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To put it simply -- and at the risk of sounding like a cliché -- Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" is truly a ripping, bloody good film that left a surprising lump in my throat.
But what's with the androgynous Anthony Hope as portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower? He was far creepier than Johnny Depp's excellent turn as the title character or Helena Bonham Carter's downright delicious take on Mrs. Lovett.
This flick deserves all the accolades that it's receiving. Hopefully that can turn into a little box office gold. The movie has already taken in approximately $30,609,858 during its first two weeks in release, but it's only showing on about a third of the screens as the top films of the week (1249 to be exact).
In the midst of this past Labor Day weekend, three Broadway shows concluded their runs on September third. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sweeney Todd and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore were each successful either as popular favorites or for critical acclaim.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels seemed to fit squarely into the first camp, although once Jonathan Pryce signed-on, it seemed to catch favor with critics taking a second look. Of course, no one had anything but praise for Norbert Leo Butz, who took home a Tony for his extraordinary efforts. Personally, I loved the show from the get-go and ranked it among my top five shows from the 2004-05 Theatrical Season. All totaled, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels played 666 regular performances at the Imperial Theatre.
While critically-acclaimed, Sweeney Todd couldn't sustain public interest despite the fact that it had a superb cast (Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone) throughout its 349 regular performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Personally, I enjoyed immensely the unique staging of this Stephen Sondheim masterpiece in which each of the cast members did double duty as the orchestra. I was a bit disheartened that it never really caught fire as well as its failure to win the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical. Overall, with its inspired direction, wonderful orchestrations and excellent cast, I ranked it among my top ten for the 2005-06 Theatrical Season.
Finally, the one show that closed that I didn't have an opportunity to see was the dark comedy The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, which closed at the Lyceum Theatre after just 142 regular performances. Despite the critical buzz, it was completely ignored on Tony night in favor of The History Boys, which for the time being now stands as the only play left on Broadway.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, of course, lives on and is already touring. Sweeney Todd will soon follow. No word yet on the afterlife for The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, but don't be surprised to see regional theatres resurrecting it for local productions.
This is shaping up to be a major year for the Broadway musical. If you include the musicals that have already opened -- Martin Short: Fames Becomes Meand Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway-- there are thirteen shows that have been confirmed for the 2006-07 theatrical season. Plus, there are still many more tuners circling like vultures in need of a theatre. Which raises the question: Which current musical(s) will go the way of Sweeney Toddand Dirty Rotten Scoundrelsin seeing an early demise?
Much of the guessing has centered on The Wedding Singer. True, Laura Benanti's temporary departure and weekly capacities in the 60+ percent range haven't quelled the speculation, yet reports of its impending death may be greatly exaggerated. The show continues to take in a half million dollars each week, and rumors abound about upcoming cast changes. One rumor was just confirmed in the case of Matthew Saldivar's replacement: "American Idol" finalist Constantine Maroulis. Still, there's no doubt that many a show would love to land at the 1215 seat Al Hirsdhfeld Theatre.
Then there's the most celebrated musical this decade: The Producers, which has never been quite the same after the departure of its original stars Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. The musical comedy attracted only 59.5% of its capacity last week. Sure, it's still taking in over $500,000 each week, but its glory days have long since passed. The question is, are its producers willing to pull the plug just yet? With 1510 seats at the St. James Theatre, its departure could pave the way for a large-scale production to take its place.
The rest of Broadway's musicals are enjoying about 80% or better in terms of capacity so it appears very doubtful that we'll see any of them close anytime soon.
The current slate of original (non-revival) and/or transferred productions includes, in chronological order:
First and foremost, there's the last collaboration of John Kander and Fred Ebb, Curtains, which seems assured of a Broadway mounting this fall or early 2007. However, it is desperately in need of a large house to help producers recoup high costs associated with the production.
Without being specific, book writer Rupert Holmes has told The Journal News' Peter Kramer: "[T]his show in particular is a big show and there are only a few theaters that it can go into that will allow it to make back its investment. It's not a matter of being greedy. It's math. There are some shows where, even if you sell out, you still can't make money because of the expense of the show. that only a couple Broadway theatres are suitable." Is the 1417 seat Imperial Theatre -- being vacated by Dirty Rotten Scoundrels -- the appropriate size? Or would it require the even larger St. James?
Less certain are adaptations of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" and Frances Hodgson Burnett's "A Little Princess." While it's previously been announced that Jill Santoriello's musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities had a choreographer and design team in place, it certainly won't be ready as originally promised for a October 2006 bow on Broadway. While Princesses -- with book by Bill and Cherri Steinkeller and original score by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel -- had its world premiere at Seattle's Fifth Avenue Theatre last year, its last major movement toward a Broadway berth was its March 9 reading at New York's Dodger Stages. No word on theatres for either one.
