Sweeny Todd new cast recording signing

We got out of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last night (a big “eh.” Very well performed but not much of a show. Pryce appeared to be wearing some sort of body/back brace – or did he just get stout?) We headed up 3 blocks to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre where Sweeney Todd is playing. Got there about 9:45 for the 10 PM opening of the doors. Already one line of people who saw the show that night and were waiting to get the CD signed and another line that ran half a city block of people just coming for the CD signing.

At 10 PM there was some movement. They alternately let in patrons from that night's show and from the other line. After a few minutes some people started coming out. They held up their signed CD's. They sort of had these "I've got a Golden Ticket" looks on their faces - pleased but not quite believing their good fortune. A few came out and were just plain gloating. It was interesting to see the crowd. A lot of over-eager and very affected kids in their late teens and early 20's who appeared to be trying to break into theatre. A number of less-than-cool looking kids aged about 10-15 with their parents. A bunch of gay men of varying ages. And plenty of just average looking anybodies. Two very young adults - a 20ish version of Will & Grace - came out breathless and laughing. They ran up to friends behind us on line and gushed about brief conversations with Sondheim and LuPone with lots of, "Oh, my God's" and effervescence. One girl came out crying, overwhelmed by it all. I guess in our own obsessive theatre way, we were meeting The Beatles.

Our line finally started moving - very slowly. Doors were scheduled to close at 11 PM. At about 10:55, we were still a bit far back from the theatre doors. They moved 2 more groups of 20 in over the next few minutes. We were close but still far off with time running out. I was getting anxious. We had already bought the CDs from theatre employees (for $25 each instead of the $17 on Amazon). The woman at the door counted another group, "17, 18, 19, 20," and ended with Ed and me. Ed piped up that we were three and John was with us, and she let him in also. We got into the theatre. They let two more people in, and that was it. We were the last ones! Just made it.

There they were up onstage. The entire cast. So cool to see them lined up at a table in front of the set that we had just seen in this great production a month earlier. The line snaked down the left orchestra aisle, up some stairs and up to the signing table. The new cast recording was playing over the sound system. As people moved along, you got glimpses of the cast. Then Ed pointed him out. Second along the line at the table. Sondheim! I didn't quite believe it at first. I said something like, "This is what it must be like to go to heaven and see God."

It was pretty exciting waiting to go up. The line was rather hushed and reverential. Sondheim is pretty notorious for being private and is not a ready autograph giver. I think everyone there was pretty aware of this and was still quite surprised at their luck to be there.

It was an assembly line affair. You went up to the table, handed your CD to a woman standing to the left of it. She put it down in front of Patti LuPone who signed it and pushed it along to Sondheim, then to Sweeney Todd himself, Michael Cerveris, then on to Mark Jacoby, Donna Lynne Champlin, Manoel Felciano, Alexander Gemignani, John Arbo, Diana DiMarzio, Benjamin Magnuson and finally Lauren Molina. They didn't all look up as they signed - understandable since they'd been signing for about 75 minutes at this point. But if you talked they looked up and smiled and chatted a little. You just sort of moved along at the same pace as the CD that you thought was yours. As you got to the other end of the table, another person (an employee of the record company or the theatre, I guess) picked up the CD and handed it to you.

Sondheim was quite jovial which surprised me. He usually seems fairly serious to me. He was joking with LuPone. He looks like he's lived all of his soon to be 76 years. Kind of tired and rumpled. He has always looked to me like he just woke up from a nap. But who cares? He's brillaint. I have spent decades enjoying his music. I told him that the Sondheim Celebration in D.C. in 2002 was one of the best things I ever attended. He smiled and thanked me. Michael Cerveris heard my comment and chimed in about how great D.C. was. I complimented him for his role in Passion in D.C. and his Tony winning performance in Assassins two years ago. Cerveris was very cordial and looks much more attractive and approachable up close than I ever thought before. But all I was really thinking about was, "Wow. That was Sondheim I just spoke to."

The three of us were all a bit giddy when we left the theatre. Very glad that we stood out in the cold for over an hour (thanks for running to get the hot chocolate, Ed). Glad that we participated in a fun and most unusual Broadway event. Delighted that we can check Sondheim off of our "To Meet" list.