"Yes Sweeney is one of Sondheim's masterpieces, but it repulses a fair percentage of people, including die hard fans like me. I have and always will have limited tolerance for it."
I'm sure you're right that a "fair percentage" of people don't like the show, whether or not they're actually repulsed by it. But I have the impression that, over the years, SWEENEY TODD has become one of Sondheim's most popular shows as rated by the huge number of stage productions at every level, plus the fact that it's one of the few Sondheim shows to be made into a "major motion picture," not to mention two high-profile video productions (the original touring company and the concert version with LuPone, Hearn, and the San Francisco Symphony).
I'm not counting WEST SIDE STORY or GYPSY, but among shows with both music and lyrics by Sondheim, it really does seem to me that SWEENEY is among the most popular, right up there with INTO THE WOODS and ....FORUM. |
