Attend the Tale.

When I was home a few weekends ago, I got to watch a filmed version of Company on PBS's Great Performances. It was the revival that appeared on Broadway last, directed by John Doyle. It was fantastic, mostly because the actors played their own instruments and the play's staging was so fucking amazing.

I knew of the play and the director because he also revived Sondheim's Sweeney Todd about two years ago, and like Company, the earlier revival was a stripped-down production where the actors doubled as the orchestra. It's almost unfair to use the term to describe the group of musicians, since there are only about ten people on stage above the empty orchestra pit.

Last night, Rachel and I went to see Sweeney open at the Cadillac Palace, where it'll be for a week before the touring production leaves Chicago and goes to somewhere like St. Louis or something. It had been a while since I'd seen a musical; I think the last was Les Miserables in Richmond about five years ago. I'm no Broadway connoisseur, I'm just some gay who likes musicals sometimes. And I can't formally criticize the show, since I don't know enough about putting on a big production and how all of that theatre shit works. But let me tell you this: the production of Sweeney Todd blew my fucking face off.

Seriously, I rarely notice how much influence a director has on a play, especially when it's a touring cast (I've never seen a show in New York, and I've only really seen musicals when they came through Richmond on tour). But I sat in the front row of the balcony last night in complete awe as I watched a group of ten people pull of an amazing feat. It was thousands of times better than that stupid, lame-ass Johnny Depp mess of a film. All of this considering the flaws in the production!

Seriously, John Doyle. I want you to direct my life.

Rachel and I had so much fun last night. We even ate at a fancy-assed restaurant where our bill was waaaaay too much and we split a fifty-two dollar bottle of wine. But good lord, it was delicious. I want to see more shows as they come through town - Avenue Q will be here in May, and hey, maybe I could even convince one of my non-musical inclined friends to go. It's got puppets, you guys!

Afternoon Delights

This morning was kinda shitty, and I wrote a couple of drafts but they were all kind of whiny and boring, blah blah blah. Then I discovered that I have one less friend on Facebook, MySpace, GoodReads, and Netflix than I did two days ago, and that didn't make me feel any better.

But then, on my way to meet Rachel for lunch, I saw two Lamborghinis and realized my day was going to get better. That's good luck!

Rachel and I had a great lunch and it made our day much better (she told me she tried - and failed - to quit her job this morning). And now I may actually have plans to hang out with friends tonight, instead of my earlier plan to drink a bottle of Syrah and watched Enchanted. Saved!

I also bought tickets for Sweeney Todd, which comes to Chicago on its national tour in a month. I'm super excited, and just spent a good half-hour watching scenes from it on YouTube, as I am wont to do.

Movie reviews coming to you from O'Hare International Airport

I'm sitting at a gate in O'Hare right now. I was supposed to fly to Richmond twenty minutes ago, but because of the FOG in Chicago, my flight it delayed until 10:27. I'm really tired because I didn't go to sleep last night because I put off packing and cleaning until really late, and then I was like, "Oh, it's five o'clock. I need to leave to go to the airport now." Usually, I don't have qualms about sleeping in public, but I don't want to miss the flight. I feel like if I fall asleep, I will sleep for hours. So instead, I'm staying away by watching two old gays let their tiny Italian greyhounds scamper about and paying too much fo Internet access. Huzzah!

Part of the reason why I didn't pack earlier yesterday evening (other than my general laziness) was because I went to Evanston with Justin, Katy, and their unborn child (I wasn't a third wheel!) to see Sweeney Todd. I didn't really want to wait until I got home to Virginia. I had to see it last night.

I was actually surprised that I didn't hate it. I was neither over or underwhelmed. It was a pretty generic kind of "whelmed" feeling, I suppose. I still don't like Johnny Depp, but I was surprised that Helena Bohnam Carter was actually entertaining. I think maybe my biggest complaint - other than Johnny Depp's pseudo-rock star vocals, was that a lot of the character development seemed to be cut along with some of the songs. I've never actually seen the play; I've only listened to the soundtrack, and I wasn't really aware of the plot line for the second act. When you take away the characterizations, you're kind of left with a hokey story. (I can suspend my belief, but NO ONE recognizes Sweeney Todd as the barber who used to occupy the same shop above Mrs. Lovett's? The Susan Sontag-streak served as a disguise that is about as believable as Clark Kent's glasses.) And It was pretty to watch, if you're into that whole goth sort of thing that Tim Burton does in all of his movies.

To be fair, I will say that the group of fourteen year old girls who took up an entire row in front of us (with their moms sitting in the very back of the theater, natch) LOVED it. "That exceeded my expectations!" squealed the girl with the cheap black wig onto which she'd painted a white streak. So if you're the type of person who likes wearing Victorian dress to film openings and, consequently, never have a significant other, you'll probably dig Sweeney Todd.

Johnny Depp is into that "less is more" kind of acting.

Entertainment Weekly has a fairly insipid (suprise!) interview with Johnny Depp about Sweeney Todd, and I think this is my favorite part because it's so groundbreaking and cutting-edge, you know?

You have a scene with Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, set to the song ''My Friends,'' where you never once look at her — she's out of focus behind you. It's right for the character, but did that freak her out on the set?
She was terrific about it, Helena. We did that entire piece and I don't think we made eye contact at all. It seemed like the right thing to do. I thought the only time he'd have real intense eye contact would be with his wife when they were younger, or with Judge Turpin. I really tried to stick to that. It wasn't always possible, but we came close.

Related:
Johnny Depp: Cutting Loose in "Sweeney Todd" [EW]