[aworthyboyishe]

I'm doing Sweeney at the moment, and I'm in the Quintet. IE, I'm one of the crazys in the nuthouse where Johanna is. We're blocking that scene at rehearsal tonight, and they were talking about the lunatics literally dancing in the streets. Is that a new thing? Or have there been other productions with dancing there? Like, a legit huge dance number?

[Yakko]

Okay no.......just no........There's to be no dancing in Sweeney Todd......

[christinadaae]

I could picture some really modern, very slight movement like pain.
No jazz hands.

[aworthyboyishe]

[The Guard]

Thriller dance?

[sylvesterm11]

Uh, when we did it, our asylum occupants just literally rolled and creeped around the stage. I can't imagine a choreographed dance.

[Paula74]

[dolbinau]

OMG!!! I saw a disgusting production of Sweeney where there were choreographed dancing by the inmates. It was horrible. They all kind of did a line dance to show they are crazy. But everything was in time etc.

The production itself was horrible.

[Damask and Dark]

[christinadaae]

[aworthyboyishe]

We just got our choreagraphy last night. Like... on the "swing your razor wide sweeney, hold it to the sky, freely flows the blood of those who moralize" they have us pantomiming a razor swinging in time, and then they have us doing something remarkably similiar to the thriller dance on the "Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle" round. -_-

[STRWBRRY]

[aworthyboyishe]

Its already a shit-poor production.
I'm not exicted.

[dolbinau]

The last time I saw SWEENEY [originally posted elsewhere about 5 months ago]:

God. I don't see many live productions and I think I'll have to be more careful in future after seeing this horrible amateur production of Sweeney Todd!

Aside from the dreadful Johnny Depp impersonation that was Sweeney, an 'orchestra' constantly making mistakes and cheesy lighting/sets I could not get over some of the (what I think are) directional choices.

They tried to integrate dancing somehow? I have no idea if this is common, but for example during the Ballad of Sweeney Todd the ensemble would be doing this weird choreography in a line...they extended the dancing to 'flash back' style scenes whereby they'd have a double character dancing around the stage as if this is what they were 'thinking'. Johanna is running around the stage dancing during "Green finch and linnet bird", during (if I remember correctly) "My Friends" a Mrs Lovett double is almost fondling Sweeney Todd while kind of dancing, obviously a similar thing in "By the sea" and (although not dancing another 'show what the character is thinking sequence') during the Judge's Johanna he is literally having dry sex with Johanna! (IT WAS SO RIDICULOUS I LOL'D SO MUCH). Of course at the asylum all the inmates have this little "I'm crazy" style moves too.

It was just so strange, and brings me to how exaggerated it was. Some Mrs Lovett character development would be nice through some acting and the music/lyrics instead of slapping it in our faces over and over again that she 'wants' Sweeney. The Judge manhandling Johanna, and Lucy for that matter (they literally had him picking Lucy up during "Poor thing" and practically have him throw her around the stage wtf) etc.. was really awkward.

My favourite song "Epiphany" was of course ruined but not only vocally. They actually brought an ensemble out and had Sweeney sing to them almost movie style instead of breaking the 4th wall (Which they had already done several times anyway e.g No Place like London 'Whole in the world like a great' was all sung to the audience).

It's just, I just want to forget this! But I have this image of bright red/blue colours, the voices of shifting Australian/English/Southern American accents stuck in my head and Judge Turpin dry humping Johanna!

[aworthyboyishe]

I'm trying to imagine our Judge Turpin humping Johanna........

He's a huge gay southern man.

XD

[Moxie Music]

That sounds pretty odd. The only dancing we have in our production is the ballroom scene when Mrs Lovett sings Poor Thing.

For City on fire, we had a workshop to teach us to act like lunatics and we sort of walk around each other quickly, crazily singing to each other and spend time between each phrase (when Johanna, Mrs L and Sweeney and the Beggar Woman sing) low down on the stage in slow motion, deliberately.

Have you watched the original cast do this song on You tube? I found watching all of it quite interesting.

[dolbinau]

Yes..note it's not the original cast though, but a touring cast 2 or 3 years after the OBC. (So there are a few OBC cast members, Lovett, Turpin, Beadle but many non-original, Johanna, Anthony, Sweeney, Beggar Woman etc.)

[Moxie Music]

[Mistress]