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sweeneytoddblog · 16 days

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locksmith...?

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sweeneytoddblog · 20 days

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‘Smoke! Smoke! Sign of the Devil! Sign of the Devil! City on Fire!’

So, this is probably the most complex illustration I have ever tried to tackle - so many buildings, so many characters - but I accomplished it! Phew!

Beat from Johanna Reprise; when the Beggar Woman starts trying to draw attention to the evils abrew at 186 Fleet Street as Sweeney slits throats and sweetly sings about his long lost daughter.

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sweeneytoddblog · 3 months

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I'm sad that this is so funny

before anyone comes after me for criticizing their imaginary husband, please remember that this is the performance your man is currently giving on broadway

#i was willing to give him a chance #but he clearly doesn't have the acting chops for this #combined with the baby face and tenor voice #it just doesn't work #and the accent is painful #(but i blame that one on the directing)

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sweeneytoddblog · 3 months

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youtube

Whyyyy does she sound so awful noooooo this is so unnecessary

#SHE CAN SING #what are these CHOICES she is making #it almost sounds like an angela interpretation but if she just used her regular voice it would be so much better #unless she's lost her voice somehow #idk i never liked the “over the top bad singer” version of mrs lovett personally #it's common with miss hannigan too #sweeney todd #sweeney todd revival #Youtube

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sweeneytoddblog · 4 months

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sweeney todd good ending. he just kills judge right then and there and everything is ok

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sweeneytoddblog · 4 months

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I just put together that on the day the cast album came out, my water heater broke and it was $1800 Wtf. I was psychic.

I had a dream I got to see the revival last night and the ticket cost $1800; I was only able to go because my dad bought it for me. I was then sitting next to Josh Groban who for some reason was in the audience and not performing, and we bonded because we were wearing the same shirt.

Just thought you all should know 💁‍♀️

#or i cursed myself

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sweeneytoddblog · 6 months

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#yeah good points #but hey #if he’s really terrible #maybe it’ll teach the theatre world a lesson

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sweeneytoddblog · 6 months

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Aaron Tveit was the creepiest mf in the world when he was on Gossip Girl, please tell me he's going to channel a similar energy into Sweeney Todd.

(Those crazy eyes haunt me)

This being said, I do understand the concerns; I'm a lot more skeptical than I was with Groban!!! Vocally I cannot even imagine him in the role.

Either way this is going to be a wild ride and I am here for it.

#and i'm looking forward to sutton foster!#this'll be fun #sweeney todd #sweeney todd revival #if it were still the og cast for this show then i'd be like ehh...#but it's not

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sweeneytoddblog · 6 months

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I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS AT ALL

#sweeney todd #sweeney todd revival #how did I not even think about who would be the replacements #idk about Aaron but I’m excited

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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Top 5 comedy gold moments in sweeney todd in no particular order

Sweeney todd giving up murdering for a grand total of 2 seconds after completing his righteous task

Mrs. Lovett getting asked what makes her pies so good and she just shrugs and says "cilantro (:"

Sweeney Todd throwing a fit because his evil chair of evil is 15 minutes late and this is the end of the world

Mrs. Lovett making soft plans to have sex on a beach in public (my personal fave tbh)

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett showing up to be barber hecklers. Especially because they probably wouldn't heckle anyone BUT barbers under the circumstances

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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I want to draw Sweeney Todd as a barbershop quartet guy. I want to draw that sad murderous man in a silly little outfit.

#oh CUTE

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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Review of 2023 Sweeney Todd cast album

The other day I noticed that this was revival was announced a year ago now. I have been waiting so long that I had to remind myself not to have impossibly high expectations.

Overall, it's a decent album and it gets the job done: good performances, good orchestrations, and stylistically is more similar to the original show than any of the other cast recordings. However, I am not sure I would consider it the definitive album.

This is going to be a brief and not-super-detailed review, just wanted to get down all my major thoughts!