Among revivals, a revival of The Wizhas been in the works for over three and a half years. Originally planned by Des McAnuff for a Broadway mounting in 2004, his production will finally see the light of day at the La Jolla Playhouse this September 26, but there's been no definitive word on a Broadway transfer.
There are also persistent rumors of an imminent Broadway transfer of the critically-acclaimed Menier Chocolate Factory production of Sunday in the Park With George. While the show has already closed in London, a 2007 Broadway mounting is widely considered to be a fait accompli. But again, there's no news regarding where it will land.
Certainly, as movement occurs, I'll be reporting on it. In the meantime, my anticipation is already building for many of these musicals.
Over the weekend, it was announced that the stunning revival of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Toddwill close September 3 -- nearly three months sooner than originally expected. Having opened on November 3, 2005 to rave reviews, it will have played a total of 349 performances by the time things wind down at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
The original 1979 production of Sweeney Todd with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury at the Uris Theatre (renamed in 1983 as the George Gershwin Theatre) won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The original ran for a total of 557 performances, opening on March 1, 1979 and closing on June 29, 1980.
Nearly one decade later, the first revival of Sweeney Todd with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre on September 14, 1989, running for 188 performances before closing on February 25, 1990. That incarnation received four Tony nominations, but no awards.
I was very disappointed that the current revival never managed to attract and sustain the audiences it so richly deserved -- despite its critical acclaim, it has often hovered near the bottom of the weekly list of Broadway grosses (last week, the musical attracted 53.6% capacity). I also was quite disheartened when it failed to win the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical; while it earned six Tony nominations, it only won in the Best Direction of a Musical (John Doyle) and Best Orchestrations (Sarah Travis) categories.
But don't expect September 3 to be the last of this Sweeney Todd -- a touring production is now very likely.
Sweeney Todd's Close Shave: LuPone and Cerveris to Stay Put Through Thanksgiving
Despite the predictions by many -- including me -- that Sweeney Todd would win the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, the show lost by a, well, hair to The Pajama Game. That loss has most likely contributed to its further decline at the box office, where the show was off 16.3% from two weeks ago with only 42.5% of the seats filled. That resulted in Sweeney Todd placing second to last among all current Broadway shows in overall capacity (only the widely-panned Hot Feet fared worse).
Despite the box office slide, it's been announced that the celebrated duo of Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris will soldier on through Thanksgiving in the roles that earned each of them Tony nominations. Although LuPone will be absent in mid-August (August 11-13) for her turn as Rose in Illinois-based Ravinia Festival's Gypsy, her continued presence in Sweeney Todd underscores her commitment to this outstanding, dark Sondheim tuner that frankly deserved the Tony and continues to deserve a larger audience.
Fortunately, the producers are making it easier (read: less expensive) to get tickets for Sweeney Todd -- theatregoers can receive up to $50 off the regular ticket pricing on performances through August 27. The pricing schedule includes:
$60 for Tuesdays at 7 pm, Wednesdays at 2 pm and 8 pm, and Thursdays at 8 pm
$70 for Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 pm and Sundays at 2 pm.
Be sure to use Code Number ST83PBX when ordering tickets.
Here are the winners in the technical categories of the American Theatre Wing's 60th Annual Tony Awards, highlighted in red (* denotes my predictions):
Best Orchestrations Larry Blank, The Drowsy Chaperone Dick Lieb and Danny Troob, The Pajama Game Steve Orich, Jersey Boys Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd*
Best Scenic Design of a Play John Lee Beatty, Rabbit Hole* Bob Crowley, The History Boys Santo Loquasto, Three Days of Rain Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!
Best Scenic Design of a Musical John Lee Beatty, The Color Purple David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone* Derek McLane, The Pajama Game Klara Zieglerova, Jersey Boys
Best Costume Design of a Play Michael Krass, The Constant Wife Santo Loquasto, A Touch of the Poet Catherine Zuber, Awake and Sing! Catherine Zuber, Seascape*
Best Costume Design of a Musical Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone* Susan Hilferty, Lestat Martin Pakledinaz, The Pajama Game Paul Tazewell, The Color Purple
Best Lighting Design of a Play Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing! Paul Gallo, Three Days of Rain* Mark Henderson, Faith Healer Mark Henderson, The History Boys
Best Lighting Design of a Musical Ken Billington and Brian Monahan, The Drowsy Chaperone Howell Binkley, Jersey Boys* Natasha Katz, Tarzan Brian MacDevitt, The Color Purple
I was right in my predictions for each of the musical categories but failed in nearly all of play categories. I still think it's looking like a big night for The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweeney Todd and The History Boys. Now for the big awards of the evening, which will come shortly.
