Pittsburgh City Paper: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is scary! And not just because this musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler is about a barber who kills his customers and has his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett, turn them into meat pies. It's also scary because it's the greatest work of art ever produced, and every time I see it, my heart is in my throat hoping the company doesn't screw it up.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Sweeney Todd
Pittsburgh City Paper: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is scary! And not just because this musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler is about a barber who kills his customers and has his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett, turn them into meat pies. It's also scary because it's the greatest work of art ever produced, and every time I see it, my heart is in my throat hoping the company doesn't screw it up.
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4 comments:
I must say that of all the dynamic pictures of Sweeney Todd that we all know are secretly out there, I am slightly disappointed that they chose this one for the article. That being said, I do feel like for the most part this review is pretty accurate. I can honestly say that in seeing Sweeney Todd everyday for the past 2 weeks, not a day has gone by when I am not in awe at the production that has been created. I feel like I am viewing that rare moment in theatre where everything simply works; the performers, designers, director, and all on the production coexist beautifully together. Congratulations Sweeney Todd on a truly amazing show!
The article was short sweet and to the point, however, I think the author could have written a little more about the show and a little less about the failures of other shows. The best thing about Sweeney, as Sam mentioned, is the way that everything is harmonious. The set, the costumes, the acting, the song... it all melds together into this show that is awe inspiring. I think that the set and the atmosphere from the moment you walk in is perfect. After listening to the designers and the production team, it completely makes sense. Walking into the theater gives you an old style theater feeling and creates this lively atmosphere filled with anticipation. The whole rest of the show was just perfect, they handled all of the songs gracefully, the parts were perfect for each actor. What was also nice was the CMU flare that they added to the deaths. Instead of making it a potential nightmare deathtrap combo, the dead were integrated into the rest of the show and walked off after their gruesome demise. It was artful and just beautiful overall.
I have to agree with Sam, when i saw that certain people associated with the show were posting pictures on an unnamed commonly obsessed-with social network I was fairly disappointed. mostly because any freshman knows how much effort that the design team put into keeping the show secretive and not giving anything away. but all in all the show was legen...wait for it..... Dary! truly amazing, reminds me just how damn lucky I am to be attending this amazing school. I have to play favorites for a second and say that Toby stole my heart in this show. Long Live the Demon Barber!!!
I am also a bit disappointed to by the picture that was chosen for this article. I wish that they author had written more about Carnegie Mellon’s performance of Sweeney Todd and less about how things could possibly go wrong while performing Sweeney Todd. I also wished that he discussed the design elements of this show.
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