wiseone2

Today is his birthday. His is a major voice in the theater.
Here's stuff from "Sweeney Todd."
YouTube - Sweeney Todd - A Little Priest 1979 Opening Night
YouTube - The Sweeney Variations
Wilmer

MrClean

I just saw the touring production of ST last night - it is a shadow of the original, which I saw in NY back in 1980 (Wilmer, I assume you were in the pit for that one). On one hand it was very disappointing, but on the other hand it was interesting to see how much could be adapted/covered by the small ensemble, which did an admirable job. There was no pit orchestra - the actors actually played all the instruments in addition to acting their parts. No conductor. It was impressive, but nowhere near the impact of the original. At $90/ticket X 4 (and we were near the back of the theater), it left me wondering if the investors' expectations of profit margins weren't set just a wee bit too high.

J

wiseone2

The first Broadway production was massive. The Uris Theater, now called the Gershwin Theater, was fairly new.We did not have niceties like heat in the pit. I wore a Navy pea coat for part of the run. Angela liked the theater cold........she had her wish. There was an army of actors on stage. One innovation was the stagehands in costume moving stuff around. The actors were also pushing stuff.
The pit was not really insulated from the outside world, so every night we got fumes from the garage which the pit was directly above

Stephen's music and the orchestrations of Jonathan Tunick still ring in my ear.........we sat in front of the trombones
Jim, you experienced Broadway's finest.

Wilmer




Wilmer

MrClean

It made a strong impression on me - it's still my favorite musical. Brilliant story, music, lyrics. You guys sounded fantastic.

J

JustinSmith

Hi Wilmer,

Which is your favorite of the 4 Sweeneys from the 2nd video clip. I like the original Len Cariou the best, but all four are great. The third clip is with the small orchestration from a coupe of years ago, with the actors, playing the music.

wiseone2

Len is by far the scariest of all the Sweeneys, George is a close runner-up.
The pit was not as buried as pits are today, so we had the best seats in the house for this show. We were an arm's length from the stage. There was sheer madness in Len's eyes. When he sang to the razors, "These are my friends" you glimpsed the real insanity of the character.
I enjoyed every Sweeney Todd performance I played.
Wilmer

brassmojo

Mr. Wise--- speaking of Sondheim. I was preparing for "Into the Woods" and bought the CD of the cast recording with Bernadette Peters--I see you were on the recording. First I'd like to congratulate you on a fantastic performance. I've performed ITW before and it gets a little tricky. Typical Sondheim, there are a lot of exposed parts. Sometimes it's like opening the front door (to get the morning paper) in your underwear and finding the entire neighborhood decided stop in front of your house to talk! It can be embarrassing. I can't possibly imagine performing that thing over and over for a year. I guess thats why you get the bug bucks? ha ha.

I'd like to know what type of mutes you used. I guess the only ones used were the basic cup,str and harmon. Did you use a bubble type harmon or a conventional one? Also the straight was it a metal or fiber?
Well thanks for your time and have fun in your next show!

John (SF Bay Area)

wiseone2

"Into the Woods" was another show I played on the C trumpet. I had a heck of a time getting subs. I used the Jo-Ral straight mute, but not the bubble harmon. I like the Emo harmon.

Think chamber music when you play this show. This is a fun show.
Wilmer

brassmojo

Thanks Mr. Wise for your reply.

One last thing. It's been about four years since I play Into the Woods and I forgot what key the Trumpet book was in. Was it Bb or C ?

John

wiseone2

The book that I played was a C trumpet book. I don't know what the rental book is like. Sorry.
Wilmer