Threaded Order Chronological Order
| 1980 June Havic interview with Cavett | |
| Posted by: raydan 06:46 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
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| Just finished watching this fascinating interview with the very chatty, June Havoc about her life. Incredible conversation. |
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| Link | https://youtu.be/89guqoSMzl8 |
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| June Havoc/Sweeney Todd | |
| Last Edit: shaggyhair 12:05 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| Posted by: shaggyhair 12:04 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: 1980 June Havic interview with Cavett - raydan 06:46 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
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| Saw June Havoc in the Sweeney Todd tour at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady NY in 1982 (spring maybe--I remember it was warm). I remember little about the performances but to this day I remember the cheaply constructed Act 2 bake oven, which I believe was freestanding and pushed out like an outhouse on wheels. When Todd threw Lovett into the oven and slammed the door, the whole thing swayed like the cheap pile of painted flats that it was and it got audible laughs from the audience. | |
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| re: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd | |
| Posted by: portenopete 12:42 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd - shaggyhair 12:04 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
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| Didn't remember that but I still have my programme (from Ottawa) and the whole marketing/logo scheme was different. It definitely seems like it was a low-rent operation compared to the First National Company with Lansbury and Hearn. That tour lasted a year and played all the big cities (LA. SF, Chicago, etc.) whereas the Havoc/Petty tour lasted barely three months and played Wilmingotn, Ottawa, Hamilton. St. Louis, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and then closed with a month's run at the Royal Alex in Toronto, Petty's hometown). Prince and the design team were all the creators of record and there were photos of Prince with his leads in the souvenir programme, but it's odd they didn't use the iconic Punch and Judy graphic (from DeWynter?) and opted for a more cartoony illustration. Maybe because it never ended up performing all that well in its Broadway run the producers felt it needed a jauntier sell emphasising the comedy more than the blood. | |
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| re: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd | |
| Posted by: mgm79 12:33 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd - shaggyhair 12:04 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
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| I was working the box office at Proctor's in Schenectady in June 1982 and saw the show twice. It was marketed as "a national tour" ... but never disclosed just which nation it came from. (It was the second national US tour) ... changed dates twice ... we were still on hard tickets then ... box office and patron nightmare. So was the production - muddy sound, odd dramatic choices. Yes it was scary ... but not in the way it should have been. Huge letdown. Not one of the best of Tom Mallow's efforts. Havoc tried her best, but it was an uphill battle. Best left forgotten. | |
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| re: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd | |
| Last Edit: jwilson 02:10 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| Posted by: jwilson 02:07 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: June Havoc/Sweeney Todd - mgm79 12:33 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
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| I also saw it in Schenectady (who knew there are so many former and current Schenectady people here?!), and I was also disappointed. I was in high school at the time, and I was very excited about seeing it. Letdown is exactly the right word for my experience as well. It seemed to get swallowed up in the big--and glorious--Proctor's theatre. | |
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| re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 09:37 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
| In reply to: 1980 June Havic interview with Cavett - raydan 06:46 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
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| I just realized that there doesn't appear to be any audio or video of Havoc as Lovett in SWEENEY TODD. The tour was after the Lansbury tour in the first half of 1982. I wonder how she was? | |
| Link | SWEENEY TODD tour 1982 |
| reply to this message | reply to first message | |
| Was Estelle Parsons ever mooted to play Nellie? | |
| Posted by: portenopete 10:16 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett - pecansforall 09:37 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
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| She'd've been about 50 and had a number of musicals under her belt. She was well-known and I suspect had more currency than June Havoc. Tempermentally she's ideal: a rather dotty, scattered facade belying a very smart and edgy interior. | |
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| re: Was Estelle Parsons ever mooted to play Nellie? | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 10:50 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: Was Estelle Parsons ever mooted to play Nellie? - portenopete 10:16 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| According to the linked article Parsons was offered the tour but apparently the money wasn't right as she was "negotiating" when the article was written. She would have been sublime I'll bet! |
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| Link | Estelle Parsons SWEENEY TODD |
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| Interesting!!! | |
| Posted by: portenopete 11:39 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Was Estelle Parsons ever mooted to play Nellie? - pecansforall 10:50 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| Thanks for that article! I don't recall Carol Lawson's name: I'm wondering if that was the Friday Arts & Leisure page 2 column, which usually featured a Hirschfeld caricature of one of the subjects of the gossip? I loved that column! It was so exciting as a teenager to hear about what was in the offing! The Roast lasted only 9 previews and 4 performances despite the TV pedigree of the star and creative team. Klugman didn't end up joining (it would have been during the production of Quincy, M.E. I think?) but I'm assuming Peter Boyle did that role. Great cast! David Huddleston, Bill Macy, Antonio Fargas, Joe Silver and Barney Martin supporting. And funny to think that people didn't think of Hearn as a singer! That certainly changed after Sweeney! I'd say that because of the replacement on Broadway, the tour and the TV recording (not to mention his 21st-century return to the role) Hearn is even more remembered as the "original" Sweeney than Cariou. Similar (sort of) to Larry Kert/Dean Jones in Company. From the grainy video I've seen (as well as the OCR) Cariou acted the role with more genuinely scary intensity. Hearn seems stoic more than manic. Still would love to have seen Richard Kiley play Sweeney. |
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| Cariou vs Hearn | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 12:14 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 12:14 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: Interesting!!! - portenopete 11:39 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| I saw the Cariou Sweeney six times, the Hearn twice, once in the original opposite Loudon, and then with the NY Philharmonic/LuPone. Cariou's Sweeney had something seldom discussed: sexuality. From the start, you could feel why Mrs. Lovett was hot for this man. Even Cariou's vocals had a kind of erotic swagger at times. Cerveris found some of this, too. I take nothing from Hearn, who gave a towering account of the role; but that romantic lead under the make-up aspect wasn't there with him. |
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| re: Cariou vs Hearn | |
| Posted by: portenopete 12:32 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: Cariou vs Hearn - Delvino 12:14 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
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| Sex and violence are often a good mix for drama! LOL In a different way I thought Michael Ball had a similar sexiness, albeit maybe a bit more teddy bearish given his dimples and reputation as a musical theatre pin-up. He was the first Sweeney I'd seen to really make me get what Nellie found attractive. (Staunton also played up the hormones, as well.) Interesting that you felt the same from Cerveris. I didn't see him in that but in other things I've always found him bloodless and almost vampirish. I know the bald head and slight build give him a slightly sepulchral air, but he seems to play into it with a kind of cold, dead-eyed demeanour. |
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| re: Interesting!!! | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 11:54 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: Interesting!!! - portenopete 11:39 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| From the grainy video I've seen (as well as the OCR) Cariou acted the role with more genuinely scary intensity. I agree. Cariou's live performances were much more intense than what comes off on the cast recording. |
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| re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett | |
| Posted by: Musicals54 08:24 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett - pecansforall 09:37 pm EST 02/10/22 | |
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| I saw it in Hamilton, Ontario. I dubbed her the hook singer. Blah blah blah best pies in London. Blah blah. Not very good. Speak out baby. | |
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| re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett | |
| Posted by: pecansforall 10:30 am EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett - Musicals54 08:24 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| Forgive my ignorance, what is a "hook" singer? | |
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| re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett | |
| Posted by: Musicals54 02:41 pm EST 02/11/22 | |
| In reply to: re: 1982 June Havoc as Mrs. Lovett - pecansforall 10:30 am EST 02/11/22 | |
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| You could only make out the hook, in this case, title of the song. The oher lyrics were garbled. Awful | |
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