Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
mint0621
Broadway Star Joined: 10/10/04
#0Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:51pm
I saw Sweeney Todd a few days ago, and had a few questions about some of the props and costumes....anyone interested in chatting? I know there are Sweeney Todd fans out there!! Please identify yourselves :)
I want to know why Manoel wears pajamas throughout the whole show, and what the purpose of the baby coffin was in the context of the show.
On a random note: How great of a performer is Michael Cerveris? He gave me nightmares in my sleep after the sho
Chrysanthemum62001
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/04
#1re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 1:54pm
LOL! I swear, fifty years from now people will still be trying to figure out that damn baby coffin!
I wish I ddidn't have to go to class so I could say more...
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
#2re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:14pm
Manoel's wearing pajamas, because the central conceit of John Doyle's version is that the action takes place within a mental institution. The show begins with Tobias strapped into his chair- he's a mental patient (which makes perfect sense, given that Toby goes insane at the end). There are many ways to interpret this production, but I like to think that Tobias is reliving the events that led him to his mental state. Actually, he's not just re-living, but in many cases, CREATING the story, or filling in the narrative gaps. Notice, for example, that when Anthony first sees Johanna, Toby actually mouths along some of his lines (something Manoel started to do later in the run). Given that Tobias wasn't present at the time (he never even met Anthony!), one could speculate that the whole scene is a product of Tobias' imagination. That he's actually making up parts of the story, perhaps as a means to try to make sense of it all.
Other people see the show as the inmates of the asylum literally acting out the story, which is a valid interpretation, since Pirelli and Jonas Fogg often act as the doctors in charge, wanting to make sure things don't get too out of hand. This is most noticeable in the scene in which Sweeney violently grabs Mrs Lovett. Personally, I like to think of the show as the product of Tobias' imaginative and creative forces. It would explain why Tobias is the ONLY one dressed as as an inmate in an insane asylum. I could go on, but I'll get to the next question.
The coffin has many symbolisms, and we could argue about it day and night. First and foremost, it's Sweeney's barber chair. It makes sense that it would be a coffin since, well, he sends people to their deaths through that very chair. It also symbolizes his obsession with revenge (which is why he can't let it go). At times, it's his baby daughter, Johanna. (correlation between life and death, perhaps? A reminder of what he has lost?) And at the end, it's Lucy's body. Ultimately, though, it's a visual reminder of death and loss, themes which permeate the show.
I'm sure more people can elaborate, or disagree with me. This production is open to various interpretations, which is what makes repeated viewing so satisfying.
#3re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:54pmBroadwayChica, I agree with what you said. Tobais is also set aside because he is the only one wearing any sort of color. The rest of the cast is in black and white.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#4re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 2:58pmI cannot wait to see this.
#5re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:08pmBroadwaychica. Very nice! The only thing I didn't think about the coffin was that he sends people to their death through the chair, which is the coffin. The other things I caught right away. And the "death chair" coffin correlation should have been the 1st thing I thought of. It was quite interesting hearing the conversations about the coffin after the performance I attended.
Just give the world Love.
#6re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:21pm
cathywellerstein, good observation. Actually, if you think about it, Tobias is mostly grey, while everyone else is either black or white (or a combination of both). It definitely makes him visually stand out. I hadn't really thought about Tobias in terms of being "colorful" because Mrs Lovett's lipstick is SOOOO red. Apart from all the greys, blacks and browns, the only presence of color is the red lipstick, the red scarf, and, of course, the blood. But that's a ridiculously obvious observation, lol :p
I also like hearing people discussing the coffin, and other elements, after the show. People who've never seen any version of Sweeney Todd are often confused about Tobias- "why was he in straitjacket?". I once saw the show during a Wednesday matinee, which was 90% old people. And they just didn't get it. It was funny hearing them after the show going "What the hell was that?!" lol
Updated On: 2/9/06 at 03:21 PM
#7re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:34pmgoin to watch the UK Tour production this coming Weds with Jason Donovan as Sweeney (I know, pretty nervous about him!). Can't WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because I loved the cast in the DVD, but hated the sets/staging... thought it's too big! This production sounds SOUNDS very ideal for what I have always imagined the production should be!
All That Jazz
Check out & support my drawings @ www.facebook.com/felixdrawings
#8re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:37pm
PLEASE post a review after you see the show! I'd LOVE to hear about the UK production, and Jason Donovan's portrayal!
