Class Preparation

• We will spend most of the class watching extended excerpts from the original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd. There is extensive information about this show on the show's Wikipedia page (link), including a very detailed plot summary. There are also casting lists from over a dozen productions of the show over the years. This information is so extensive that I won't include it in the handout about the show. Also, since the DVD we'll watch has a subtitle option, I won't post a handout of lyrics for this show.
• We will spend somewhat less time this week on Merrily We Roll Along, though I reserve the right to bring it back on the next class. This is the notable "last collaboration" of Sondheim and Harold Prince (well, at least until the 2000s), and the show has the twin reputations of being a miserable flop and the source of many beloved songs. The story of this show and its troubles is told in a documentary from 2016, Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (running time 96 minutes), which is currently streaming on both Netflix (no charge as long as you're a member) and Amazon Prime Video (for $2.99 rental or $9.99 purchase). Of course, this film is catnip for me, but I think everyone will like it. There is a lot of footage shot during the rehearsal of the show, including interviews with Prince and Sondheim. It also reunites the youthful cast, which included Jason Alexander, Jim Walton, Lonny Price, Liz Calloway, Tanya Pinkins, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Handouts

    Class Slides
    

 Links to Websites Referenced in Today's Presentation

• Bernadette Peters sings "Not a Day Goes By" at the NY Philharmonic's 80th Birthday Concert.
• The complete “Live from Lincoln Center” New York Philharmonic concert performance of Sweeney Todd, with Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson is available now on YouTube (at least until the copyright policy at PBS catch on).
• The trailer for Tim Burton’s film of Sweeney Todd.
• EXTRA: At the 80thBirthday Concert, Patti LuPone sings “A Little Priest” with two Sweeneys—George Hearn (1980) and Michael Cerveris (2005).

Class Evaluation

What worked?

• People seemed to like the showing of extended excerpts  from the DVD.

What would make it even better?

• (none)