The 60th Tony Awards will be telecast at 8 pm EDT, Sunday, June 11 on CBS.
It's the eve of the American Theatre Wing's 60th Tony Award celebration, during which a dizzying array of Broadway's finest talent will be on hand to share in bestowing the coveted medellion, if not to receive an award.
Many prognosticators and critics have already shared whom they believe will win tomorrow night. I've studiously avoided reading any of those stories so can provide my own unvarnished picks. These aren't necessarily who I think should win, but whom I believe will take home the awards.
My choices in each category are below in red:
Best Play Rabbit Hole Shining City The History Boys The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Best Musical Jersey Boys The Color Purple The Drowsy Chaperone The Wedding Singer
Best Revival of a Play Awake and Sing! Edward Albee's Seascape Faith Healer The Constant Wife
Best Revival of a Musical Sweeney Todd The Pajama Game The Threepenny Opera
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play Ralph Fiennes, Faith Healer Richard Griffiths, The History Boys Zeljko Ivanek, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial Oliver Platt, Shining City David Wilmot, The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Kate Burton, The Constant Wife Judy Kaye, Souvenir Lisa Kron, Well Cynthia Nixon, Rabbit Hole Lynn Redgrave, The Constant Wife
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Michael Cerveris, Sweeney Todd Harry Connick, Jr., The Pajama Game Stephen Lynch, The Wedding Singer Bob Martin, The Drowsy Chaperone John Lloyd Young, Jersey Boys Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Sutton Foster, The Drowsy Chaperone La Chanze, The Color Purple Patti LuPone, Sweeney Todd Kelli O'Hara, The Pajama Game Chita Rivera, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Samuel Barnett, The History Boys Domhnall Gleeson, The Lieutenant of Inishmore Ian McDiarmid, Faith Healer Mark Ruffalo, Awake and Sing! Pablo Schreiber, Awake and Sing! Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Tyne Daly, Rabbit Hole Frances de la Tour, The History Boys Jayne Houdyshell, Well Alison Pill, The Lieutenant of Inishmore Zoë Wanamaker, Awake and Sing! Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Danny Burstein, The Drowsy Chaperone Jim Dale, The Threepenny Opera Brandon Victor Dixon, The Color Purple Manoel Felciano, Sweeney Todd Christian Hoff, Jersey Boys Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Carolee Carmello, Lestat Felicia P. Fields, The Color Purple Megan Lawrence, The Pajama Game Beth Leavel, The Drowsy Chaperone Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, The Color Purple
Best Direction of a Play Nicholas Hytner, The History Boys Wilson Milam, The Lieutenant of Inishmore Bartlett Sher, Awake and Sing! Daniel Sullivan, Rabbit Hole
Best Direction of a Musical John Doyle, Sweeney Todd Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game Des McAnuff, Jersey Boys Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Choreography Rob Ashford, The Wedding Singer Donald Byrd, The Color Purple Kathleen Marshall, The Pajama Game Casey Nicholaw, The Drowsy Chaperone
Best Orchestrations Larry Blank, The Drowsy Chaperone Dick Lieb and Danny Troob, The Pajama Game Steve Orich, Jersey Boys Sarah Travis, Sweeney Todd
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre The Color Purple, Music & Lyrics: Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray The Drowsy Chaperone, Music & Lyrics: Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison The Wedding Singer, Music: Matthew Sklar; Lyrics: Chad Beguelin The Woman in White, Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: David Zippel
Best Book of a Musical Chad Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, The Wedding Singer Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, Jersey Boys Bob Martin and Don McKellar, The Drowsy Chaperone Marsha Norman, The Color Purple
Best Scenic Design of a Play John Lee Beatty, Rabbit Hole Bob Crowley, The History Boys Santo Loquasto, Three Days of Rain Michael Yeargan, Awake and Sing!
