At last my arm is complete again!

Mar 28, 2008 by Dan Taylor    No Comments    Posted under: Music

I don’t remember exactly the first time I ever saw the Stephen Sondheim’s musical adaptation of ‘Sweeney Todd‘, but the effect was so profound that it quickly became my favorite musical of all time. I had the pleasure of viewing the 1982 broadcast version starting George Hearn and Angela Lansbury (it’s also saved to my wish list, so feel free). So with slight hesitation I viewed Tim Burton‘s theatrical version last evening.

While I was quite happy to see some of my old friends again, and hear that striking overture of dark and foreboding tones, the film left me with a bit of an empty feeling, whereas the stage production inspired and excited me. It’s not that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter didn’t deliver superior dramatic performances, it was the music that left me a bit hollow. And while I tried my best to give the film a chance to stand on it’s own legs, it was hard NOT to watch the performance and think; Burton didn’t do a whole lot of work. Hal Prince has been, and will continue to be a genius of the stage, so really, how can one improve upon his original staging? Not that Burton ripped it off completely, but again, once it’s been done by a master, why mess with it?

Sweeney Todd is about as close to a full blown opera as a Broadway stage production gets. To me, the music is almost, perhaps even more important that the acting. Lord knows there are enough dramatic elements written into the story alone that the acting could almost fall by the wayside provided the actors are magnificent singers. That being said, Mr. Depp, while I respect you highly, you sir….are no singer. The diction and pronunciation of some of the phrases and passages are exactly what makes Sweeney Todd an absolute joy to behold. These nuances were severely missing in the Burton production.

One of my favorite scenes in the stage production is ‘The Contest’ following ‘Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir’. This song is written for a countertenor, and if you’ve never heard a countertenor sing, it can be quite a thrilling experience. In Burton’s version, Pirelli is played by Sacha Baron Cohen, of Ali G fame, and again, while his performance was quite good and believable, upon launching into The contest, it became quite apparent that the original song had not only been dropped an octave, but also transposed down a 3rd or 5th to accommodate Cohen. Again, not that this is necessarily bad, as the words and meaning of the song come across clearly, it wasn’t quite as thrilling as Sal Mistretta‘s 1982 performance. Heck, even in the 2005 revival, Pirelli is played by Donna Lynne Champlin but one would think that with the budget afforded Burton, they would have been able to find a countertenor.

As a whole that would be my argument with Tim Burton’s production. Casting. On one hand I can certainly understand that big budget Hollywood films need to recoup their investment (and hopefully make a profit), and therefor casting names like Depp, Bonham Carter, and Cohen equals ticket/DVD sales, but on the other hand, couldn\’t we have made sure that lesser rolls were excellent singers? Burton and crew even manage to pack Professor Severus Snape (aka Alan Rickman) in as Judge Turpin, and again, while a superb actor, not so much on the singing front. Which is quite a shame, as the duet \’Pretty Women\’ between the Judge and Todd is breathtaking in the 1982 production between Hearn and Lyndeck.

All in all, I’m happy that Warner Brothers and Burton have (re)introduced Sweeney Todd to an entire new generation, but to those that are enamored with the film, I urge you, do yourself a favor, and have a view of the 1982 Hearn/Lansbury production along with listening to the original 1979 soundtrack, there are quite a few gems in there that you were robbed of in the film version.