Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou in SWEENEY TODD opening night (1979, Broadway)
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- Опубликовано: 29 фев 2020
- In honour of the 41st anniversary of its opening:
Opening night TV reviews for Sweeney Todd, on March 1, 1979. First is Pia Lindstrom (whose mother had starred in Dame Lansbury's debut film), followed by Joel Siegel and finally Dennis Cunningham. This was the first look at the new Stephen Sondheim/Hal Prince musical, and the critics already proved discerning.
"As soon as you see Len Cariou Onstage you know hes crazy with his freaky haircut parted in the middle and puffed out on the sides"
That's what tips you off 😭
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have stumbled upon this. I was a teenage theatre kid (geek) in 1979. I saw this show in previews and made a habit of recording all the opening night reviews off the TV with my tape recorder. I listened to these particular reviews (and Stewart Klein's) many times to the point where I had them etched in my brain. So fun to actually see them again for the first time in 41 years. Thank you for posting.
What an extraordinary story! I'm very glad you came across this then. It would certainly be interesting to know what else you caught on tape!
I saw that production, too, although not on opening night. Extraordinary -- and I've seen a lot of shows. Unforgettable. I'm sad that there are no clear videos of Len Cariou as Sweeney, his Sweeney was the best.
I was also in high school when I saw this with original cast. It was my first Broadway show, and it ruined me for anything else. 😂😂😂
I saw this live as I was attending an all girl boarding school in Surrey England. Loved it.
Siegel and Cunningham got it right. It was an incredible production, I saw it during that run. Lindstrom was an idiot; not care about the people getting their throats cut? I cared, and so did most of the rest of the audience. It was stunning, horrifying, and brilliant. A gut-punch of a show, with incredible performances throughout. The set was jaw-dropping. The Uris Theater (as it was named at the time) was the largest Broadway house at the time, and the set met the challenge of it. As you might get the sense of it from the clip of the masterful Len Cariou cutting a victim's throat. That whistle -- meant to replicate a factory whistle of the time -- sounded every time Sweeney murdered someone, and it jolted me every time, even when I knew it was coming. I don't even like horror movies, but I had to see it (I was 24 y.o. at the time). RIP Ms. Lansbury, when she was on stage you couldn't take your eyes off her.
I had no idea that the reviews had been so mixed.
Sweeney Todd is a perfect play for this election year ! - but wow to see all these once familiar newscasters again !
One of the best ever
Love all these older clips and pictures!
I love watching these guys politely discuss a play about murder and cannibalism in a happy light and recommending it like you should bring the kids
One of them was quite clear about not bringing the kids. In those days, the line was much more clear than today, and most people didn't bring their kids to shows like this. It was taken for granted that parents knew better. There was a lot of groundbreaking theater in that decade, and this show, which I saw in 1979 (I was in my 20s), pushed the envelope for sure. It wasn't a fun time -- the ending was an ultimate shocker -- but the performances were beyond brilliant.
This channel is a gift!
Pia Lindstrom is the daughter of Ingrid Bergman- a great beauty. I grew up in NYC. I miss Broadway reviews on television.
Well she was worthless as a reviewer.
I found this while falling down the rabbit hole of looking for a shot of the original show. These photos are from the opening night?
The guy who went second gets it (if he wrote that). The first girl didn’t get it lol. Edit: Last guy too!
Did the woman actually say that sometimes the music is "dull"? Get out of here! ST doesn't have a dull note in it.
I knew that Sweeney Todd had a mixed reception and to be frank I love it , from watching the 1980's recording with Lansbury and Hearn I found it's set a little too Epic and needed to be less, but in the right staging and the right actors you have something as great as West Side Story or even Follies in Sweeney Todd
I saw the original production. It doesn't translate well to video. The set was fantastic, in a cavernous theater and just right for the tone of the show. Not sure what "a little too Epic" means to you, but the show is hardly an intimate little play. As one reviewer said, it was more like an opera, and that was right. The staging reflected that operatic feeling. Those were the right actors, believe me, and the staging was perfect.
*That production was nominated for 9 Tony awards, and won 7, including Best Scenic Design.* Lansbury won for Best Actress (lead) in a Musical; Cariou was nominated but did not win. Other awards were Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Direction of a Musical, and Best Original Score Written for the Theare (Sondheim). It was also nominated for Best Lighting Design, but did not win. "Needed to be less"? I don't think so.
@@Historian212 It won 8; Cariou won.
3:43, i love seeing the kid in the lobby, just waiting to be irreparably fucked up by a Broadway musical
Her pies were not made out of pussy cats and toast!
Pia Lindstrom had no clue what she'd seen so she filled her piece with snark. I seem to remember that she did that a lot - thought it was clever, I guess.
That reviewer didn’t get it at all.
No, that would be Mrs Mooney.