If you thought the Hal Prince production was too big, you're sure to love this one!! Personally, I think it's a brilliant production, but it has polarized many people. Can't wait to hear what you think :)
#9re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:41pm
Broadway Chica, you seem as obsessed with this production as I am. You also seem to have seen it many times. 
I love your analysis, but you don't tend to leave me much to say. I keep thinking, ooh I'll respond like this, then I see you beat me to the punch. 
I stand corrected, you are as vapid as they say.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#10re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:42pm
[Raising hand violently in the air]
I LOVE this production...it's mesmerizing, haunting and thrilling.
Hope it runs for a long time.
mint0621
Broadway Star Joined: 10/10/04
#11re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:47pmI think the funniest comment I overheard after the show was, "I feel like a bloody steak..."
#12re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:48pm
"Notice, for example, that when Anthony first sees Johanna, Toby actually mouths along some of his lines (something Manoel started to do later in the run). Given that Tobias wasn't present at the time (he never even met Anthony!), one could speculate that the whole scene is a product of Tobias' imagination. That he's actually making up parts of the story, perhaps as a means to try to make sense of it all."
OMG. I have seen this production 4 times and haven't noticed it. I need to go back agian...so much to obsorb. I love Sondheim and I love Sweeney!
Happy...Everything!
Kaye Thompson
#13re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:51pm
I am borderline obsessed with the show, true! (I refuse to acknowledge I'm obsessed. It's a passionate love.) And I've seen it many, many, many times... Been seeing it since previews. When I met the cast, they completely made fun of me when I told them how many times I'd seen it... Like Singingbackup said, it's a haunting production.
I'm SO sorry I beat you to the punch!! I'll restrain myself the next time I see a Sweeney board. Promise :)
ETA: The show benefits from repeat viewing, because there are SO many details. I myself hadn't noticed how Manoel mouthed Anthony's lines until seeing the show a few times. (look for it when Anthony sings "But not even in London, have I seen such a wonder!") Manoel's performance is so amazing, you could just stare at HIM the whole time- he's ALWAYS in character doing some subtle, wonderful things.
Updated On: 2/10/06 at 03:51 PM
mint0621
Broadway Star Joined: 10/10/04
#14re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:52pm
Another question: Do you think Anthony & Joanna get together after the end of the show? Do they live happily ever after?
JOanna is Sweeney Todd's daughter right? I was confused cuz I thought that his daughter had died (and was in the baby coffin) or whether Joanna was Sweeney's daughter....
#15re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 3:53pm
No don't restrain yourself, I love reading what you have to say.
I have also been in "passionate love" with the production since previews when I saw it on the second preview then went back two days later.
Johanna IS Sweeney's daughter.
The coffin does not mean Johanna is dead, anlthough there are some scenes in which it represents her to Sweeney, meaning that he has lost her forever.
I stand corrected, you are as vapid as they say.
Updated On: 2/9/06 at 03:53 PM
#16re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:00pm
I went to, I think it was the third preview. And went back the next day. It's just...amazing, isn't it? And literally, without exaggerating, I notice something new EVERY time I see it. It really is a brilliant production of a perfect musical.
To answer mint0621's questions: Do Anthony and Johanna get together and live happily ever after? Well, the original Hal Prince staging makes it clear that they're together at the end. But Sweeney Todd is not a show that allows for "happily ever after". Exactly what happens to them is anyone's guess. Personally, I see dark times ahead for them. But make of it what you will, since the text offers no answers.
And yes, Johanna is Sweeney's daughter. Mrs Lovett explains that she was under the care of Judge Turpin. The white coffin is symbolic. But I'm sure someone beat me to the punch, and answered this question :)
#17re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:02pmI think that the coffin is in the scene because Sweeney sees life through death, I think that he finds death, or the way that you die to make you honorable or not, the people that he killed, were killed because he found them to have been un honorable. And this is where Sweeney's Darwinism comes from, and this is why he kills Mrs. Lovitt, because she was un honorable when she lied to him.
#18re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:08pm
I think that Sweeney thinks many of his murders are honorable, but that is also a function of his madness, he has been driven beyond logical response.
I also agree that, it seems, Anthony and Johanna will not live happily together. She has been through the same torments as her father, and has killed one of them and watched as her father kills another. I also think she is "using Anthony" to escape more so than loving him. I am left with the impression that it is just as likely that she will come to her own "Epiphany" in time.
