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An evening at the symphony …

I just got home from a night at the symphony. I know, it sounds snooty, but it was actually a presentation of the musical thriller called “Sweeney Todd”, starring Patti LuPone and Neil Patrick Harris. They were the mom on Life Goes On and Doogie Howser, for those of you old enough to remember those shows. I went with some friend who got tickets for free because they usher for the symphony from time to time.

So, get this. We go in and look for our seats and we are sitting on the freaking stage. Its actually those box seats that are RIGHT to the side of the stage and about ten feet above. But, for this presentation, they had built the stage up about three feet, so all the actors were walking around within six feet of us. It was awesome. Plus you are basically facing the side of the performance and facing the audience at the same time. There was so much to see, I was getting lost.

I would start watching the conductor, then I’d watch some of the singers and they way they sang. You know how when people sing sometimes they move their faces so damn much … it just cracked me the hell up the way this guy would make facial expressions when he sang and then would overdramatically open his mouth. Just some funny shit. Then of course, I was also watching what was going on with the actors. They were so damn close, I felt like I was on stage with them. Ugh, total coolness.

I was also looking out at the audience from time to time, and in the corner of my eye, I could see this glittery outfit. So, I looked closer and closer and suddenly this woman grabs her boobs and starts shifting them around. A poll of the people in my aisle guessed it was a transvestite or a man in drag. Just something seemed out of place … and I’m not talking about the boobs.

So, like I said “Sweeney Todd” is a musical thriller with alot of funny scenes and songs in it, composed by Stephen Sondheim, who also came out to bow to the crowd at the end. Its a story about a man named Sweeney Todd, who goes on a search for an apartment he once lived in and finds it to be above a meat-pie shop, owned by Mrs. Lovett, played by Patti LuPone. She complains that her meat pies are gross and disgusting because of the lack of fresh meat at the time. It ends up that Sweeney Todd begins murdering people, and in an effort to dispose of the body, he and Mrs. Lovett begin using the human bodies in her meat pies. Sweeney takes on the role of a barber, where he slashes the throats of his victims and dumps them downstairs into the meat shop where they are ground up and made into pie filling. With this new meat, the business thrives. While all of this is going on there is a love affair with two other people and plenty of more action. All in all, it was pretty good, albeit disgusting too.

And so my night at the symphony ends, or at least at the SF Symphony Hall, where it was put on. A very exciting night to see a show and two actors I’ve only seen on TV, up close and personal.

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