Sweeney Todd

I don't know how many of you were able to go and see the school's performance of "Sweeney Todd" because the show sold out for all three nights before opening night started! I was able to go opening night and see the musical - considering that I saw it on opening night I did enjoy the show. I had heard a lot of mixed reviews from the cast so when I went to see it, I really did not know what to expect. I had been told that the director was not the best qualified for the job and that many of the cast and crew members were not impressed with her "vision" for the show. It was clear that the director was going for something very close to the more recent Tim Burton, Johnny Depp version of the musical instead of the less dramatic original Broadway version of the musical. Considering that the school's production was similar in costume, make up and scenery to the movie/musical version it almost seemed like a cheap immitation. If I have a choice of watching Ben perform the role of Sweeney versus Johnny Depp, there is no doubt that I would rather watch Johnny Depp, as I'm sure many would agree. Not to say that Ben did not do his best at performing under the circumstances, but, when you put on a play that has become very famous it is dangerous to not change things up. I feel that the production should have taken it's own direction instead of being like a "cover" performance of the movie/musical version.
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