Best Scenic Design of a Musical John Lee Beatty, The Color Purple David Gallo, The Drowsy Chaperone Derek McLane, The Pajama Game Klara Zieglerova, Jersey Boys
Best Costume Design of a Play Michael Krass, The Constant Wife Santo Loquasto, A Touch of the Poet Catherine Zuber, Awake and Sing! Catherine Zuber, Seascape
Best Costume Design of a Musical Gregg Barnes, The Drowsy Chaperone Susan Hilferty, Lestat Martin Pakledinaz, The Pajama Game Paul Tazewell, The Color Purple
Best Lighting Design of a Play Christopher Akerlind, Awake and Sing! Paul Gallo, Three Days of Rain Mark Henderson, Faith Healer Mark Henderson, The History Boys
Best Lighting Design of a Musical Ken Billington and Brian Monahan, The Drowsy Chaperone Howell Binkley, Jersey Boys Natasha Katz, Tarzan Brian MacDevitt, The Color Purple
All totaled, I believe The Drowsy Chaperone will be the night's biggest winner in the musical categories, while The History Boys and Rabbit Hole will tie for the most awards in the play categories. But Sweeney Todd will also make headlines. I expect the award tallies to come down to this:
The Drowsy Chaperone -- Five awards, including Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Book, Best Scenic Design of a Musical and Best Costume Design of a Musical. Sweeney Todd -- Four awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical, Best Direction of a Musical and Best Orchestrations. The History Boys -- Three awards, including Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play and Best Direction of a Play. Rabbit Hole -- Three awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and Best Scenic Design of a Play. Faith Healer -- Two awards, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The Color Purple -- Two awards, including Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical and Best Original Score (I expect this to be the upset of the evening). The Pajama Game -- One award for the first Broadway turn by Harry Connick, Jr. in the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical category. This is the award Tony will use to illuminate its star power to the broader CBS audience. The Threepenny Opera -- One award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Jersey Boys -- One award. Expect a nearly complete shutout of this overrated hit with a token award in the Best Lighting of a Musical category. Three Days of Rain -- One award for Best Lighting of a Play. Edward Albee's Seascape -- One award for Best Costume Design of a Play.
The 60th Tony Awards will be telecast at 8 pm EDT, Sunday, June 11 on CBS.
Were Tony's Greatest Would-Be Contenders Off-Broadway?
In a thoughtful, yet provocative story in this morning's The New York Times, Ben Brantley and Charles Isherwood opine that some of the best of New York's theatre during the 2005-06 season were found Off-Broadway -- firmly out of the technical grasp of the Tony Awards. Together, they cite such productions as Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful and the musical Grey Gardens (which will see a Broadway mounting during the next year) as prime examples of shows that would have merited multiple Tony nods if only the American Theatre Wing's rules allowed for theatres with smaller capacities to be included for consideration.
Brantley and Isherwood also sang the praises of such outstanding plays as Abigail's Party, All's Well That Ends Well, Defiance, In The Continuum, Landscape of the Body, Private Fears In Public Places, Red Light Winter, Stuff Happens, The Little Dog Laughed and Third; while taking note of the musical "[title of show]". Naturally, many of the shows simply don't transfer to the larger Broadway stage because of the almighty dollar and fears over lack of wider commercial success. Sadly, these productions often have some of the best talent, both on-stage and off.
Frankly, I agree with their assessment. This was a less than satisfying Broadway season. All but one of my 10 "SOB Best of 2005-06 Theatrical Season" selections were produced outside the confines of Broadway (Sweeney Todd was my only Broadway choice to make my top ten). Eight of my picks were outside of New York altogether.
Will the tide turn? It's not likely anytime soon, and that's why I usually try to balance my trips to Broadway with sidetrips Off-Broadways. Hopefully, if you love good theatre, so do you.
SOB's Best of 2005-06: #10 - Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York, NY)
Although Stephen Sondheim's musicals often get the bad rap that they're inaccessible, this third Broadway mounting of his classicly dark tale of a vengeful barber named Sweeney Todd works extraordinarily well on many counts and is quite tasty, almost in spite of the subject matter.
First, the import helmed by John Doyle strips the show down to its bare essentials and requires each cast member to play a musical instrument. Rather than distract from the performances, the on-stage orchestrations add more depth -- even though the original rationale for this type of staging was to contain production costs.
Second, the cast is sublime. I've long been an ardent admirer of Patti LuPone. While I've seen her in three other productions (including the brilliant Broadway revival of Noises Off in 2002), this marked my first opportunity to see her perform in a Broadway musical. Not only does she provide a delectable, vampy take on the downright demented Mrs. Lovett, but she also adds to the orchestrations by playing percussion and tuba! Michael Cerveris -- who won a Tony for his portrayal of John Wilkes Booth in 2004's remarkable Assassins -- provides a creepily sympathetic take on the demon barber himself. Other cast members, including Manoel Felciano and Lauren Molina simply captivate.
But the best reasons for seeing this show are the score and story themselves. The scandalous twist at the end helps turn this feast for the eyes and ears into a tragedy, yet with Sondheim tunes as merry as "A Little Priest" and "God, That's Good," the audience has a deliciously invigorating means of getting there.
Fortunately, audiences still have an opportunity to take in this already classic retelling of Sweeney Todd. But best get tickets before the crush of demand from its certain Tony Award nominations, including its probable lock on Best Musical Revival. It's tenth on my list of the Best of 2005-06.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
