Apr. 14: Demon composer

Last Thursday night was our second-to-last show of the current Broadway in Portland series, Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. I wanted to watch the Tim Burton movie beforehand, but never got around to it. On the way downtown I read the synopsis of the original production, and I felt that I understood the basic story and main characters. And who wouldn’t love a bunch of throat-slicing and people-eating? Everyone seems to rave about this show, so I was sure we would enjoy it.

As Larry the Cucumber says, I couldn’t have been more wronger.

All the characters are on stage throughout the performance and they move around. The scene being performed is spotlighted, but you can still see the other actors on the edges of the set. It took me a bit to realize that the actors were also the orchestra, and there were several instruments placed around the stage. Someone walking across the scene with a cello? The pianist turning around to speak some lines? If the cast was supposed to be a kind of Greek chorus, it didn’t work for me. I found all this commotion terribly distracting.

There was a large coffin-like box in the center of the stage that was used in many ways; it was Mrs. Lovett’s countertop, a café table, the judge’s bench, a platform, and a coffin. The actors moved it around, covered it, set it upright, etc., and I realized they are not just actors AND the orchestra, they are also roustabouts. I’m all for simplicity on the stage, but geez. I guess I expect the characters’ actions to be purposeful, and when they do the work of stagehands I get all confused.

Very little dialogue was spoken. I was warned about this so it was not a surprise. What was a surprise was how operatic the music was. This meant that the performers emphasized their trills and vocal range more than their ability to effectively communicate dialogue (in my simple, unappreciative noggin). I caught about every fourteenth word. Although I was still able to follow the basic plot, it was frustrating to miss so much detail.

At intermission I turned to Victor and said, “Wanna leave?” and he said, “Yep!” We were not the only ones walking out of the theater. There were so many of us that the parking lot attendant asked if the show was already over. I was more than a little relieved to see we were not the only uncultured swine who didn’t “get” Sweeney Todd. Unless they ditched the opera crap in the second act, I’m pretty sure we made the right choice.

Isn’t Stephen Sondheim supposed to be some kind of genius? Isn’t he right up there with Andrew Lloyd Webber as a composer, playwright, lyricist, everything-he-touches-turns-to-gold? Of course, I hated both Cats and Phantom of the Opera, so maybe it’s the high-brow opera crap that I just can’t tolerate. Maybe I am uncultured swine, but if hating these guys’ work is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Being season ticketholders, each of these shows costs just a little more than it would to go to a movie. When I see things like Wicked and Spamalot, I think “We are sooooo getting a bargain!” With Sweeney Todd, it was more like “Meh, at least it didn’t cost much.”

I still want to see the Tim Burton movie. I’m hoping the things I hated about the stage musical will not be in the movie musical.

So, one more show for the season. Avenue Q is next. There are puppets. It’s naughty and irreverent. Its soundtrack includes “The Internet is for Porn” and “What Do You Do with a B.A. in English?” It’s pathetic, but oh man, we’re gonna love it.