EponineBarker
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Favorite Todd/Lovett Teaming?What's your favorite teaming? From what I've seen/heard, I'd probably have to say that I like George Hearn and Patti LuPone best. They play well off of each other.
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Sweeney Hyde
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My favorite is Hearn and LuPone. George Hearn is by far my favorite Sweeney (besides myself  ) and LuPone is the best Mrs. Lovett, in my opinion. I just have never thought that Lansburry's voice was fantastic, I think her best recording by far is Dear World. LuPone just has such a beautiful voice. Hearn has such a stage presence and did the part so beautifully.
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EponineBarker
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| Sweeney Hyde wrote: | | My favorite is Hearn and LuPone. George Hearn is by far my favorite Sweeney (besides myself ) and LuPone is the best Mrs. Lovett, in my opinion. I just have never thought that Lansburry's voice was fantastic, I think her best recording by far is Dear World. LuPone just has such a beautiful voice. Hearn has such a stage presence and did the part so beautifully. |
I agree with everything you said (well, I am a little wary about *you* being the best Sweeney. jk  ) When I first saw the Concert video, I was very impress with both Hearn and LuPone, and my brother agrees, he really likes their "A Little Priest."
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shakalakababy
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I loathe patti lupone so i think i'd have to go with Hearn & Lansbury. Cariou is a close second though. And Lansbury will always be the best Lovett
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Salome
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Hearn and Lansbury. I love Cariou's but to me Hearn captures Sweeeny perfectly.
Lansbury is not only the finest Lovett but the fiest musical theatre actress of any generation.
LuPone was terribly miscast as Lovett..and her voice? ugh. its been gone for years.
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EponineBarker
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| Salome wrote: | Hearn and Lansbury. I love Cariou's but to me Hearn captures Sweeeny perfectly.
Lansbury is not only the finest Lovett but the fiest musical theatre actress of any generation.
LuPone was terribly miscast as Lovett..and her voice? ugh. its been gone for years. |
I don't know, I thought LuPone did fine as Lovett. (But I also liked Lansbury too.) But I do agree with you about Hearn, he captured the part of Sweeney very well. (But Cariou is a close second!) And believe me, this question was a tough one!
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mozurkz
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The 2005 revival cast. LuPone sucked in the concert DVD and Hearn was an amazing Sweeney, but Cervaris was better, there was more subtlety in the revival, and it felt more 'real' for some reason. + onstage he completley scared the crap out of me.
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EponineBarker
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| mozurkz wrote: | | The 2005 revival cast. LuPone sucked in the concert DVD and Hearn was an amazing Sweeney, but Cervaris was better, there was more subtlety in the revival, and it felt more 'real' for some reason. + onstage he completley scared the crap out of me. |
I always thought Cervaris' Sweeney was too subtle. (IMO)
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Sweeney Hyde
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I'm sorry but besides Dear World and Mame I really don't like Lansbury. I just feel like her voice doesn't blow you away. I feel like someone who is really a great singer, like LuPone really fits Mrs. Lovett better vocally. Mrs. Lovett is a great role, both vocally and for the acting, and I think Lansbury tried to make it too funny. There are times that I feel like she is trying too hard to get a laugh.
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EponineBarker
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| Sweeney Hyde wrote: | | I'm sorry but besides Dear World and Mame I really don't like Lansbury. I just feel like her voice doesn't blow you away. I feel like someone who is really a great singer, like LuPone really fits Mrs. Lovett better vocally. Mrs. Lovett is a great role, both vocally and for the acting, and I think Lansbury tried to make it too funny. There are times that I feel like she is trying too hard to get a laugh. |
I think that like Hearn and Cariou, LuPone and Lansbury both bring out something different in the role of Mrs. Lovett. Patti is darker in the role and Angela is a nut. She's crazy (in a good way) in that role.
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shakalakababy
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| Sweeney Hyde wrote: | | I'm sorry but besides Dear World and Mame I really don't like Lansbury. I just feel like her voice doesn't blow you away. I feel like someone who is really a great singer, like LuPone really fits Mrs. Lovett better vocally. |
 i respect your opinion i do, but i think i just died
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Da_Dark_Dude
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LuPone and Hearn. Hearn is magnificent.
LuPone is the best lovett there ever was, fair enough, shes not a good a singer as landsbury, but mrs lovett i think is much more of an acting/character role, which LuPone captures absolutely perfectly, its hard not to laugh at her whilst at the same time being disgusted. shes brilliant
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Dvarg
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| Sweeney Hyde wrote: | | Mrs. Lovett is a great role, both vocally and for the acting, and I think Lansbury tried to make it too funny. |
IMO that makes her Lovett creepier. LuPone's interpretation (which I think is also interresting) makes Lovett more obviously bad. Lansbury's Lovett is like a nice, whimsical grandmother you must love. When you realise she's actually a mad murderer it's too late.
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javertim
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Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury, by far.
Cariou brings a gentle brooding nature to the part, but then randomly, infrequently, and briefly explodes into searing violence. Hearn is just too over-the-top without a hint of subtelty, always screaming his head off. Also, his performance seems extraordinarily calculated. Of course I've never seen either live, but after seeing Hearn in both the '82 tour video and concert, and Cariou in the archival video at Lincoln Center, I can definitely say that from what I've seen, Cariou is my Sweeney.
Lansbury v. LuPone isn't even worth it, IMO.
