‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Directed by Thomas Kail
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 West 46th Street
(877-250-2929), www.SweeneyToddBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Most theatergoers can recite all of Stephen Sondheim’s works and he was prolific indeed. Quite possibly, the best and most intricate song wordsmith of any generation. First produced in 1979, starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and winner of eight Tony Awards, the original production of Sweeney Todd closed after only 557 performances. A barber slitting the throats of his clients for revenge and then making pies out of their bodies wasn’t exactly what people wanted to see from a musical. For most people it was quite jarring, and it wasn’t the usual musical fare one came to expect from a Sondheim musical. Honestly, I was one of those people that just didn’t get it. Let’s just say it was decades ahead of its time

The years have transformed this musical into a masterpiece. Audiences have finally come to appreciate it not only as a musical but it also has the grandness and style of an opera. The songs don’t come trippingly off the tongue, but they are among Sondheim’s greatest compositions.

You know the plot: Sweeney Todd (Josh Groban) rescued at sea and befriended by a young sailor, Anthony Hope (Jordan Fisher) on a dock in London. They are met by a Beggar Woman (Ruthie Ann Miles). Sweeney recounts to Anthony how he used to be a barber and married to a beautiful woman. A corrupt judge, Judge Turpin (Jamie Jackson), lusted for his wife and sent Sweeney away on trumped-up charges. Leaving Anthony, Sweeney goes to Fleet Street where his barber shop used to be above a meat-pie shop. The shop is run by Mrs. Lovett (Annaleigh Ashford) who tells him how awful her pies have been because of the lack of meat in them. When Sweeney asks about renting the barber shop, Mrs. Lovett reveals to him that she recognizes him as Benjamin Barker, the former barber that stayed there, and presents him with his old sterling silver straight razors that she kept for him all these years. She also informs him that his wife, Lucy was lured by the judge and his assistant, Beadle Bamford (John Rapson) to a masked ball at the judge’s home—where she was raped and ultimately, she poisoned herself. The judge then took Sweeney’s infant daughter, Johanna (Delaney Westfall) and raised her as his ward. This starts the tale of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street.

From the moment I heard that Josh Groban was going to play Sweeney Todd, I have been counting down the days to see this show. For me, this was the show I was longing to see in the 2022/23 season, and wow, it offered everything I’ve been waiting to see in Sweeney Todd. I’ve seen the original Sweeney with Len Cariou, also George Hearn, Bob Gunton, Michael Cerveris—all great in their own right. However, Mr. Groban is the definitive Sweeney. His acting is subtle, provides the proper menace, but his voice, whether singing the bittersweet “The Barber and His Wife”, the bitterness in “No Place Like London,” the anguish for his blades in “My Friends” or the tormented “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” the voice is heaven-sent—from its purity to operatic scale, his voice is spellbinding.

One always associates the robust Mrs. Lovett with Angela Lansbury. Let’s face it, who can top Angela Lansbury? Annaleigh Ashford has taken a different path. Ms. Ashford is known for her mastering the art of comedy. Since she is a much younger Mrs. Lovett, she doesn’t go for the robust innocence, but taps into every aspect of the comedic and the sinister that Mrs. Lovett possesses, and this makes her the perfect foil to Mr. Groban’s possessed Sweeney.

Director Thomas Kail, best known for directing the blockbuster musical Hamilton, has seen to every aspect of this production. From fine-tuning his two leads to the supporting players, including: Jordan Fisher as Anthony, Gaten Matarazzo as Tobias, Ruthie Ann Miles as Beggar Woman, Delaney Westfall as Johanna, Jamie Jackson as Judge Turpin, and John Rapson as Beadle Bamford, they all excel in their performances. What Mr. Kail has also seen to is the perfect set design by Mimi Lien. The original by Eugene Lee, although a Tony winner, was way too overwhelming. The steeliness of it overtook everything that was going on. Most other sets were minimal and underwhelming. This one is a perfect mood setter.

Whether it is the material or the timing, suffice it to say this version of Sweeney Todd has reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 2, 2023
Reviewed at April 1, 2023 press performance.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Ruthie Ann Miles. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Groban, Nathan Salstone & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Alicia Kaori, DeLaney Westfall & Kristie Dale Sanders. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Nicholas Christopher & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TOOD’: Jamie Jackson & John Rapson. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Jordan Fisher & Maria Bilbao. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

The post ‘Sweeney Todd’: Razor-sharp revival best ever appeared first on StageZine.

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James LaPine
Directed by Sarna LaPine
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876), www.TheHudsonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

With practically every musical, one either loves it, hates it or is indifferent to it. With a Sondheim musical, one either passionately loves it–or at worst, it’s not one’s cup of tea. You cannot toss a Sondheim musical aside by being indifferent to it. Putting it together is not easy, in Seurat’s words, for it has to have balance, color, light, tension and symmetry. Whether one likes the piece or not, one has to admire and respect the effort, the art and the intelligence that goes into each of Sondheim’s musicals.

When Sunday in the Park with George was originally presented in 1984, one felt a sense of detachment to it and one can still have that feeling today. Act I and Act II seemed to be two different musicals, with the common thread being artist George Seurat. Seurat used science behind color that led him to develop Pointillism. Like Seurat, Sondheim was also creating his new style by using Pointillism as a source to his music. With time and maturity and this current production, Act II really complements Act I. Whereas Act I introduces us to Seurat (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his muse/lover/model Dot (Annaleigh Ashford) in the creation of his masterpiece “A Sunday Afternoon On the Island of La Grand Jatte,” Act II is set in a gallery in 1983 and delves into Dot’s daughter Marie (also Ms. Ashford), and her grandson George (also Mr. Gyllenhaal). The 1983 George invents the “Chromolume,” a set of magnificent lighting designs using colored light bulbs that float over the audience’s head to create a three dimensional design of the original painting with music and light. It’s an extraordinary special effect that makes the moment memorable.

What is truly remarkable in this production is Jake Gyllenhaal. Having just seen him in Nocturnal Animals, as well as Southpaw, Prisoners, and Nightcrawler, one wouldn’t expect to see this intense young actor in a musical. Who knew he could sing? He brings a charisma to both Georges that eliminates a lot of the detachment one feels in Sunday. He actually draws you into the drama of what is happening on the Island of La Grand Jatte. Equally adept is Annaleigh Ashford, who brings a delightful innocence and smarts to her characters Dot and Marie. Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Ashford have a most congenial chemistry together.

Unlike the current revival of Sunset Boulevard, in which the bare stage was a disastrous mistake, the bare stage here works in favor of the show and concentrates heavily on the creation and the recreation of Seurat’s painting, and this makes the viewer concentrate more on the performers, their performance and their voices.

Director Sarna LaPine has cleverly filled the stage with a great supporting cast, including Robert Sean Leonard, Penny Fuller, Ruthie Ann Miles, Brooks Ashmanskas, Jenni Barber, Phillip Boykin and Erin Davie, and weaves Act II to Act I together seamlessly. However, the detachment of the piece, even with the best of efforts and intentions can never be eliminated. For a lot of people, Sunday in the Park with George can fall in the category of not my cup of tea.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 2, 2017
Reviewed at performance on March 1, 2017

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Jake Gyllenhaal & Penny Fuller. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford & Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford & Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post A superb ‘Sunday in the Park with George’ appeared first on StageZine.

‘SYLVIA’: Annaleigh Ashford & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

SYLVIA
By A. R. Gurney
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Cort Theatre
138 West 48th Street
212-239-6200, www.sylviabroadway.com

By David NouNou

Sylvia may have seemed cute as presented by Manhattan Theatre Club back in 1995 in the small and intimate Center Stage One, but in today’s world in which social media dominates (i.e., Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest to name a few, plus “dog blogs”), people post everything about their dogs from “stupid pet tricks” on YouTube and Vine videos on Instagram to dogs in Halloween costumes, among a myriad of other online pet antics. Sylvia’s paper-thin plot on a big Broadway stage has shrunk to a wisp of an idea even if you’re a fan of canine humor (and this is coming from a reviewer who is a dog lover and the owner of a golden retriever named Bagels).

The premise is simple. One day Greg (Matthew Broderick), while on a nature walk in Central Park, comes across Sylvia (Annaleigh Ashford), a dog that talks (in dog language, I assume), but is interpreted in English to enable Greg and the audience to know that they are communicating with each other. Greg is going through a mid-life crisis and Sylvia is his newfound love, bordering on mistress. He brings her home and his wife Kate (Julie White) is not happy with this arrangement. Their children are off to college, their marriage is getting routine, Greg skips work only to spend more time with Sylvia, and things get creepier and creepier. Oh, did I mention that Sylvia can be extremely foul-mouthed, gets horny at times, and loves to smell people’s crotches? This is the nature of this comedy.

I wish I could tell you more, but there really isn’t much more to say other than the constant walks to the park with Sylvia during which Greg meets a fellow dog owner, Tom (Robert Sella,) who explains to Greg the facts of life and the special bond between men and their dogs. Kate in turn runs into a friend, Phyllis (also played by Robert Sella in drag). Both Kate and Greg go to a therapist, the androgynous, Leslie (Robert Sella again); for Leslie can be either a man’s or a woman’s name, so Leslie allows the patient to pick which gender they want to speak to. Somewhere in that mix is a showdown between Kate and Sylvia.

The cast consists of formidable names. Starting with Annaleigh Ashford, who has been making quite a sensation on Broadway in the last few years; getting a Tony nomination for Kinky Boots a couple of years ago and winning one this year for You Can’t Take It With You, is delightful as usual but what with the aforementioned social media making it harder and harder these days to appreciate a feisty talking dog on stage, all is not kibbles and bits.

Julie White, who always brings such pathos to the characters she portrays, whether in her Tony-winning role in The Little Dog Laughed or in her Tony-nominated role earlier this year in Airline Highway, does her best considering the material she’s given. This woman can do everything that involves comedy or drama, but even she seems to flounder as the exasperated but valiant wife in dealing with Sylvia.

The evening’s most delightful performance is provided by Robert Sella as the geeky Tom, the haughty Phyllis and the androgynous Leslie. Mr. Sella gives us three distinct characters and three desperately needed gems.

Oy, and now to the hardest. Matthew Broderick was such an incredible talent when I first saw him in Torch Song Trilogy, followed by Brighton Beach Memoirs (for which he won his first Tony Award as Eugene Jerome). By the time he did Eugene again in Biloxi Blues, a pattern was emerging: the disengaged youth. Call it a curse or a blessing; Mr. Broderick hasn’t seemed to age a day in 32 years. At 53, he still has that boyish face, but his performances have turned from disengaged to laconic to downright somnambulant. Ever since he played Leo Bloom in 2001 in The Producers, he has been playing the same character over and over again: Last year in It’s Only a Play, three years ago in Nice Work If You Can Get It, plus The Philanthropist and The Starry Messenger, just to name a few.

Considering Sylvia’s wispy and dated plot, Mathew Broderick’s low-energy performance, and Daniel Sullivan’s flimsy direction, there is hardly any reason to sit up, pant or roll over with delight

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 30, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on October 29, 2015

‘SYLVIA’: Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Julie White & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Julie White. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Matthew Broderick & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Robert Sella & Matthew Broderick. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘SYLVIA’: Matthew Broderick & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Sylvia’: Canine caper’s humor goes to the dogs appeared first on StageZine.