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Sweeney Todd

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Submitted By binderg
Words 1425
Pages 6
Binder, Gabrielle
2 March 2014
MUSC 1301
Sweeney Todd: Robert E. Lee High School Musical
I am not a fan of horror or scary theatrics, so I was a little nervous about going to see Sweeney Todd, even if it was just a high school musical. I was quite impressed overall with the musical. The young actors and actresses did very well performing the story of Sweeney Todd. The story of Sweeney Todd was actually quite interesting. I was shocked that an elderly woman would even think to serve humans in pie form, but I guess she had to do what she felt necessary to keep her business open. The musical was not as scary as I initially thought it would be. The original musical’s music and lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim. One of the main characters Sweeney Todd was played by Octavio de la Pena. He played his character very well. Throughout the musical Octavio never went out of character and he portrayed the different emotions well. He even used an English accent to go with the setting of the musical. The young man had great diction and his inflection was very natural. He did not sound as though he was acting, but that he was actually feeling each emotion. He also had great diction while singing songs that required him to sing very fast. I was able to understand every word as he sped through lyrics in the songs. I was surprised by one scene when Sweeney Todd actually showed some sort of compassion and allowed an unsuspecting victim to live. Sweeney Todd saw the man’s wife and child just as he was about to strike the man. Sweeney Todd thought of his wife and daughter, Johanna, and how they felt when he was exiled, so he gave the man shave and spared his life. Through all the horror Sweeney Todd was still somewhat human inside. Ms. Lovett, played by Lizzie Poncio, was an interesting character. Lizzie was very animated while acting as Ms. Lovett. She also sung very well. Lizzie was a great choice to play Ms. Lovett because the role just seemed to fit her so well. I felt Ms. Lovett left out that Sweeney Todd’s wife did not die on purpose because she wanted him to believe his wife was dead so she could have him to herself. In the end, Ms. Lovett pays for her silence with her life. I really enjoyed this character. Anthony “Tony” Hope, played by Isaac Palma, and Johanna, played by Aria Braswell, were both played well by the actor and actress. Even through Anthony Hope’s singing, he was able to convey to the audience his deep love for Johanna. Aria did very well at portraying Johanna’s kind but desperate personality as she tries to find refuge from Judge Turpin. When Johanna had to be a sailor, the actress did a great job at “switching” characters by pretending to be a man while still keeping the essence of Johanna present in the audience’s mind. Aria also had great diction, especially when singing the faster songs in the musical. The Beggar Woman was an interesting character because she ended up being Sweeney Todd’s wife. Ironically, Sweeney Todd, not knowing she is his wife, kills the Beggar Woman. To me her role was somewhat important because her death led to the death of Ms. Lovett. Another seemingly small character role was Pirelli. Pirelli was stuck up and his challenge led to Sweeney Todd’s decision on how to get revenge for Judge Turpin treating his daughter badly. Pirelli is the first of Sweeney Todd’s unsuspecting victims. Maybe if Pirelli was not so cheap he would not have taken the “free” shave of death from Sweeney Todd. A shave from Sweeney Todd cost him something more than any sum of money could buy, his life. At first I thought that Tobias “Toby” Ragg was not that important to the story of Sweeney Todd. I was also surprised to learn that he was probably no older than twelve or thirteen. Going into the musical, I thought that Tobias Ragg was a young man somewhere in his late teens or early twenties. Tobias Ragg worked for Pirelli and is unaware, in the beginning, that Sweeney Todd has killed his master. Without someone to work for, Toby begins to work in the pie shop with Ms. Lovett. He begins to love Ms. Lovett like a son loves his mother. Travis Anderson, the actor playing Tobias Ragg, did very well at transitioning through the emotionally states that Toby experienced throughout the musical. Toby went from an innocent worker to a crazy murderer. It was ironic that Sweeney Todd killed to save his child and Toby was only a child and killed Sweeney Todd. Toby figured out the secret of Ms. Lovett and Sweeney Todd killing and selling human flesh in meat pies. I did not think that Toby would be the one to kill Sweeney Todd. The musical aspect of Sweeney Todd was great. I was not expecting to see an orchestra present but they were fantastic. The instruments that the orchestra was composed of were the violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, brass, percussion, piano and harp. Hearing the live sound effects and music live made the musical even better because there were not and technical difficulties with the music. The orchestra’s timing was great and I kind of forgot that they were even there. It just seemed like I was watching a movie with the music in the background and the music was being played on a cd. Aside from the actors and actresses, the music added to the moods of the play. It also increased the suspense of the climax of the musical. The songs that were sung during the performance were The Ballad of Sweeney Todd, No Place like London, The Worst Pies in London, Poor Thing, My Friends, Green Finch and Linnet Bird, Ah,Miss, Johanna Part I, Johanna Part II, Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir, Pirelli’s Entrance, The Contest, Wait, Pirelli’s Death, Kiss Me Part I, Ladies in Their Sensitivities, Kiss Me Part II, Pretty Women, Epiphany, A Little Priest, God, That’s Good!, I am a Lass, By the Sea, Wigmaker Sequence, The Letter, Not While I’m Around, Parlor Songs, Fogg’s Asylum/Fogg’s Passacaglia, City on Fire, Searching, Judge’s Return, and Final Scene. Some songs that seemed to be a little more important were The Ballad of Sweeney Todd, Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir, God, That’s Good!, By the Sea, and City on Fire. The Ballad of Sweeney Todd was important because it open and closes the musical. The ballad in a way explains what Sweeney Todd does but without giving away details. Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir was important because it was the introduction to the competition between Sweeney Todd and Pirelli. This song was also the introduction for Tobias Ragg. Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir is the first time we see Toby and his part continues to grow from then on. Motivation for murder was also provided for Sweeney Todd after the competition with Pirelli. By the Sea was a song about Ms. Lovett basically confessing her love for Sweeney Todd. She tells him she wants to go by the sea if her business stays good. She even mentions marriage. God, That’s Good was the introduction to Ms. Lovett’s meat pies. This is also how we know how Ms. Lovett was using the poor victims of Sweeney Todd. City on Fire was not necessarily important but something interesting happened while a smoke machine was being used. The fire alarms in the building began to go off but it went along with the song so many people did not notice. The flashing lights from the alarms, the loud beeping sound, and the voice talking all added to the effects of the musical. In conclusion, I enjoyed the overall experience of the play. I was really impressed with how well the students performed. I was even more impressed with the orchestra. Their timing was spot on throughout the whole performance and only made it even better. I was glad the music was live, which took away the opportunity for technical difficulties. I was especially excited to hear the various instruments played. Sometimes the orchestra would start with one group of instruments and progress to the whole orchestra playing together. All of the performers were great. The costumes and make-up made the characters more realistic. The singing was outstanding; not just by the individual performers but also by the ensemble.

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