Also, I think "perfect voices" where Todd and Lovett are concerned actually diminish the quality of the performances for me. Yes, I know it's a musical / operetta, but without SOME vocal grit, I don't buy the characters.
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EponineBarker
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| javertim wrote: | | Hearn is just too over-the-top without a hint of subtelty, always screaming his head off. |
That's because he enraged and insane. I mean if somebody pissed you off like that, wouldn't you be screaming too?!
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Ghost
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| Quote: | javertim wrote:
Hearn is just too over-the-top without a hint of subtelty, always screaming his head off.
That's because he enraged and insane. I mean if somebody pissed you off like that, wouldn't you be screaming too?! |
Well put, Javertim.
Not everybody would be screaming 24/7... Cariou Sweeney kept the emotion locked inside, with some rare explosions of madness. Other times he was just cold and seemingly unfeeling. That's why he could make the audience jump during "Epiphany". In Cariou's Sweeney there's something constatnly brooding underneath. Hearn just lets it all out, so by the time he reaches "Epiphany" it's not as thrilling beause he has been just as crazy the whole time.
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Salome
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| EponineBarker wrote: | | javertim wrote: | | Hearn is just too over-the-top without a hint of subtelty, always screaming his head off. |
That's because he enraged and insane. I mean if somebody pissed you off like that, wouldn't you be screaming too?! |
he doesnt over do it. its a melo drama. what hearn does is controlled fury. its perfect for the piece.
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TychoBrahe
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Apples and oranges. Both camps make a strong argument. I'd say it's pretty hard to compare the two as to who is better, it's always a stalemate. I like to think their equally talented, the difference is in how they interpret the role. Then again, I might change my mind if I ever get a chance to view the illustrious Cariou footage.
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EponineBarker
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| Salome wrote: | | EponineBarker wrote: | | javertim wrote: | | Hearn is just too over-the-top without a hint of subtelty, always screaming his head off. |
That's because he enraged and insane. I mean if somebody pissed you off like that, wouldn't you be screaming too?! |
he doesnt over do it. its a melo drama. what hearn does is controlled fury. its perfect for the piece. |
Yeah, what she said. The point is he's angry so that's why he acts like that.
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javertim
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I'm not necessarily talking about Hearn's Epiphany, but rather the whole of his performance. There is nothing subtle about any of it and, remember, "Sweeney was subtle." And even in Epiphany, the score is so wonderfully crafted that I think the piece is ruined if the actor screams the whole time. Hearn is convincing as an angry man during that scene, but I don't think he does a very good job at showing the audience that Sweeney has become insane in that instant.
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EponineBarker
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| javertim wrote: | | I'm not necessarily talking about Hearn's Epiphany, but rather the whole of his performance. There is nothing subtle about any of it and, remember, "Sweeney was subtle." And even in Epiphany, the score is so wonderfully crafted that I think the piece is ruined if the actor screams the whole time. Hearn is convincing as an angry man during that scene, but I don't think he does a very good job at showing the audience that Sweeney has become insane in that instant. |
I have to disagree, I thoght Hearn's potryal of Sweeney was very balanced; he knew when to be quiet and subtle at some times and angry and insane at others. (IMO)
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Salome
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exactly. his anger builds it doesnt just explode out of nowhere. he comes off very distant at first..then he sees his options and even starts enjoyingit a bit..rather like John Barrymores Jeykell and hyde in the original film.
and his heartfelt anguish at killing lucy makes me sob every time i see it.
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EponineBarker
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| Salome wrote: | exactly. his anger builds it doesnt just explode out of nowhere. he comes off very distant at first..then he sees his options and even starts enjoyingit a bit..rather like John Barrymores Jeykell and hyde in the original film.
and his heartfelt anguish at killing lucy makes me sob every time i see it. |
Yep, excatly. He's a mixture of anger and sadness. He just wants life to be the way it was 15 years ago! I mean, come on, if something like that happened to you, wouldn't you be acting like that too?
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Ghost
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I believe Cariou's potrayal of Sweeney was far superior to Hearn's, but everybody can ofcourse make up their own minds. I'm not saying Hearn is bad though, I like him as Sweeney quite a bit.
Hearn though, has stated that when he first got the role of Sweeney, he thought Cariou was so fantastic, that all he could do was to imitate him. (Ofcourse his Sweeney was eventually very different.)
What makes me sad is that we pretty much have only Hearn and Cariou to argue over, since many great Sweeney's (Alun Armstrong, Bryn Terfel, Denis Quilley) haven't gotten a chance to get their performaces recorded ( and yet we have TWO dvd's of Hearn's screaming...)
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javertim
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| Ghost wrote: | | What makes me sad is that we pretty much have only Hearn and Cariou to argue over, since many great Sweeney's (Alun Armstrong, Bryn Terfel, Denis Quilley) haven't gotten a chance to get their performaces recorded ... |
And not to mention some of the actors who could have had their chance at doing the role but were prevented ... Philip Quast and Shuler Hensley come to mind. Right now, I cannot think of two men who are better suited to the role, and yet both of their productions were nixed before they were able to show the public what they can do.
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TychoBrahe
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I would eat a razor to get a recording of some those guys. Holy crap I'd bet Terfel sounded brilliant--I know the pictures of the production look great. Wouldn't it be nice if the there were a recording of when Nolan did Todd? His voice makes the earth shake.
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