Search - Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Cris Groenendaal :: Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979 Original Broadway Cast)

Epic in its scope, with an incomparable score

Jeff Crosley | Atlanta, GA United States | 05/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This review is by CrosleyStephen Sondheim is my favorite composer and lyricist, and he is incredibly good at both. Sweeney Todd is the best of his works, and 50 years from now, Sondheim will be the Mozart to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Salieri. Once day, the muddled masses will lose the perception that show tunes have to be repetitive enough to get stuck in your head and trivially escapist, and will recognize Sondheim and his phenomenal talent for what it is: genius. What makes Sweeney so good is the sheer complexity of the score, plot, characters, and message. The show, on one level, is about murder and cannibalism. Deeper, it's about vengeance. Still deeper, it's about the breakdown of an ordered society. Even deeper than that, it's about the nature of good, evil, justice, the terrible dark side to the Industrial Revolution, and the corruption of innocence. The show's wealth of topics and moral questions is infinite, and I personally have had many a debate with myself and others about this show and the questions proposed. Told in such an unconventional, uncompromising, and graphic manner, the messages are that much more powerful.The score may not be the most "hummable" (whatever that means) score you come across, but it is unbelievably deeper, stronger, and more intelligent than "hummable" shows, like The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Jekyll and Hyde, etc. I notice something new every time I listen. Sondheim never writes songs just so they can be pop hits (*cough* Webber). He always writes the song perfectly in context with what's happening in the plot. Thus, very few of his songs can be taken out of context, but in context (which is how they're supposed to be) they are phenomenal. His use of melody, harmony, subtle key changes, and time signatures are staggering, breaking down all barriers of conventional musical theater. For example, near the end of the show (I won't specify the context so I don't spoil the plot), Sweeney is singing a near funeral dirge in big, 8/4 bars, while Mrs. Lovett is frantically singing in 3/4. Yes, this is going on at the same time, and the result is nothing short of perfection. Along those lines, the music always suits the character. Consider the differences between Mrs. Lovett's songs to Sweeney's. Mrs. Lovett (who I consider to be far more evil than Sweeney) always sings quickly paced, oftentimes cheerful numbers (The Worst Pies in London, By the Sea), or she sings complacently and laid back (Wait). Sweeney, on the other hand, is either brooding (Johanna, The Barber and his Wife, My Friends), or disturbingly intense and enraged (Epiphany). Again, the music is used to enhance the characters and plot, not the other way around.Speaking of which, the characters are wonderfully multidimensional. Nearly all of them have several sides to them that makes very few characters only good or only evil. The second song in the show called "Johanna" (the one sung by the Judge) offers several dimensions to Judge Turpin within three and a half minutes that are otherwise missing. With the song, we see the Judge's struggle between his faith, his lust for Johanna, and his S&M fettish. The song is often cut because of its bizarre and disturbing nature, but when left intact, the Judge becomes a much deeper character. All of the music is used to further the plot and establish/add dimensions to characters, rather than a traditional musical where the action stops dead for a song, then resumes after the applause. "Epiphany" is absolutely breathtaking, and listening (or watching, I have the recording) to Sweeney go mad right then and there is always exhilerating and frightening.I recommend this CD to everyone, especially those looking for a kind of intelligent and cerebral theater not seen on Broadway since the curtain closed on Passion. The show and score is superior to all of today's major hits like Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Jekyll and Hyde, The Scarlett Pimpernell, The Producers (funny as it is), The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mama Mia, etc. Do musical theater a favor and discover this phenomenal show. If the Amercian Musical is to survive the next decade or so, it will need people to have a knowledge and appreciation for great musical theater."

5 stars for the original cast, 2 stars for the Remastered 20

Dmitri Karamazov | Memphis, TN | 02/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those of you who already have the original issue of this cd and are wondering if the remastered version is worth investing in, let me save you some trouble. There is almost no audible difference in the remastered version, unless you count the fact that they've added a ton of reverb - for those who don't know, it's the sound of singing in a cave. The cd here is otherwise still "trebly," and the discrepancies in volume level are still there. Don't get me wrong, this cast is amazing, but don't pay again for this "remastered" version, unless of course you're dying to hear Julie Andrews sing the second part of "Sweet Polly Plunkit" as a bonus track.

Edit: How could I forget my other big gripe? NO LYRICS! "MasterworksBroadway," who reissued this along with a bunch of other Sondheim, decided to axe lyrics that were previously available in favor of fat, uninspired essays. I've confirmed this with my Into the Woods "Remastered" edition (treble and reverb in full effect) which lacks the lyrics the original cd had."

One of a kind!

Thomas C. Nagy | Ebensburg, PA USA | 04/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The typical musical has you leaving the theater humming catchy tunes and a feel good outlook on life. In Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" (which is really an opera) a listener or theater-goer leaves the theater moved, frightened, laughing, and yet questioning goodness in human nature!I got to see this musical on Broadway, with this particular cast, and have never seen anything quite like it since. Len Cariou, Angela Lansbury and the rest of this exquisite cast created a comical, romantic freak show in which the good guy did not always come out on top. If you do not know this show, it would be good to find out more about it before you buy it. My email address is listed in my "about me" page. I would be glad to take the time to talk more about this to any one interested!Sinister, operatic, thought provoking and beautiful, Sweeney Todd has carved out its own niche in the world of musical theater!"