end?]

KSHO broadcasts to the Mid-Willamette Valley in Western Oregon.
Among the communities served are Albany, Corvallis, and Lebanon.