Read an off-site Synopsis of the show on Musicals.Net.

Before I dive into this review, I want to remind everyone that this cast was my first exposure to the show. On a whim I tuned in to PBS for the Halloween '01 broadcast of the concert, and was hooked forever. But my view of the show is necessarily different from someone whose first experience was listening to (or if they're very lucky, seeing!!!) the OBC. I've seen a lot of very heated discussion about the two casts, so I thought I'd better make that clear.

To begin with, I really love this CD. It was worth the $50 (including shipping) I had to spend to get it. Especially since it comes with a really nice thick booklet instead of liner notes… well I guess they are liner notes, sort of, but it's as thick as a regular CD case and doesn't go in the CD case, it's separate. It's got a track list, the libretto, cast bios, notes from the cast, crew, orchestra, creative people, etc., and lots of spiffy pictures (in color!). Lovely.

Believe it or not, the actual CD is really great, too. ;-) Patti Lupone makes a wonderful Mrs. Lovett. When I first watched the concert, it was her that made me keep watching. I have since come to appreciate Angela Lansbury, but I doubt I will ever like her better because LuPone just really acted the hell out of the role. That bothers some people, but I liked it, because for me she really conveyed a sense of the thrilling horror that the show is supposed to have. (If that makes any sense at all.) Her Mrs. Lovett seems more chillingly ruthless. I've heard some complaints that her voice is too screechy, but I find on the contrary that it fits the character. She really pours herself into the role, something that I love about all the CDs I've heard her on.

Another thing I've heard gripes about: I have no problem with the cast having played up the jokes. (Most notably on the line, "well we COULD do that…") There's a difference between being a ham and playing to the audience, and that night they knew the audience was 99% rabid fans of the show who knew it was coming. Actually, if anybody didn't know it was coming, I'd be surprised. As I said, it was my first experience of the show, but preparatory to watching it I looked up a short synopsis online. So I at least knew that all the bodies ended up as meat pies. I got the joke, so I'm betting everyone else did too. I thought the emphasis on that line was pretty funny - in fact, I thought it was originally supposed to be delivered that way.

George Hearn, as Sweeney, is a wonderful actor and a wonderful singer. He was a great Sweeney in 1982, and 20 years later he is still awesome. It's worth having this CD just so that his performance is recorded on an audio medium. I love his voice. I don't think he overplays the role at all. (Please... no jokes about "and always arrives overdone"... I've seen it too many times already! lol) I appreciate the fact that he has a different approach to the role than Len Cariou, and there are parts of Cariou's performance on the OBC CD that just plain give me chills, but Hearn has his own special moments. Vocally I think he's better than Cariou - his voice fits the range more naturally. He and Patti LuPone do a fabulous job with "A Little Priest."

Davis Gaines makes a good Anthony. He has a smooth voice that seems to fit the character very well. He does a beautiful version of "Johanna." I can't really comment here on his acting because this is a CD and the role of Anthony is normally very blah. What acting there is comes across nicely.

Heidi Grant Murphy is an excellent Johanna! "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" is a gorgeous melody and she definitely lets it live up to its potential, something that I think can be rare with Johannas. (Please don't even mention the tour video. I'd really rather not think about that.)

Personally I liked Neil Patrick Harris as Tobias. I don't know why a lot of people didn't. I don't have a mental image of him as Doogie Howser, which must help - not watching TV a lot has some advantages! He has a very nice, sweet voice. "Not While I'm Around" is great – he really put a ton of emotion into it. I'm not quite sure which version of "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" I like better - they're both so different - but this one is excellent, if maybe a little less lively than the OBC.

Paul Plishka, as the Judge, is very good. He has a really nice voice; I believe he is usually an opera singer. He wasn't as sleazy as Edmund Lyndeck, but then it was a concert version of the show and the dialogue was cut. Also Edmund Lyndeck played the role for years, this guy had a week of rehearsal or whatever. So he was really very good. The Judge's singing roles comes off sort of blah anyway - more important for melody than content. Except for "Mea Culpa" which was, er... good. That song bothers me and to be frank, I usually skip it, but he does perform it well.

By the way, I'm ambivalent over whether they should've cut the song. I don't like to listen to it a lot but it does flesh out the Judge character, establish him as a totally sick pervert, and absolutely prevents the audience from even slightly sympathizing with him. After this song I was looking forward to seeing him get his just deserts... but I think it's a little easier to sit through if it's in the live show rather than on the CD, since it lacks a real melody. But that's me.

That about sums it up, I think. I personally love this CD. It basically works like this: If you liked the PBS cast, if you like Patti LuPone, and/or if you like George Hearn, you will love this CD. If you hated the video, hate Patti LuPone, or hate George Hearn, you will hate this CD. So it depends on you. (Doesn't it always?) But seriously, $50 is a lot to spend on a CD, so I reccomend hearing it first if you can. If you like it, I think you'll find it's worth the money, but you definitely want to be sure.

Also see my review of the Sweeney Todd OBC CD and National Tour Video.

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Canzonetta Sull'Aria was launched on July 14, 2003 by Laura.
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