SWEENEY TODD (and Halloween) ARE HEADED YOUR WAY!
In the concluding chapter to my new book, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: Behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece (released on Oct. 2), I point out, “Sweeney Todd marked an inflection point in musical theater that invited greater experimentation in subject matter told with seriously composed music — stepping beyond happy tunes and flashy choreography — that added considerable power and depth to storytelling. Sondheim’s masterpiece paved the way for serious, character-driven scores to find success on Broadway and beyond.” The show was indeed a masterpiece, but it also demonstrated how musical theater could handle serious, scary and even tragic, storytelling.
My book’s chapters include in-depth explorations of the tale’s bloody history as a 19th-century “Penny Dreadful” serialized novel that evolved into a frightening melodrama and came to a London theater in the 1970s where Sondheim saw it and imagined it becoming a musical. I report fully on the original production with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury and devote a full chapter to Tim Burton’s cinematic adaptation starring Johnny Depp (currently streaming online). I discuss Sondheim’s haunting score and provide a song-by-song commentary in an appendix. I offer in-depth commentaries on the show’s many revivals as well as all of the cast recordings from 1979 to 2023. If you love Sondheim’s greatest show, you’ll deepen your appreciation by reading my book which puts everything together. Order your copy ($34) from Bloomsbury Publishing or Amazon.com
Speaking of Len Cariou, who originated the role of Sweeney Todd (above, with Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett) and won a 1979 Tony for it, he’s back onstage this fall in the New York premiere of Richard Vetere’s drama, Zaglada. He’ll play 90-year-old Jerzy Kozlowski (Cariou turns 86 later this month), a man suspected of collaborating with the Nazis at Buchenwald. The play’s title, a Polish word meaning “total destruction,” is used to refer to the Holocaust. It will be performed on the Sargent Stage at American Theatre of Actors (314 W. 54th St, New York) from Oct. 16 to Nov. 2.
As noted, just in time for Halloween, Tim Burton’s bloody adaptation of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd is available on an array of streaming platforms. (“Streaming” conjures up some frightening images of spurting blood, but what I’m referring to are ways to watch this on your smart TV at home.) Featuring Johnny Depp in the title role, it’s rentable for less than $4 on Amazon video and Apple TV. Even better, if you’re a Paramount+ subscriber, it’s there for the watching right now. There’s a lot to be enjoyed about Burton’s take on the show, which steadily earns an 86% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Not everyone is a fan of the director’s gory version: The vocals by Depp and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett won’t please fans of the stage production. Burton had different ideas: He chose to focus closely on the central characters, used some exaggerated special effects for cut throats and eliminated the chorus and the chilling ballad, “The Tale of Sweeney Todd.” His choices kept the film at a more marketable two hours. (Stage productions typically take three hours). Sondheim collaborated happily with the director known best for his dark fantasy and gothic horror films, and he was pleased with the final result, calling the film “the first musical that has ever transferred successfully to the screen.”
DIRECTOR HAL PRINCE
Podcaster Charles Kirsch, host of “Backstage Babble,” is using material from his podcast and other interviews for his series “Stage Direction” on BroadwayWorld.com. He began in early September with a lengthy piece about director Hal Prince, Sondheim’s friend and collaborator through the 1970s and beyond. Prince received 21 Tony Awards during his long career, the most bestowed on any individual in Broadway history.
Kirsch cites an anecdote about D’Jamin Bartlett, who played Petra, the Egermans’ saucy maid in the original production of A Little Night Music. In a conversation with Kirsch, she recalled the origins of “The Miller’s Son” and Prince’s sense of tone and structure. Sondheim had composed a number, “Silly People,” that would have slowed down the show and, accordingly, was cut. Prince asked Sondheim to write an energetic song for the maid instead. That resulted in Bartlett taking over the role from a non-singer initially cast to play Petra, a decision that some cast members grumbled about. Prince later explained that several of them “would’ve crawled over the poor girl’s corpse to play Petra and sing ‘The Miller’s Son.’” He guided Bartlett’s interpretation of the song, telling her to focus less on sexuality or manipulation and to concentrate instead on Petra’s youthful exuberance. It became a memorable moment in the show, earning Bartlett a 1973 Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut performance. According to Kirsch, years later, Bartlett reconnected with Prince at a gala celebrating him at the Eugene O’Neill Theater, and they remained close until the end of his life.
AL HIRSCHFELD CAPTURED SONDHEIM SHOWS FOR A HALF-CENTURY
David Leopold, creative director of the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, has assembled a book, Hirschfeld’s Sondheim that will appeal to Sondheim fans. Hirschfeld drew his first Sondheim show in 1957, an illustration for West Side Story. In a Digital Journal interview, Leopold said, “This Hirschfeld book is unlike any other, both in terms of size and subject matter. This a deluxe oversized book that measures 11 x 14 inches and the reproductions are amazing. Every line is there in all their glory. … Also, there has never been a book of Hirschfeld art focused on one person’s accomplishments (besides Hirschfeld’s), and who better than Sondheim?” The book contains 25 full-page images that can be easily removed and framed. It also includes rare ancillary images from the Hirschfeld archives. Hirschfeld called himself a “characterist.” His drawings, defined by a signature calligraphic style, appeared in numerous major publications during the artist’s long life. (He died at 99 in 2003.) In addition he did book and record covers, as well as 15 postage stamps. Hirschfeld was honored with a pair of special Tony Awards and the Medal of Arts from the National Endowment of the Arts. In 2003 the former Martin Beck Theatre (opened in 1924) was renamed The Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
MERRILY THEY ROLL ALONG
The “live-capture” film of the recent Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along will arrive in movie theaters beginning Dec. 5, 2025. It’s a chance for everyone who couldn’t make it to NYC for during the show’s 312-performance run (Oct. 10, 2023-July 7, 2024) — or who couldn’t afford Broadway tickets — to see director Maria Friedman’s production featuring Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard (2024 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Musical), Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas (2024 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical) and Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn. It’s also a chance to hear Jonathan Tunick’s Tony-winning orchestrations. The production repeatedly broke house attendance records at the Hudson Theatre, and it recouped its $12 million capitalization in six months, quite a feat for a show considered an embarrassing 16-performance flop in 1981.The film is being jointly released by Sony Pictures Classics and specialty distributor Fathom Entertainment.
DON’T BOTHER, THEY’RE HERE!
The pervasive existence of Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music was demonstrated recently by the actors in HBO’s third season of The Gilded Age. During the filming in Newport, Rhode Island, the show’s leading ladies — many with numerous Broadway credits — had to retreat indoors to wait out a rain delay, decked out in their tiaras. Carrie Coon, who plays imperious and manipulative Bertha Russell, started singing while having her hair fixed. Tony winner Donna Murphy (as New York society doyenne, Mrs. Caroline Astor) playfully recorded the impromptu singalong that followed featuring Christine Baranski (who plays stern socialite Agnes Van Rhijn), Kelli O’Hara (an ostracized divorced woman) and Ashlie Atkinson (the mischievous Mamie Fish). It showed up on Instagram in mid-August.