Soundtrack Review: Sweeney Todd (2005 Broadway Revival)

By Douglas Strassler Feb 14, 2006, 11:00 GMT

The 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim\'s 1979 Grand Guignol masterpiece Sweeney Todd illustrates what happens when you have a director with genuine vision. The show has been completely reivented, yet at the same time its dark core has been masterfully unveiled, not betrayed. In John Doyle\'s radically pared-down version (which originated in England), there\'s no orchestra in the pit: Each member of the small cast is on stage the entire ...more

Universally hailed as the stage triumph of the year, John Doyle's revival of the Stephen Sondheim gem Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street breathes new life into this classic tale of a killer.

Sweeney is based on nineteenth century lore about a London barber driven to insanity when a judge orders his wife and child to be taken away from him.  He goes into cahoots with the also-deranged Mrs. Lovett, the town baker who soon creates a "special ingredient" for her meat pies.  In this minimalist restaging, Michael Cerveris (The Who's Tommy, a Tony-winner for Assassins) and grande dame Patti Lupone (Tony-winner for Evita) play Todd and Mrs. Lovett.

But that's not all that they do: In this production, each performer also acts as a member of the orchestra, playing onstage.  For instance, Cerveris also plays guitar, while Lupone plays percussion and her old high school talent, the tuba.

The smaller, scaled-down orchestrations take some getting used to on the newly released cast recording, but it is worth it.  And wile all actors in the ensemble sing and play well, and do so fully, they also create a creepy atmosphere for this most macabre show.  For example, "Epiphany" is truly chilling, as is the "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd," delivered in hushed tones.  Other songs benefit from a clarity of insight - "Johanna," "Wait," "By the Sea" all benefit from Doyle's simplicity (Christopher Bond adapted the original Hugh Wheeler book).

The entire ensemble is in rare form.  Cerveris (a rock vocalist by nature) is magnificent in the title role, and Lupone delivers another knockout performance.  She hasn't been this solid since the 1990s, when she originated Norma Desmond in the original London production of Sunset Blvd. and appeared in The Old Neighborhood.  Manoel Felciano, who plays Tobias as well as several string instruments in the orchestra, nails the beautiful standard "Not While I'm Around."  Marc Jacoby also triumphs as the Judge, making even him sound more malevolent this time around.  Perhaps the greatest vocals on this soundtrack occur in the witty, dirty, playful, "A Little Priest."  Like everything else in this show and on this stupendous album, Cerveris and Lupone have rendered their version the definitive one.