Aha I love this thread, but no one's here....
I honestly can't think of other choices for any of the roles, especially Helena. She's perfect as Mrs Lovett, Don't shoot me for saying this, but I think she may be as good as Angela Lansbury...
Speaking of the original musical, have any of you (not that anyone will reply) seen a production of Sweeney Todd on stage? How was it?

I wish they had have left the Judge's version of Johanna in the movie. Alan would've done an amazing job....*sigh*

I'll respond!!

I saw a production of Sweeney Todd on stage. It was kind of weird... I'll try to explain it. The director had tried a different approach to the musical. The actors never left the stage. There was no orchestra--the actors played instruments. (I think Johanna played cello or violin, Sweeney played trumpet, stuff like that) Also, there was pretty much no dialogue, it was basically just the music. They connected the songs a bit, but not much speaking. Also, the actors barely ever faced or interacted with each other. They pretty much just sang straight to the audience.

Overall, it was kind of weird. I mean, I definitely prefer the movie version to that, mainly because there was story and music. I like actors to interact with each other and form bonds and whatnot. But the musicianship was excellent. Wow. I really thought everyone was very good.

Our local Blood Center actually sponsored the play, and as a gift they gave the entire audience little letter openers that look like shaving blades. They're cute.

OH. MY. GOSH. !.

I have just watched it, we got it on DVD and.... it was so sad!
I liked Ms Lovett all the way up till the last bit when I started to cry hysterically. I am sorry but since I saw Marley and Me I have not been too good with films and staying in one peice. That was just too sad. Absolutely amazing, I adored and loved every single second of it, but terribly terribly sad! I'm kind glad Sweeney died like that....perhaps not as gruesome as that but still, otherwise he would have been so depressed he would have just killed himself anyway and then he would not have died with Lucy and it would have likely een more painful. and I did not know Depp could sing! Well not that well anyway. He is an amazing actor/singer/people slicer and...in this film....has awesome hair.

I must go now....to cry a little more...not really...

bye

em
xx

oh! plus I absolutely adored the 'Barber and his Wife' song thing. It was beautiful!

Do you see the irony in this, as I do? Because of the lyrics, haha?

I absoulutely love Sweeny Todd, and I can't stop singing the songs! We sang the prologue version of The Ballad of Sweeny Todd for my MTE show, and my friend Sarah and I sang some of the High C's. It's so eerie, and it sounded so cool! But I think the cast of the movie was pretty well chosen. The first time I saw it, I was happy because it had Alan Rickman and a few of the HP cast. Well, now I just love the musical. If I ever happened to play in it one day, I would want to play Mrs. Lovett. She's completely insane, but her songs are so cool. The "Down By the Sea" scene in the movie was great. Them in their dark clothes and the bright, sunny beach, haha.

I'm glad someone revived this thread. Good job! Can't wait to talk more about it!

Yay! You guys came back! *hugs*

It's great you enjoyed the movie, The Happy Dementor! You have discovered something truely wonderful.

You did?! That's amazing. I can't sing, so I'm not completely sure what it's like, but Sondheim writes very difficult pieces.

I think the ending was necessary. Sweeney would have gone on and killed more people, I know he would have, even though he "laid to rest his razors". There would be no end, and he would have very, very sad knowing he had killed his wife. Sweeney accepted the fact that he was going to die in the end, he knew that Toby was behind him with his razor.

Well, of course, you could tell by the silence/music that he knew what was going to happen, and he wanted it. I think living with the fact that he had ended his wife's life was what brought his killings to an end then because he knew he hadn't even given her a chance.

And we sang the Ballad, and it was difficult at first, but amazing! I love it and I can't wait to sing more songs, if possible.

I love the fact that there is so much irony in the movie, but at the same time, it makes me want to scream, NO!!! STOP!!! ITS YOUR WIFE!!!! DON'T...! Oops... too late... its so ironic that he, is wife and his daughter were all in the same room together! If he would have just paused for a couple more seconds...! But alas, he didnt. Altogether though i love the ending. Mrs. Lovett desreved what she got even though i kinda like her character. I REALLY want to be her in a play version of Sweeney somewhere sometime. That would be SO COOL!!!!

Really, as a huge Sweeney fan, I can't believe I've never posted here before. That's just odd. Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that WB is considering coming out with a Sweeney Todd II. Personally, I think that this is just a rumour started by some wanna-be, but it makes you wonder.....

Do you think that there will be a Sweeney Todd II? Why or why not? If there was a Sweeney Todd II, what do you think the plot would be?

I can't imagine how there could be a Sweeney Todd II. Unless they made it really cheesy and awful (like him coming back from the grave or something ). I mean--he's dead. The Judge is dead, Mrs. Lovett is dead, and Lucy is dead. I guess they could do something with Johanna and her lover, and possibly Toby as well, but what? I don't see what the point would be...

The original movie seems to stand quite well on its own.

Do you think that there will be a Sweeney Todd II? Why or why not? If there was a Sweeney Todd II, what do you think the plot would be?

There isn't. Tim Burton and Johnny [Depp] were joking about that, they weren't being serious. They just meant that Sweeney Todd was a lot of work.

I really really really want to see a stage production of Sweeney Todd. I'm getting desperate.

Good. Sondheim is smart... a heck of a lot smarter than Webber(not important to the topic...but), and he wouldn't go for a Sweeney Todd II and without Sondheim the show wouldn't be half as good.

