Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-09-26 20:50
Odd the addition of Sweeney Todd. My former next door neighbor, an excellent bassoon player and now-resident of Tulsa, did this one in college and she was positively disgusted with it. For a through-sung musical, it always impressed me with the way it was structured, the way the music actually participates in the show (rather than just being there, like it is in Forum. Very operatic, only with more of a story and certainly more passion. But, she hated every minute of the week-long run.
I've always liked it as one of Sondheim's more clever works (and full of neat parts too, like those of Pirelli the barber and Beadle Bamford - I particularly like the way they were worked into the Bows at the end of the show), but have never been in a position to play same. Due to the parochial nature of the crowds down here, it's not often done. But, neither is Threepenny Opera, so what are you going to do?
I thought that maybe she was religious or that there was some other taste objection to the show (after all, it is about grinding up people and making them into meat pies). However, she was pretty "cool" (particularly for a bassoon player), so I think that her objection was simply to the style of the music.
Sondheim can have this effect on people - they either "get" his shows or they "don't". I've known people who hated Forum (which I view as a timeless classic), those who detested Assassins (one of his best, in my opinion), and even those who got worked up about Gypsy (me; it must be the traces of The Mer that are all over that one, but other than "Gotta Have A Gimmick", I could take it or leave it).
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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