Rating: 
Summary: Kabuki Sweeney
Review: Having just seen the Kennedy Center's production of Sweeney and having all the other productions that have been captured on CD, DVD or VHS, You might say that I am a bit of a fanatic on Sweeney. This production is second only to the Brian Stokes Mitchell Sweeney at the Kennedy Center. I certainly hope that the Kennedy Center has the foresight to either do a cast CD or DVD of this production so more folk can experience it. Its billed as a concert but it really captures a full production feeling thru its imaginative staging. The Orchestrations are lush and keep the feel from smaller stage adaptations. George Hearn is a superb Sweeney. In fact he is very clost to Brain Stokes Mitchell as my favorite Sweeney. His sweeney is troubled, has been wronged yet can be a homebody in By the Sea. Stokes Mitchell's Sweeney is a twisted soul from the outset, there is no humanity there at all but a total possession. You can see the man Sweeney would have been in Hearn's performance while Stokes Mitchell's performance suggests that Todd's original obsession with his wife must have had a creepy side to it too. Patty Lupone has some cracking and dryness to her voice and also has a little trouble keeping her accents straight, but she has her own take on Mrs. Lovett. Again, Christine Baranski is my favorite but I would put this Patty Lupons performance far above her performance in the NY Phil version or Angela Lansbury's ont he original cast CD. Where this Sweeney shines is in the supporting parts. Davis Gaines is superb as Anthony and especially Timothy Nolen excels as Judge Turpin. Nolen captures the creepy character perfectly and his voice is wonderful. Neil Patrick Harris is fine as Toby though Mark Price outdid him at the Kennedy Center. The best part of the San Francisco performance is the staging. The orchestra is scattered on the stage. The singers move around and thru them and have a few props given to them by Kabuki-like prop masters. This staging blurs the line between a full production and a concert performance. The only things that were not in use in this perfomance prop wise was the tables and chairs and set of Mrs. L's pie shop. Otherwise every scene was well defined. In my mind, this was a full production of the piece. Last, the sound quality is superb for a live performance with room shaking bass and crisp brass. All in all a superb DVD!
Rating:
Summary: I loved it. . . .
Review: Having read all of the comments on this DVD I just felt like I had to put in my oar. I loved this version to me dispite the lack of costumes or props this is the prefect version. I loved George Hearn in the role of Sweeney. Neil Patrick Harris was cute and so pathtic. But the real star in this show for me was Patti Lupone in the role of Mrs. Lovett, she was very funny and her voice is wonderful. I saw the other version but it didn't really hold up for me.
The thing i really loved about the virsion is that pretty much every one (well not Joanna) was a good actor, and it is a joy to watch them.
Rating:
Summary: A refeshing turn on a Sondheim classic
Review: Having seen the Lansbury/Hearn "Sweeney Todd" on VHS, I approached this re-make with a certain reluctance. A mistake on my part. Neil Patrick Harris is a delight as Tobias, Patti LuPone is a sultry, bitchy Mrs. Lovett (though she does tend to indulge in operatic pyrotechnics). On the other hand, the San Francisco version includes the infamous monologue of Judge Turpin, which was cut from the film version of the musical. For me, the final determinant was Neil Patrick Harris' heart-breakingly beautiful rendition of "Not While I'm Around." Purchase "Sweeney Todd in Concert." You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A refeshing turn on a Sondheim classic
Review: Having seen the Lansbury/Hearn "Sweeney Todd" on VHS, I approached this re-make with a certain reluctance. A mistake on my part. Neil Patrick Harris is a delight as Tobias, Patti LuPone is a sultry, bitchy Mrs. Lovett (though she does tend to indulge in operatic pyrotechnics). On the other hand, the San Francisco version includes the infamous monologue of Judge Turpin, which was cut from the film version of the musical. For me, the final determinant was Neil Patrick Harris' heart-breakingly beautiful rendition of "Not While I'm Around." Purchase "Sweeney Todd in Concert." You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Almost as good as the original show
Review: I first saw Sweeney Todd in LA during the tour in the early 80s with George Hearn and Angela Lansbury, and was overwhelmed by it. That version of the show was taped and released by Nederlander on both VHS and LD, and I had long hoped that it would be released on DVD. Admittedly the sound and video would not be up to current standards, but it was so well done that it would hardly matter. I must admit that I cringed to see that Sweeney was being released in an "in Concert" version seeing that other Sondheim shows like Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods have been transferred to DVD. Expecting a standard "in Concert" version, with everyone sitting on stage and standing up to sing at microphones [e.g. Les Miz in Concert] I got it anyway. Well, as other reviews have already stated, this isn't a typical concert version at all. It is pretty much the whole show done on platforms in and around the orchestra and it works amazingly well even without sets, costumes, effects, etc. If anything, Hearn is better than he was in the early 80s and LuPone, gives a different [less comic for one], but worthy, interpretation of the role than Lansbury [thankfully seeing that an imitation of Angela's landmark interpretation would have been disasterous]. As everyone has been saying, the supporting cast is stellar Judge Turpin is in particular an excellent interpretation. The only thing which a first time viewer might find difficult is the relationship of the different locations [especially the operation of the barber chair, the bakehouse, etc], shock effects like the blood and the demise of the Beedle are, of course missing [and, sadly the famous "door slam" at the end]. This version is well worth having the full orchestral sound in 5.1 is tremendous. Still hope that the 82 Hearn Lansbury version will be released on DVD someday, but until then, this is well worth having.
