#beadle is both the worst and best performance

[nomaishuttle]

we paused new sweeney to listen to 2006 ladies in their sensitivities bc its so insanely funny

[viosoul]

When you get this, please say 5 nice things about yourself publicly, then send this to 10 of your favorite followers! (Positivity is cool) (:

Thanks for this! I also got this from @gaius-augustine-blog, so thank you both for the tag! I’m sorry it’s so late!

5 positive things is kinda hard for me, but I’ll try my best!

1. I’m eager to help. Before the pandemic, I had a record going on being a class beadle (helper) for at least 3 classes per semester.

2. I’m not afraid to sing out loud. Musical Theater class reminded me of that.

3. I’m determined. It’s how I got through my worst subject all my life.

4. I’m imaginative. What can be found of my writing online is only a few of what I’ve come up with. One thing I’ve written has actually been performed live in front of an audience by my classmates, and they knocked it out of the park! I wrote it and they made me cry!

5. I’m not afraid to cut ties with people if they aren’t healthy for me. That one I’m still learning, but it’s something positive, so it’s on here.

I tag @rf-rida, @lenoreofraven, @seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana, and anyone else who wants to do this!

[vermontparnasse]

sweeney todd off-broadway 6/16/17 evening & 6/18/17 matinee review

yes, we went twice :/  

friday evening with @courfeyracs & @flightofthedumbledore and the three of us again on sunday with @corinthes. 

this was my first (and second) time seeing sweeney todd live, and though it was slightly unconventional, i couldn't have asked for a better production.  it takes place in barrow street theatre, a tiny space in the west village that seats approximately 80 people, lending the show an almost claustrophobic level of intimacy.  audience members sit at pie counters and the performers weave around them, standing on the tables at times as well as reaching out and touching audience members when the show calls for it.  this interaction never feels cheap or gimmicky - getting to see such a high caliber of talent performing in such a small space is such a rare thing, especially with a show like sweeney todd which traditionally plays up its melodrama and theatricality in large auditoriums.  but this smaller, pared-down production really works to heighten the tension already present in the script, and the array of fantastic performances made it one of the most intense and memorable shows i've ever seen.

david michael garry as sweeney u/s (6/16): his performance was on the lackluster side of serviceable.  he was concentrating so hard on hitting the low notes - which he did hit, but they got swallowed up so that it was almost impossible to hear what he was singing.  if i hadn't already been familiar with the show i think i would have been quite lost at times.  so that was frustrating.  his performance felt too restrained - he was never terrifying or even mildly shocking.  his epiphany was utterly lifeless - while there is a deliberate blocking to this scene, here the performer also has a bit of a free reign to move and command the space however works best in the moment, but david just... didn't do anything with it.  he just felt too nice for this role, too out of his depth. 

norm lewis as sweeney (6/18): he was..... about what i expected.  norm's a singer, not an actor, and that was really evidenced by the way he carried himself in this performance.  he just played it so straight.  there was nothing sinister to his interpretation and nothing darkly comedic, either.  his a little priest was awkward as all hell because wait, this upstanding guy who wants justice for his wife and child is suddenly okay with baking people into pies?  where did that come from?  and yes, i just described the character of sweeney todd as 'upstanding,' because that's all i really got from norm.  there was nothing darker lurking beneath the surface, he was just... a wronged man, who starts to kill people on a note weirdly incongruous with the character he'd been playing up until this point.  he did have his moments: his epiphany was energized and at times frightening especially in contrast to david's lackluster rendering, and he finally managed to command the stage in time to deliver a fantastic finale.  but there was just no journey - each positive moment existed in total isolation.  he was so restrained and i found myself wishing he would just go for it but he didn't, he played it very, very safe.  fantastic voice though.  i'd never seen him live in anything before, so it was kind of cool.

