Sweeney Todd in Concert
October 2002 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

"Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd . . . " Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, that is, a title that has gone to the top of my list of favorites to enjoy during the Halloween season.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim based his 1981 Broadway show on various facts, legends, and dramas inspired by the story of a 19th century English serial killer whose girlfriend used his victims' body parts in preparing meat pies. As with Robin Hood or King Arthur, Todd legend and fact are married so well that it is hard to separate them. How, a novice might well ask, can such grisly material be made into a Broadway show. Mainly because Sondheim’s Sweeney is a wronged man, driven crazy when he is sent to prison, thinking that a lecherous judge has killed his wife. He returns for revenge. Though he is hardly the sort of chap we would want to invite to dinner, we can feel great sympathy for him, as well as Mrs. Lovett, his partner in crime. Crazy to begin with, she is so blinded by her admiration and love for Todd that she will literally go to any lengths to please him.

Part opera, part musical comedy, part drama, this show is hard to peg, putting it in the company of such works as Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. I prefer to think of it as music drama, and however one might categorize it, one of the greatest stage masterpieces of the 20th century. This concert version is A plus all the way. Don’t think since it is labeled "concert" that people walk around with scripts and scores in their hands. There is none of that. The principals and chorus are costumed and act as if in a stage production. An ingenious series of ramps and steps allows the performers to work on many different levels. They can roam throughout the orchestra, which seems like another, albeit living, set. One grows quite unaware of it very quickly. Great camera work and expert editing also help to keep the focus on actors and the drama.

This concert staging was first produced for the New York Philharmonic. The original singer chosen to play Todd was international opera star Bryn Terfel, but when he had back problems at the last minute, veteran Broadway actor/singer George Hearn was called in to take over. This turned out to be all for the good. Hearn had done Sweeney Todd on stage as well as video. His interpretation has deepened and is now rich with overlay. At so many points, one feels that Hearn is Sweeney Todd. Patti Lupone makes an energetic Mrs. Lovett, blowsy and deliberately over the top at times. Together they are an unbeatable team. Their Act I finale, "A Little Priest," in which the two mad murderers imagine the ingredient potential of various classes of people, brings the house down. I quite forgot I was in my media room and bust into applause. Smaller roles are perfectly cast, and having a full symphony orchestra on hand brings out new glories in Sondheim’s score, especially since Rob Fisher’s conducting is entirely commanding and idiomatic.

The well-focused video is right on the money form beginning to end. The camera is where it ought to be at every moment, allowing home viewers to see more intimacy than theater patrons could possibly have experienced. The sound, whether you choose the Dolby Digital or DTS tracks, is about as good as it gets for a live production. The voices are well focused, with the all-important witty Sondheim lyrics easy to understand. The singer-orchestral balance could scarcely be better, and the orchestral sound has detail, yet is quite warm, rich, and full.

The only extra, besides a limited number of biographies, is a lengthy documentary on the assembly of this performance. But that’s more than productions of this nature usually receive, and this one adds quite a bit to the understanding and enjoyment of the score. It also provides the rare revelation of seeing Sondheim at work in rehearsal. Add this title to your Halloween viewing list for a different sort of event that will scare, thrill, amuse, and thoroughly entertain.

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