Rating:
Summary: For True Entertainment
Review: I have seen all three versions, Harold Prinze whom introduced it to me personally when he did the 1982 version, but this new version slightly different lacking a set, but only adding to your appreciation of the talent your watching .
Order it ...........You won't regret it !
Rating:
Summary: A "Sweeney Todd" with more of a sense of gravity than before
Review: I only caught the end of "Sweeney Todd in Concert" when it appeared on the local PBS station, so I was gratified to see that the production is available for mass consumption. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" remains one of my favorite Broadway shows (I really consider it an opera, but Stephen Sondheim says if you insist on having a label call it an operetta with a strong black comedy element, so I will just avoid using any word beginning with "o" and avoid the debate). I saw the story on "60 Minutes" about the production and picked up the record album and played it endlessly once it was available. I saw a road show production starring June Havoc, better known as "Baby June," the older sister of Gypsy Rose Lee; we are talking a professional vaudevillian comedienne who sang everything about an octave lower than it was written. But after watching the tour-de-force performance of "Epiphany" I was down in the lobby at intermission buying tickets for the next night. When the 1982 road show with George Hearn and Angela Landsbury was shown on television I taped it, and now we have this concert performance. The main attraction for me is that both the orchestra and chorus are bigger and better. The difference this makes in our enjoyment of the show is clear as soon as the company launches into the "Prologue." As for the performers I have to admit that I did not know that the title role was originally supposed to have been played by Bryn Terfel, so I was not aware that the majority of principle singers were trained more in opera than musical theater. After all, the recognizable names are those of a pair of Broadway veterans, George Hearn and Patti Lupone, plus a television dramedy star, Neil Patrick Howser, er, I mean Harris. Hearn, of course, knows the part of Sweeney Todd well, and Lupone puts her own stamp on Mrs. Lovett, making the pie shop owner's romantic feelings for the barber more believable. Director Lonny Price calls Harris the definitive Tobias and I would not be inclined to argue the point. Again, there is more of a sense of realism to the production, and less of the theater of the macabre, and I think this is due to the casting choices rather than to the stripped down performance of the show where there are no sets, but costumes and props. I think that the subtle differences in Hearn's performance is as much a reaction to the cast he is singing with as much as his take on the role two decades later. I can go through the cast of singers and point to the marked differences between these voices and those of the original Broadway cast and find a much greater sense of gravity, from Timothy Nolen as Judge Turpin and Davis Gaines as Anthony Hope to Lisa Vroman as Johanna and Stanford Olsen as Pirelli. This production of "Sweeney Todd" unveils new depths to the story. There seems an invaluable less here and it certainly suggests that having "opera" singers do other pieces of a similar type would bear similar fruit. I know this was done before with "West Side Story" and other Rodgers & Hammerstein shows, but it seems that maybe the music of Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber might be better suited to such attempts than the American musical theater of the 1950s. As with any taped "stage" performance, one of the advantages is that the camera can get us close enough to see what the expressions on the faces of the characters. Yes, it is somewhat disconcerting to see the orchestra behind the characters, but you forget them after a while. After all, it is singing that you want to hear. That is why it must be added that the only reason to buy "Sweeney Todd in Concert" on VHS instead of DVD is that you do not have a DVD player. However, since this is the 21st century, that should not be a problem. The whole point of a concert is the SOUND and that plays to the strength of the DVD (plus you have three options on the sound to pick the one that best suits your system requirements.