carolee carmello as mrs. lovett: after friday's show, i'd have said that hers was one of the best live performances i've ever seen.  after sunday's, i was let down.  i guess this is a case study in the subtleties of live theatre... because on a surface level the performance she gave both days was pretty similar.  my critique is all in the nuance: on friday she employed a sort of off-beat humor that lent the role an air of originality that i just found so refreshing.  her delivery was always slightly off, but in a deliberate and comedic way, most notably in the worst pies in london and a little priest.  and then on sunday her performance was much more run of the mill: she was still good but it all felt very stagey, rehearsed.  all things considered i'm inclined to say that i really loved her, though.  her voice is powerful, her accent was near flawless, her emotional range was incredibly impressive... i just wish she had been able to sustain whatever magic carried her through friday's show, because she was honestly breath-taking that first night.  all that said, hers was not the only performance to suffer on sunday - we noticed that the entire cast was a bit more subdued.  i'm guessing it has something to do with them performing five shows between friday night and sunday night - i can't get over how mad that schedule is.  so i'm inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.

matt doyle as anthony: he did exactly what was demanded of this role - nothing more, nothing less, but that isn't a criticism.  i loved him.  this isn't a role that demands a lot of depth and he very much adhered to these limitations, but everything he did do, he did right.  he was appropriately warm, trusting, idealistic.  he has a gorgeous voice and it was a pleasure to listen to him.  he also stood directly in front of me more times than i could count during the second show and i became very well acquainted with his boots.

alex finke as johanna: in contrast to matt, alex added more depth to johanna than i'd have thought was possible.  johanna is a bit of a nothing role, but the way alex played her, there's a whole life and history and personality to this character.  her johanna is slightly manic, and in some ways she manages to foreshadow her mental breakdown in the second act - i'm not sure how much of this is direction and how much is alex's performance, but she absolutely nails it.  she positively lights up the room during kiss me and steals the scene with her delivery of 'i'm marrying anthony sunday' where she gestures to matt and then looks out at the audience with this 'can you believe it?!' look on her face, so her heartbreaking repetition of 'anthony sunday, anthony sunday' during the johanna reprise is even more hard-hitting... her green finch and linnet bird is gorgeous, her chemistry with matt is outstanding... she's just a delight to watch.  i'd already seen her and loved her as cosette, so her performance in this role was a real treat on top of that.

jamie jackson as judge turpin: compelling and terrifying and horrible and excellent... there was a distinctly tywin lannister-esque spin to his take on this character, who managed to terrify just by smiling with a certain sinister glint in his eye.  i felt johanna's terror of this man and sweeney's hatred of him so acutely.  there was also a dark humor to his performance that was lacking from either of the performers i saw in the role of sweeney, which made me wonder how jamie would have done in that role. 

john-michael lyles as toby: he was really great.  his comedy in the first act was on point, but then he absolutely nailed the finale.  i thought his not while i'm around was genuinely very moving, i believed in the connection he thought he had with mrs. lovett and his final scene was perfect.  i understand that some people might find him a bit too campy in the first act, but his performance fits the slightly absurd tone i think the production was trying to strike in that scene, so i honestly don't have any complaints. 

brad oscar as beadle bamford: he was great.  a bit hammy at times, but appropriately comedic and menacing when he needed to be.  his scene with mrs. lovett stalling him when he tried to get into the bake house was fantastic. 

stacie bono as beggar woman/pirelli (6/16): she gave a really solid performance.  not the sort of thing where i went home and texted people 'you need to see stacie bono as beggar woman immediately!' but at the same time i have very few qualms with her... but also not much else to say.  

monet sabel as beggar woman/pirelli u/s (6/18): her voice is PHENOMENAL, she was kneeling down on the table right next to me during the ballad of sweeney todd and her high notes blew me away.  unfortunately her performance left a lot to be desired.  i'll start with beggar woman: she was just too lucid in this role.  there was nothing insane about her performance, it felt almost like she thought she was playing the witch from into the woods, a slightly creepy character who still has all her wits about her.  it was definitely a letdown.  her pirelli though was a different matter - she was delightful, and her mustache kept coming off during pirelli's miracle elixir and the scene that followed, which she handled both humorously and gracefully.  i hope she goes on to do more comedy, based solely on this performance i'm inclined to think that humor is her forte.  absolutely dreadful irish accent, but what can you do.

all in all, a remarkably solid cast - the clear weak spot being sweeney in both of the performances we saw, which is a shame.  i'm very excited to see who'll be replacing norm in a couple of months, and depending on who it ends up being i forsee another trip to new york in my future before this production closes.