For me, the highlight is Josh Groban. No, I haven't seen him live, but I cannot imagine disliking him on vocal performance alone. If I go back to listen to this over the 1979 album this fall, it will probably be because of him. My other favorites were John Rapson as Beadle Bamford (so over the top it was amazing) and Nicholas Christopher as Pirelli.

With the amount of times that somebody said "26 piece orchestra" when promoting this show, I made sure to pay special attention to the instrumentals. The orchestrations were beautiful, but I was also disappointed, because I remembered hearing several new orchestrations in the live recording, and I was excited to hear them professionally recorded for the first time. Sadly, they didn't make an appearance.

One issue I had was the accents, and hey, NO ONE'S accent is perfect in this. But in the case of Annaleigh Ashford, it is a major distraction. Her bizarre pronunciations actually take away from her singing at times. She also came in at lower energy than I was expecting, and I suspect she was focusing too hard on the dialect (I cannot say how this compares to her stage presence). This being said, she still has a better voice than a lot of Mrs. Lovett's, and definitely a unique take. And I will say that there were still times I felt I could understand what she was saying better than Angela Lansbury.

Personally, I don't think authenticity to Cockney accents is really that big of a deal with this show, especially with such an American cast, so I could have done without (I mean, Len Cariou and George Hearn don't even attempt British accents to begin with, and I usually don't notice.) This is also something I noticed with Maria Bilbao, who is an excellent Johanna other than her weird vowels.

The lowest point for me is Jordan Fisher, who really sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of the cast. I felt he was noticeably lacking in vocal power. On a more personal level, I also am just not a huge fan of Gaten Matarazzo's voice, and I dislike Ruthie Ann Miles' characterization of Lucy.

Overall, the album feels like it was designed as a collection of singles rather than a comprehensive recording of the show. There were several choices that tipped me off to this:

The arrangement of songs such as "Johanna" and "Not While I'm Around" to make the lyrics flow more seamlessly as a "stand-alone" song rather than a piece of the plot

Omission of plot-relevant dialogue and sound effects

Absence of some shorter ballads, "Wigmaker Sequence," and most of "Parlor Songs" (which REALLY sucks because we rarely even see the full version that appears in this show anymore)

When I listen to Sweeney Todd, I usually listen to the whole album in one go (or maybe just Act 1, or just Act 2.) So for me this direction wasn't what I wanted or expected. Personally I enjoy all the dialogue on the 1979 album as it helps to immerse me in the story, and I also think it would be helpful for anyone unfamiliar with the show.

The more glaring issue is that Judge Turpin's role is greatly reduced. Without any of his scenes with dialogue or "Mea Culpa," I feel like I barely know who the character is based on this album. He appears a few times, lacks his big solo, and we don't really hear anyone talk about him that much. I don't know, I'm tempted to go back and see what his presence is like on the other cast albums now? But he seemed to be somewhat forgotten amongst all the characters.

I have listened to the whole thing twice now and I can't say for sure whether I will come to prefer it over other albums and casts. But I definitely found it to be worth revisiting, and Josh Groban's Sweeney in particular has me in love. However, I have a feeling that the 1979 album will always be first in my biased heart.

#sweeney todd #sweeney todd cast album

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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It is pretty distracting!

Funnily enough in the first interview I ever watched about this production, she talked largely about being insecure about her accent (I am sure you all know the one.)

i know we've been complaining about annaleigh ashford's accent since the first teaser song came out but god it really is just impossible to ignore

like genuinely how do you get this far into a BROADWAY PRODUCTION of a show by one of the most HIGHLY ACCLAIMED COMPOSERS EVER without getting a fucking dialect coach. did no one help this poor woman. they're just completely leaving her out to dry and at this point i can really only feel bad for her

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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I will write a full review soon! Lots of thoughts!

I know I was pretty critical but I liked it!

#sweeney todd cast album

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sweeneytoddblog · 8 months

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My phone is at 2% but I did it I finished before it died

#sweeney todd cast album

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