美国国家公共电台 NPR--As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role

As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role

Transcript¹

Stephen Sondheim's 1979 masterpiece, Sweeney Todd: The Demon² Barber of Fleet Street, is back on Broadway. The tale of a murderous barber, who teams up with a pie shop owner in 19th century London, the show is gruesome, passionate³ and outrageously⁴ funny. And the lavish⁵ revival⁶, featuring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, a cast of 25 and an orchestra of 26, recently opened to rave⁷ reviews.

Since its premiere 44 years ago, Sweeney Todd has returned to New York in various guises⁸ – small off-Broadway productions, operatic and concert versions, and a Broadway revival, where the actors performed their own accompaniment. So, there is a fraternity of Sweeneys, who can share stories and trade tips about playing the famously difficult role.

Four of them came to NPR's New York bureau for a wide-ranging conversation: pop singer Josh Groban, who's only recently taken on the part; Michael Cerveris, who fronted the revival in 2005, playing guitar, while Patti LuPone played the tuba; Norm Lewis, who's played the role three times, most recently off-Broadway in an immersive production set in a pie shop, and Len Cariou, the original Sweeney.

The three younger Sweeneys, naturally, were interested to hear Cariou talk about the first production. He was in Manitoba, Canada, when original director Hal Prince sent him the script. "And got home and then read it and said 'they're out of their minds. This is crazy,'" Cariou recalls, laughing.

Crazy, because the show is about a barber who slits⁹ the throats of his customers. And his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett, disposes of the bodies by baking them into meat pies. But Cariou had worked with Stephen Sondheim before, on A Little Night Music. "And thought, 'Well. You know, if he writes a really romantic score, this might be interesting,'" he remembers, adding: "The guy's pretty smart, you know."

And Sondheim wrote a really romantic score. Cariou went to the composer's house for a preview, where both were so nervous, they shared a joint¹⁰, before Sondheim demonstrated a few songs. Cariou says Sondheim showed him how "The Ballad¹¹ of Sweeney Todd" used the "Dies Irae" from the Catholic mass for the dead. Then, he played an early song in the show, "The Barber and His Wife."

"And I just started to cry," says Cariou, "I said 'what is going on here?' I said, 'Steve that is an incredible melody.'" When Sondheim played the act one finale, a wickedly funny song called "A Little Priest," "I was on the floor laughing," remembers the actor, "and he said, 'It gets better!'" Cariou was hooked.

Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello in the 2017 off-Broadway production of Sweeney Todd.

Joan Marcus

All four Sweeneys talked about a pivotal moment in the show; the song "My Friends," a tender ballad that Sweeney sings to his razors. Here's the set up: the corrupt¹² Judge Turpin had lusted¹³ after Sweeney's wife, so he had him falsely convicted and sent to Australia. But Sweeney's escaped. Now, back in London thinking his wife dead and his daughter Johanna captive in the judge's house, Sweeney is determined¹⁴ to get his revenge. Then, Mrs. Lovett gives him the perfect instrument. "And says, 'Oh, by the way. I have your razors,' " Cariou describes, " 'I saved them for you.' "

"All of these stories are starting to develop," says Josh Groban. "These seeds are being planted that are maniacal¹⁵. But the music itself is some of the most lush and romantic that I've ever heard. And "My Friends," I think, is the first opportunity as Sweeney to lean into that romanticism."

"Musically, it's sort of opening a door into a part of Sweeney that you haven't seen yet," explains Michael Cerveris. "You know, there is this loving person in him and there's a tenderness that you see in that song, in relation to these cold pieces of steel."

Cerveris adds: "I sort of felt if he had come back and found Johanna and his wife and been allowed to, he would have just left town. Like, I didn't feel like he was there to exact revenge, necessarily. But in 'My Friends' I think you see that that potential version of him."

"Yeah. I've always said to people," says Norm Lewis laughing, "if he had found Johanna and his wife. Curtain!"

But Len Cariou's not so sure. "He was going to have his pound of flesh," Cariou explains, "that was his motivation. That's what got him from Australia back to London ... was Turpin."

As the song goes on, Sweeney focuses on his razors, but Mrs. Lovett focuses on him. "There's a survivor¹⁶ element to Lovett," says Groban. "And they're both looking for a means to achieve what they need. These duets are crafted so brilliantly; to be able to show both of those plans happening simultaneously¹⁷."

Cariou recalls the excitement of the original rehearsal¹⁸ room, where his Mrs. Lovett was Angela Lansbury. "Almost immediately everybody kind of sat up," says Cariou. "Something was happening. We knew it. We didn't quite know what it was, but we knew that something was going on here and that this may be the most exciting piece of theater that we'd ever been a part of."

Now, of course, Sweeney Todd is in the pantheon of musical theater. "I've always said that Stephen Sondheim was the musical theater Shakespeare," explains Norm Lewis. "And this role has always, for me, been the Hamlet of musical theater, because all the baritones always want to play this role and put their spin on it."

And all four of these actors acknowledge it's exhausting playing a murderous sociopath, while dealing¹⁹ with stage blood, a mechanical barber chair and singing complex music. Josh Groban says Michael Cerveris gave him tips. "Michael and I had a drink before we started previews," Groban recalls, "and I was lucky enough to kind of sit with him and get some wonderful advice and support ... And he said, 'just wash it off in the sink, man. Like, when you take the makeup²⁰ off, take it all off, you know?'"

The musical's success, in 1979, was far from inevitable²¹. Len Cariou remembers that the original company had never finished technical rehearsals²² before the first performance. They didn't know what to expect. "When it was over, people really reacted to it," says Cariou. "And I came backstage to my dressing²³ room, and Sondheim was standing²⁴ outside of it, and he said, 'They understood it. They f------ understood it.' And we had a great big hug."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

3 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

4 outrageously   

凶残地； 肆无忌惮地； 令人不能容忍地； 不寻常地

参考例句：

• Leila kept smiling her outrageously cute smile. 莱拉脸上始终挂着非常可爱的笑容。
• He flirts outrageously. 他肆无忌惮地调情。

5 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

6 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

7 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

8 guises   

n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She took pleasure in the various guises she could see. 她穿各种衣服都显得活泼可爱。 来自辞典例句
• Traditional form or structure allows us to recognize corresponding bits of folklore in different guises. 了解民俗的传统形式或结构，可以使我门抛开事物的不同外表，从中去辨认出有关民俗的点点滴滴。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

9 slits   

n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子

参考例句：

• He appears to have two slits for eyes. 他眯着两眼。
• "You go to--Halifax,'she said tensely, her green eyes slits of rage. "你给我滚----滚到远远的地方去！" 她恶狠狠地说，那双绿眼睛冒出了怒火。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

12 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

13 lusted   

贪求（lust的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He had even lusted for Halina, already woven a net in readiness to ensnare her. 他甚至贪恋海莉娜，已经编织了一个罗网，在引诱她落进去。
• Men feared him and women lusted after the handsome warrior. 男人们害怕他，女人们纷纷追求这个英俊的勇士。

14 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

15 maniacal   

adj.发疯的

参考例句：

• He was almost maniacal in his pursuit of sporting records.他近乎发疯般地追求着打破体育纪录。
• She is hunched forward over the wheel with a maniacal expression.她弓身伏在方向盘前，表情像疯了一样。

16 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

17 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

18 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

20 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

21 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

22 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。