I know I am in the minority here, but I am not a fan of the movie. I love Johnny Depp as much as the next person...but he can't sing the baritone role of Sweeney. That has got to be the reason they cut The Balled of Sweeney: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He doesn't have the range. I also love Helena Boham Carter... but not as Mrs. Lovett and What? To say I disagree would be an understatement...Angela was brilliant

Luv ya

Yeah, I noticed he's more of a tenor or higher alto. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd is brillant, however, and they should of just dubbed his voice. I don't care. It's an amazing piece. Helena Boham Carter as Mrs. Lovett was a good performance.... if you haven't seen the original Mrs. Lovett from the original cast, and what's she meant to be. Carter was good, but I think the original casts are most often (there are exceptions) better.

And there cannot be a second show. It would be terrible, and all the best characters are dead. I do have a question:

What did you think of Alan Rickman's performance in the movie as Judge Turpin?

Yes they are almost always better than the ones what come after them(like Gypsy, I'm not a huge fan of Ethel Merman...but Bernadette Peters for the revival...what were they thinking) and I'm going to say...to to people who haven't, get to original cast recording with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou, you really should...I love that CD to death, it's fantastic.

What did you think of Alan Rickman's performance in the movie as Judge Turpin?

I didn't like it...he is another one of my favorite actors...not singers. I'm sorry but I didn't think he had the voice for the part...I can't tell you the headache I had during Pretty Women.

I just think that the movie could have been fantastic if they'd hired actors with better voices

Luv ya

This show is really an singer/actor role. You have to be able to sing, or otherwise it's no good. But you have to act as well. And I think they went more actor/whatever/singer because they're actors weren't even close to singers on the top of the list.

I think Alan Rickman did okay, I actually don't care for the original Judge Turpin, though he was a better singer. Can they give Alan Rickman his voice?

You know whats funny? I wasn't a huge fan of the original Turpin either, but he was definitely a better singer than Rickman.



Honey, all musicals are that way. To be in a musical you have to be able to act and sing, If you see a musical that has people with fantastic voices, but no acting skill it's boring, and if you see a musical with great actors that don't have much vocal talent...it's painful

Luv ya

Honestly can't say I'm surprised. All of the main characters are dead, and it wasn't a very reliable source. Oh well. My bad.

Glory, I'm tired. Sorry if that wasn't very coherent, I'm this close to falling out of my chair and sleeping for the rest of the day.

Cheers,
Sister
<3

I know, I'm in musicals and whatnot all the time. Musical theatre is my life. But what I was saying is that some shows are more actor/singer roles rather than singer/actor roles because they require a stronger side of acting than normal. Ha, and if they can't sing, I don't think they should be cast as the role, but my director sometimes believes that she gives the actors the role even if they're not that strong of singer. That just doesn't make sense.



Haha, nice Sister. I think it would be funny to do a parody of all the characters coming back to life, ha.

I get what you're saying... yes all Sondheim is difficult to sing and most of his shows are singer/actor. But yes in a lot of parts in musical theatre the need for a good actor is stronger for the need for a good singer, so I see your directors point of view.

Luv ya

Hi, I just had a Sweeny Todd moment I'd love to share with you all

So, I went to camp my arts camp and one of the girls brought a TV (yeah, we all had crazy things with us, especially us veterans ) and invited all the girls who wanted to to her dorm to watch Sweeny Todd! I was so excited, but I ended up going to bed early. The actual turn-out ended up being about 12 girls by the time I left. But I was just glad that so many people liked it: I left partly because some hadn't seen it and I couldn't resist the urge to stop singing along, too, haha.

Peace

And difficult to play. I was lucky enough to find a copy of No Place Like London for the piano... Let's just say it didn't go too well.

Sweeney Todd moments? I have those all the time, teehee. Whenever I try to watch the movie around someone who hasn't seen it before, it's difficult for me to shut up.

Person: *looks down at their popcorn for a few seconds*
Me: "No, don't look away! You have to keep watching!"

Can i just say did this movie freak anyone else out? I mean all the dark dirt of london doesn't bode well and some of the characters are really freaky - i thought that Sweeney Todd's wife was really scary! I'm glad I slept in a very small room that night

I'm the exact same way! Whenever I watch Sweeney with someone that hasn't seen it before, I have to practically tape my mouth shut because I always want to sing along! People get mad at me for that sometimes...

I'm goign top see this in a local theatre at the end of this month (if i remember to book tickets!) and I have no idea how i am not going to sing along!

Jilly bean (funny name lol), I definitely understand where you're coming from. Although I like Sweeney Todd, I don't think it's the best made film in the world. I read a review somewhere (I think it may have been Rotten Tomatoes) that said it was 'Too much Depp and not enough depth', and I think that describes it perfectly. I love Johnny Depp, but I can't help thinking a lot of filmmakers don't put much effort into movies that he's in because they know that people are pretty much guaranteed to go and see it.

On another note, I really, REALLY don't like Helena Bonham-Carter, but in this film, I thought she was actually really good. I know she's got a huge fanbase, so don't shoot me, people! But her acting just makes me cringe. As Mrs Lovett, though, I thought she was great. x

I saw this saturday in theatre and it was ok- but Mrs.Lovetts voice didnt carry with todds, as she had a small voice and he was belting, almost like opera. Lucy was brilliant- she never left the stage and in some scenes i was just watching her instead of the 'action' because the energy was flat
joanna had a good voice and anthony was good too.

i think i prefer the singing in tim burton's film of it- it just had an edge to it, that is hard to get it the actor is completely voice trained :s