Patti Lupone as Mrs. Lovett - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001) Discussion

[–] dcnike2001 18 years ago

Seriously! She's currently on Broadway and her interpreation is so boring. She doesn't give the character any life!

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[–] 18 years ago

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wow most people i talk to think that Patti is a million times better than Angela. I love Angela but I think Patti makes the character more believeable and humorous.

I never really laughed when Angela played it but Patti had me in stitches the whole time. Her comical timing is impeccable.

~H*
"Where the HELL is my Chiffon?!"
-Andrae...?

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] phanatic272 18 years ago

The moment I heard she was cast i was catching those whiffs

~H*
"Where the HELL is my Chiffon?!"
-Andrae...?

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[–] pelicans_and_such 18 years ago

Lol, I just got the urge to start quoting Toby at the beginning of "God, that's Good!" You know... "that aroma enriching the breeze..." etc.

Anyway, I personally like Angela better in the role, but I like Patti, too.

Every wicked thought is inexorable, and hurries to become a fact.

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[–] ijones-9 18 years ago

In case you missed the awards, Patti lost the Tony to LaChanze for THE COLOR PURPLE.

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[–] xdoormatx 18 years ago

She was amazing in the concert version, but something happened to her in the revival. I've been listening to the cast recording and she's not that good.

Angela Lansbury owns that role.

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[–] ijones-9 18 years ago

I thought she was amazing in the concert version as well. I have not seen the revival or heard the recording. I would have to agree that Lansbury owns the role.

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[–] nagol55 17 years ago

Hmm. I thought she was bad in the concert version but better on the cast recording of the revival.

"It's not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache."

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[–] puirt-a-beul 17 years ago

I think her performance in the concert version is all mugging and over-emphasis. And she seems to spend the whole show trying to keep up with the score, rather than using it to weave a character and a story. Kind of a mess, I thought.

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[–] bnkybrdwybby 16 years ago

Indeed. Patti was pitchy and missed many notes, while Angela Lansbury was perfect.

Also, did anyone notice that Antony was off-key at the beginning of "Ah, Miss"?

Idiots are fun. No wonder every village wants one.

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[–] bookwoman53 16 years ago

Stephen Sondheim allowed Patti Lu Pone to sing the songs in a lower key which is more comfortable for her. She sounds less nasal. That might have something to do with it.

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[–] Isaac5855 17 years ago

Comparisons between Lansbury and Lupone were inevitable and I think both intepretations of the role have their merits. I applaud Lupone for not trying to imitate Lansbury and interpreting the music in her own way. I think Lansbury is a better actress but Lupone is a better singer, but I would think in the concert version, director Lonny Price was more concerned with the integrity of the music and probably didn't put as much work into Lupone's acting and Lupone is observed slipping in and out of character in this concert, as opposed to Lansbury, who completely loses herself in the role.

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[–] spork_all 16 years ago

You pretty much summed up everything going through my mind.
When I caught it on Youtube, I wasn't comparing the two of them. It was enjoyable to see Lupone as Mrs. Lovett because she looked like she was having fun and the lines were funny. I think most audiences are just looking for entertainment more than anything else.

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[–] patrick_bateman_90056 16 years ago

Uh... is it musical blasphemy to say... I liked Helena better than both of them? And this is from listening to all three in the exact order they played Mrs. Lovett.

Hopelessly in love with Uma Thurman, Ziyi Zhang, Emmy Rossum, and Vanessa Ferlito

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[–] slytherin360 16 years ago

Helena is the best :) for the over all package. Patti Lupone has the best voice though.

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[–] fiona_applegate 16 years ago

I feel like comparing Helena,Angela,and Patti just doesnt work. I think Helena looked the most like what I thought Mrs. Lovett would be like and was good acting wise but her singing seemed a bit weak for the part this is a rare case where I would have been okay if they took another singer's singing and blended it with Helena's becasue her singing wasent horrible its just some parts where weak. And Angela's Mrs. Lovett was diffrent the what I would have thought of with Mrs. Lovett but I liked how her Mrs. Lovett was very funny and cute. Where I think Patti was the best vocally performed her Mrs. Lovett was still funny but just seemed more evil then Angela's (concert version). But all three where very diffrent and really can't be compared.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] cross_eyed_girl 16 years ago

i love her as Mrs Lovett

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[–] still_ichyn 16 years ago

Hm I think comparing doesn´t make much sense because everyone interprets a character differently. But since everyone is doing it..
It´s true that LuPone never seemed to be really into character but this was a concert version after all and I thinmk her way of delivering all her lines as funny as possible, always with a kind of wink to the audience, was the best choice for that. Also I like the sexy sauciness she adds to the role. When Angela´s Lovett sang "I love you" in the Final Scene, I never bought it because throughought the whole 2 1/2 hours before there seemed to be no indication of that whatsoever. I agree that Lansbury´s portrayal is pretty iconic, though. And Helena should be left out of this comparision completely because a movie is something utterly different and we all know that Lansbury´s AND Lupone´s portrayel would have looked utterly ridiculous on film...

We´ll serve anyone, meaning anyone, and to anyone - at all!

OFFICIAL BLEEDER

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[–] breakdance_fountain 16 years ago

^You noticed that too? I mean about the "I love you" thing?

They almost started to tear me apart at another website when I said I never really like Lansbury's Lovett, and preferred LuPone (think of what might have happened if I said i also liked Helena's!). They were all "what's so funny is she think LuPone is a better actress than Angela Lansbury" and someone else was explaining to me "Just because you don't like her interpretation, doesn't mean it's simply bad. It just means that it isn't the way you'd like it done." explaining, as if I were inexperienced in the ways of their holy theatre...because the second one was all I was saying. I prefer Helena's and Lupone's because, I don't know, they seem more empathetic to Sweeney. Lovett looooves Sweeney and you can tell with them, more than Angela. And I don't like Lansbury's voice too much.

Fortunately, at that moment, an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof.

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[–] Harold_Robbins 13 years ago

I'm enjoying LuPone, but whenever I even think about Nellie Lovett, it's Lansbury I see and hear - that many other actresses have played and sung the role successfully is a test to its adaptability, but let's not forget that it was actually written for Lansbury.

"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."

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