SWEENEY TODD original production Mrs. Lovett standbys

[morosco]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 7:21pm

Does anyone know if any of the standbys for Mrs. Lovett in the original broadway production ever went on for Lansbury or Loudon?

Marge Redmond
Maggie Task
Denise Lor

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 8:59pm

I don't know, but Redmond was quite wonderful in the role.

[Miranda3]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 10:01pm

A tangent to the topic: I didn't know Maggie Task was a Mrs. Lovett standby, but I think she originally had the Miss Hannigan role in Annie early on till Mike Nichols replaced her with Dorothy Loudon. The creators felt that Task's interpretation of Hannigan was too one-dimensionally dark and mean. Was Task a standby for Lansbury or Loudon? I know Lor was a standby for Loudon.

[morosco]

Posted: 10/18/14 at 10:09pm

Maggie Task was an original cast member listed as "Member of the Company" and in the smaller print below the cast she was listed as understudy to Lansbury. (As company replacements during the run IBDB lists the others as follows, Standbys: Denise Lor (Mrs. Lovett), Marge Redmond (Mrs. Lovett).

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/19/14 at 10:24am

I used to love Marge Redmond on "The Flying Nun" when I was a kid. I had no idea she was such an accomplished musical theatre performer.

Updated On: 10/19/14 at 10:24 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/19/14 at 10:29am

Reading a little more about Marge, she was also Judy Holliday's understudy in Bells Are Ringing.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/19/14 at 11:17am

You can hear her (a little bit) in this: