[WickedToo]

I'd really like to do Sweeney Todd: School Edition for our next years high school musical. The big thing though is is it going to sell and will the audience enjoy it? I wouldn't want to put a lot of money into the production and then not have enough money for 2011's musical. I know that the company will love putting on this show but I'm iffy about the audience's response. When we did Into the Woods for our 2008 Spring Musical, most people didn't like it. In your opinion, would you consider Into the Woods different from Sweeney Todd? The difference that I see between Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods is that Sweeney Todd is telling a story for the purpose of letting the audience know that revenge can ruin a person. I see Into the Woods more as a storybook characters tale of their lives and how they ended in disaster. I didn't really see a moral in Into the Woods. If anyone saw one, let me know. Also, Sweeney Todd isn't as dark as Into the Woods because you have the relief of Anthony and Johanna. There's not really any story relief in the second act of Into the Woods when all the bad stuff happens. I have a huge passion for this musical and would love to do it next year. Do you think it's a good idea to do it or not because the audience wouldn't like it?

[dehaveyoulicious]

While I disagree with your assertion that [/i]Into the Woods is darker than Sweeney Todd, what I will say is that Sweeney is the more commercial title. Thanks to the Tim Burton film, more people are at least familiar with the show, & it actually has a really big following. What I would say is this: it is really hard material. My high school did it when I was a senior, & the company seemed to LOOOVE it in a way that I had never witnessed before. The show was double cast though & there was one cast that was clearly better. Audience responses were incredibly disparate, so I say ask yourself: does you drama club really have the people to pull it off? Do you have a soprano to play Johanna, two high tenors for the Beadle & Pirelli, a chorus capable of the harmonies - I don't know the school version, but I'm sure they're dumbed down, a good orchestra pit? The show really does ride with Sweeney & Mrs. Lovett, do you have them? You need not look further than youtube to find many a disastrous high school Sweeney, but there are also some pretty good ones. It can be done, but if you don't have the right people, the audience will not be there for you, they will just think it's atonal & vulgar.

[actor]

[dolbinau]