I stand corrected, you are as vapid as they say.
#19re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:14pm
That's...interesting smartpenguin.
If Manoel is still in the show next time I see it (I live in NC), I'll make a mental note to see if he mouths.
My avatar = A screencap from Avatar, arguably the greatest animated show of all
#20re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:32pm
"I am left with the impression that it is just as likely that she will come to her own "Epiphany" in time."
Smartpenguin, I agree completely. I think that while she and Anthony may be together after the show, the impact of the events that transpire during the course of the show will affect her in a profound way for years to come. In a Broadway.com interview, Lauren Molina says, "She's Sweeney's daughter, it's in there somewhere!", and I think that's a fascinating way to look at it.
Lauren Molina's interview, if you want to read the rest:
http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=524483
#21re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 4:36pm
"If Manoel is still in the show next time I see it (I live in NC), I'll make a mental note to see if he mouths. "
I don't even want to THINK about Manoel leaving the show!!! Good thing he'll be there for a good, long while.
Johanna DOES have some Sweeney in her. It's no coincidence she kills Fogg without even flinching. She's "allowed" to survive in the end because the Sweeney Todd bloodline (with everything that implies) must live on.
#22re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 5:25pmI really want to see this, both for the show and to see Manoel. I hoping (fingers crossed) that he's in it until May of next year? I doubt it, but one can hope!
#23re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 9:16pm
Here goes:
I saw this production in October in a preview performance, and went back the following 4 nights: That was 5 nights in a row!!
To quote Patti Lupone's statement about what she felt watching the OBC production for the first time - "I was gobsmacked".
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and I felt I HAD to go back to try to fully understand/appreciate what was laid out before me to absorb on that first night. I had never experienced that phenomenon with any play/production I'd seen proir to this one. They demanded my attention and they got it. I've gone back sporadically since then, and am still trying to "solve" the many puzzles of the show created by John Doyle's constantly shape-shifting, unrelentingly creative direction - I never get bored with it.
Manoel's Toby is such so much fun to watch because it is so highly unusual in this age of A*D*D to see someone FOCUSING and CONCENTRATING on anything for such an exteneded period of time, much less 2 1/2 hours! He's always "in it", (thank you garden state!), and doesn't seem, even for a moment, to have the luxury of dropping out, (so goes the plight of the menatlly ill.)
I do believe/subscribe to the idea that the cast are other patients who are in the ward with him, who are there acting out the story as a form of art therapy. But that raises several questions, such as why, for instance, they are all in black and white costumes, and he is allowed by the staff to remain in his PJ's. I know that many psych hospitals take art therapy seriously and have patients at different sickness/function levels able to do different levels of theraputic exercises... who knows.
QUESTION: I often wonder who it was decided the audience is supposed to be. The actors have to talk to/sing to the audience quite a bit, (often times in lieu of looking at each other). It seems to me that we, the audience, are seen as a "character" - as other doctors, or outsiders, perhaps - not patients, but "well" people who are free to leave the asylum after the session/art therapy/demonstration is over - (operating rooms are sometimes called "theaters", right? And professionals are sometimes allowed to observe from above in order to LEARN.) Perhaps the patients are really trying to get their message across to those who may not normally understand or look at such grim stories and situations. It certainly seems that that is what the actors on stage are trying to do!
LEARNING: I feel like I learn so much watching this production - it really makes me wonder about humanity, about theater, about staging, about design and color, about music composition, about musical prowess, about grief/loss/death, about love, about illness, etc. I've read that Sondheim has said that he was merely trying to write a show that would scare people, but, like with all his work, there appears to be much more going on than that.
I HEART SWEENEY TODD and thank you John Doyle, Stephen Sondheim and all involved for making this production a reality.
Super great work!!!
Updated On: 2/10/06 at 09:16 PM
#24re: Sweeney Todd questions (WARNING: Possible spoilers!)
Posted: 2/9/06 at 9:48pm
"I've read that Sondheim has said that he was merely trying to write a show that would scare people, but, like with all his work, there appears to be much more going on than that. "
And that's why Sweeney is so damned good. All the concerned Sondhiem when writing it was the story. I don't buy the "theatre as a political/personal/theological/whatever statement nonsense. I think writers do a disservice to their audience when their primary concern is something other than the story. When the story is the focus, the rest of it comes naturally.
Just look at Sweeney.
