(THERE WILL BE MASSIVE SPOILERS; PLEASE BEWARE IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE SHOW!)
So I just came back from seeing a modernized version of Sweeney Todd by The Chameleon Theatre Circle, and I swear my view on the Musical has been widened from the experience. I had never seen it modernized and I was surprised at how seamlessly it worked! I don't mean for this to be a review, only an organization of thoughts, but it might become a review despite my best efforts.
It worked splendidly in modern times and the cast was great!
Sweeney had such emotional intensity I couldn't help but be taken in by his odd charisma. He kinda chewed the scenery, but I don't mean that in a bad way whatsoever since it led me to my own reason for falling for this portrayal. Why? His acting reminded me of Doug Jone's acting in 'Skin and Bones' as Grady Edlund possessed by the Wendigo. Wendigos are cannibalistic spirits. So my head-canon for this production, though doubtfully what it was intended as, is that after eating the Meat Pie, Sweeney and Toby, since Toby (who was played by a girl) also acted with a swift and angular physicality, became Wendigos. Mrs.Lovett didn't, since she never ate her own meat pies when she made them out of rubbish and table scraps, so out of habit she avoided them still, even once she acquired more plentiful supplies.
I'm way too fascinated with Wendigos, and knowing me, I'll go into this more at a later date, but for now, Wendigo Psychosis exists, so if I were the dramaturge I'd go all out with that head-canon. I'm odd about hypotheticals like this since I don't expect to be put in that position, but who knows!
I really liked this Sweeney, though, it was obvious he had no boundaries, and it showed in how he dashed about the stage and throughout the audience.
This Mrs.Lovett was wonderful, though not quite Mrs.Lovett, in my mind. She was a brilliant actress and a phenomenal character, but since I am so over-protective of this role, I see three things I would change. She was still splendid, just not the same character as the one I aspire to play. Believe me, though, this woman was marvelous, just a very different take on the usual portrayal of Mrs.Lovett, that I happen to be so enamored with.
The things missing, in my mind, were:
The hint of remorse- I did see a tiny twinge, but I had to search for it. I feel after 'Not While I'm Around' there needs to be a moment of guilt, not necessarily due to killing people, but due to not giving Toby what he deserves. I think in that specific aspect Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal is spot on!
Tied to that is the inherent maternal instinct, despite her non-maternal actions. Again it was there in this actress's portrayal, but I feel like it's an integral part of Mrs.Lovett's character.
Speaking of integral parts of Mrs.Lovett's character. Her adoration for Sweeney is not a wimpy schoolgirl crush it is a "'light of my life, fire of my loins', my whole existence is based around you now that you're back, and the fact that you say things like "How I did with out you all these years I'll never know" means more to me than any of Albert and I's wedding vows- it proves we're in love, and since your silly little nit of a wife is no longer functioning, you have me and that's all that matters, because you mean more than this entire cosmos to me-" sort of love. It isn't light flirting and a bit of provocative choreography- it is deeper than deep!
With that said, though, 'By The Sea' was spectacular and adorable and I loved the choreography/blocking, particularly how Mrs.Lovett basically dominated him and pushed him around to fit into her little dream role as Sweeney's mind couldn't be any further away! Ah, I love it so much!
Also, speaking of relating to Mrs.Lovett, which I do in a way that probably seems profoundly creepy, in 'By The Sea' she gets excited about Seagulls, and that's definitely something I do... And at one point she had the same silver tights as I, though that's grasping at straws for comparisons.
I did like the kind of gaudy mobster's wife thing this modernized Lovett had going on, and I liked her hair and her street-smart edge. They were interesting additions to the character. I did like the way she/they played with character to make her resilient and diabolical in a fresh sort of way. They didn't need to fix what wasn't broken, but they didn't break her either, so I appreciate and respect that.
The highlight was this superb actress named: Carrie Kuehl. This woman was the best beggar woman I have ever seen. She was seemingly short and somewhat stocky with short purple hair and a ragamuffin outfit much like the one I cobbled together to keep warm during my own "homeless" weekend.
As my aunt/Godmother mentioned to me, she definitely stole the show even more than Mrs.Lovett, and in a way due to the subtlety of the foreshadowing, that might not be good, but it still surprised my aunt/Godmother!
The place in my heart that Lucy holds has grown exponentially from my first viewing of Sweeney Todd in the form of the Tim Burton movie, perhaps because I was young and dumb and thought you had to choose sides in love triangles I had no empathy for Lucy, whereas now I see her as the most empathetic character of the whole thing. Yes, I relate to Sweeney and GOD YES, I relate to Mrs.Lovett (her being one of my favorite characters of all time and all) but I still see Lucy as the most deserving of empathy.
Because of that, and the fact that despite Mrs.Lovett being my all-time dream role, it would be a dream come true to even be in a cast of Sweeney Todd, I've decided that my runner up dream role might have to be Lucy, especially considering how this production never once showed her as blonde or conventionally attractive, just someone who Sweeney once adored. And hair-dye and wigs exist so that wouldn't be an issue.
I've also decided that despite my absolute adoration of Mrs.Lovett as a character, and how she still is my dream role, my favorite song in 'Sweeney Todd' is Lucy's solo amidst the finale. Since no one seems to know what I'm talking about, since the song often gets cut out of productions, here are the lyrics:
"Beadle deedle deedle deedle deedle dumpling, Beadle dumpling, Be-deedle dumpling... And why should you weep then, my jo, my jing? Ohh . . .Your father's at tea with the Swedish king. He'll bring you the moon on a silver string. Ohh... Ohh... Quickly to sleep then, my jo, my jing, He'll bring you a shoe and a wedding ring. Sing here again, home again, Come again spring. He'll be coming soon now to kiss you, my jo, my jing, Bringing you the moon and a shoe and a wedding ring. He'll be coming here again, Home again-"
Some call it The Beggar Woman's Lullaby/Lucy's Lullaby, and every time I hear it, it breaks my heart, since Lucy makes her way into her old living quarters and begins singing as she did to Johanna, hence remembering a small part of her former self, just as her daughter cowers in the trunk and just as her husband, who loves her more than anyone in the universe yet is blinded by revenge, kills her. In that moment while she sings, things are as close to being reunited as a family as they ever could get. Yet Lucy only sees these things as wispy memories that mightn't be any more real than the visions madness brings. None of the family know that they are finally with the loved ones they never could be with, and within seconds, everything shatters permanently.
Ah, this musical is even stronger than I had previously realized. It truly is Sondheim's masterpiece, and because of that, it was ballsy and brilliant of The Chameleon Theatre Circle to take the risk to modernize it, but it was superb! (For the record, speaking of ballsy, it was pretty gusty to begin it with a news clip regarding Jeffry Dahmer's cannibalism!)
So in conclusion: I had hoped this show would re-kindle my absolute adoration for this show, and indeed it did! It's so splendid, I don't even know how to explain: it's Sondheim, it's one of the most emotionally intense art pieces I know, it's dark as all hell, it makes me cry- what more do I have to say? I'm as in love with this show as the day I first laid eyes on it when I was eleven. It was my first real MT love, and it's still as beautiful as always!
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