Rating:
Summary: I was there...
Review: I saw this very performance live, and saw the broadcast of it on PBS as well. It is FAR superior to the New York Philharmonic version available on CD. Although Patti LuPone still hams it up, she's calmed it down a bit in this performance. George Hearn is phenomenally great in his performance of Sweeny Todd--much richer and devastating than when he did it in 1979. Neil Patrick Harris, who I've seen in his role of Tobias 3 times, was never better than here. Victoria Clark as Johanna is sparkling. The only drawback is Davis Gaines, who's whinnying voice is just plain annoying. If he was a better actor, it might be fine. But he's just not a very good actor. Still, the show is terrific. Let's just hope they someday release the original show on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: wwonderful
Review: I was a lucky fellow back in 1980 when I took a trip to New York and "accidently" got to see Sweeney Todd with Angela Landsbury and George Herne in the title roles! What an incredible show. I again saw the touring version in San Francisco which wasn't nearly as good but still a thrill. This DVD does a great justice to the original and, although I miss Angela, Ms. Lapone does a great job. I highly recommend this DVD and only hope that the original show will be reissued someday soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Teeny SWEENEY
Review: In less than two weeks, after buying both the ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST ALBUM, watching the taped 1982 live performance on VHS (originally aired on PBS and currently out-of-print) and now this, the SWEENEY TODD IN CONCERT DVD, SWEENEY has quickly become one of my all-time favorite shows. Of the concert musicals I've seen, this is certainly one of the finest. The performers are not quite "in costume" but rather in (mostly) all-black Japanese formal wear-flavored variations on the original SWEENEY's costumes. Cleverly done, as is the platform stage design around the orchestra (the exquisite San Fransisco Symphony.) It is also much more intimate and better executed than the lackluster LES MISERABLES IN CONCERT. George Hearn reprises the title role, which he took over for the original Len Cariou on Broadway and played on tour. To me, Hearn is the definitive Sweeney. It's been almost 20 years since he played the role opposite the original Mrs. Lovett, Angela Lansbury, on the PBS performance. At 67, his emotional ferocity combined with his rich, booming baritone are still unmatched. Todd could easily be portrayed as a monster from a horror film, and Hearn gives him humanity and depth that at times brings you to tears. Lansbury was nothing short of brilliance in the role of Mrs Lovett. Here, Patti LuPone is a different story. She has true stage presence; her wonderfully big voice is in top-form (and she is technically a better singer than Lansbury) but her voice carries a distinct lack of emotion and a tendency for brassiness doesn't suit a role like this. She'd make a splendid Mama Rose in GYPSY, a role that Bernadette Peters is currently playing on Broadway (and Peters would make a better Mrs. Lovett than a Mama Rose.) LuPone also oversings...well...almost every note. Even during 'By the Sea' when Mrs. Lovett is playfully mimicking the seagulls' "Hoo-Hoo", LuPone pummels them with her vibratto. Her Cockney accent is just plain silly; she sings and acts the role like a diva--she is very much Patti LuPone throughout the whole show. Still, her distinctiveness, like her big voice, is her trademark. It's just the way she performs, and she is a legend. The supporting cast is wonderful. Davis Gaines (Anthony) and Lisa Vroman (Johanna) have both chemistry and incomparable pipes, while Neil Patrick Harris makes a sweet Tobias. Timothy Nolen (Judge Turpin), John Aler (Beadle), and Stanford Olsen (Pirelli) are all primarily opera singers and show some fine acting chops. Victoria Clark is a STANDOUT as the Beggar Woman. Also kudos to the vocal chorus who seamlessly go in and out of the action on stage. If they ever decide to release a DVD of the 1982 SWEENEY performance with Lansbury and Hearn, I highly recommend you give that one a look. In the meantime this concert is a splendid, albeit slightly imperfect, tribute to a brilliant piece of musical theatre.
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