Yeah, he got laughs no other Sweeney I've seen has gotten, although it took him a while to find some of them. I'm so glad to have seen him in the role nine times, from the first Sunday matinee after opening till the final performance with him and Lansbury. His performance really grew during that year.
I've sometimes wondered if the reason why they cut the tooth-pulling starting in London in June 1980 but didn't cut it during Broadway previews was because it was getting laughs thanks to Cariou's reactions. When Hearn took over, no laughs. Maybe the reason why I feel the tooth-pulling should be there is because I saw it with him (not to mention the great Ken Jennings and the excellent Joaquin Romaguera).
Sondheim has sometimes written and said that the tooth-pulling was cut during previews, but he's misremembering.
In the second-act "Johanna," he had an amazing way of looking out and visualizing Johanna before he started to sing. I've never seen anyone else do that. He did so many very effective things in the role that no one else I've seen has done. |
