| Hey guys:
Actually the revival with Bob Gunton and Beth Fowler that is mentioned in the article used 2 synthesizers. It was done in a very small space and worked well. It started at the York Theater (in a church gym) and moved to a small Broadway house, the Circle in the Square. Ironically, the Circle in the Square is in the same building that was the Uris and is now the Gershwin. Both Jonathan Tunick and Sondheim approved the miniature production, which was sometimes referred to as "Teeny Todd". I saw it a few times and enjoyed it.
It certainly didn't have the impact of the huge, original production. Sweeney Todd is one of the few shows that really works well in a large theater like the Uris/Gershwin. It's a wonderful commentary on the evils of the industrial revolution in London. Lately, it's been done in large opera houses. I've seen it done successfully at the New York City Opera.
I'll go see it with Patti LuPone,(Didn't she do it in concert with the Philharmonic 2 years ago?), but it won't have the size and excitement of the original production.
Wilmer, someone told me that Wynton subbed for you at Sweeney Todd. True? Also, I recently played a week of opera with Dick SanFillipo. I think he was your section mate on the orignal Sweeney Todd.
Larry Malin |