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Chatting With Mrs. Lovett
Broadway's
Sweeney Todd star Judy Kaye talks about meat pies and
John Travolta
By Dan Hudak
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Catch Sweeney Todd at the Carnival Center from Jan.
1 to 6 |
It’s
a long way from the Broadway stage to the movie screen, and
watching Johnny Depp struggle through Sweeney Todd: The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street is simply not the way Stephen
Sondheim’s Tony-Award winning musical should be seen. You’re
bound to get a better, fresher take on the show when the
Broadway Across America tour brings Sweeney Todd to the
Carnival Center for eight performances from Jan. 1 to 6.
The story: Sweeney Todd was banished from London 15 years ago by
the corrupt Judge Turpin, and now he’s returned and learned that
his wife was poisoned and his daughter, Johanna, has become
Turpin’s ward. With the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, who
proudly serves “the worst pies in London” at her meat pie shop,
Sweeney reopens his barbershop and gets revenge on the society
that’s wronged him by slitting the throats of unsuspecting
customers.
We sat down with Mrs. Lovett herself, Broadway veteran Judy
Kaye, to ask some silly questions about meat pies, and ended up
talking about John Travolta.
Have you seen the movie?
No, but the whole cast is excited about it. It looks very good.
I think it’ll be fun for audiences to see the movie and the show
and see the differences.
Please tell me you’re more attractive than the movie’s Mrs.
Lovett, Helena Bonham Carter.
I look extremely different. I also have a couple years on her.
The movie is set in Victorian England, and people didn’t bathe
at all back then. Our production is gritty in a different way,
and our show is set at an indeterminate time. My character is
stuck in the 1960s — an East Ender in London, the Chelsea area.
Mrs. Lovett makes the worst pies in London. What’s the worst pie
you’ve ever had?
Good question. Pie is a big deal for me. I really love pie. But
I did have an apple pie once that a friend made with salt
instead of sugar. That was really gross.
What’s a worse way to die than getting your throat slit open?
An airplane crash.
What’s the worst thing about doing a British accent?
There’s nothing bad about it if you can do it. If you can only
do a bad one, you shouldn’t do it at all.
You also played Rizzo in the original road production of
Grease
in 1973. If Mrs. Lovett made a pie out of the Pink Ladies, what
would it taste like?
Bubble gum.
Wasn’t John Travolta in that production? Was he weird?
Yes, he was in our company. He played Doody. We had a lot of
notable people in that production: Marilu Henner was Marty and
[Broadway director] Jerry Zaks played Kenickie. But I can’t tell
you anything bad about Travolta that you can print, except that
he loved to do practical jokes — he was the ringleader of all
the boys, the class clown if you will.
Sounds like a natural Danny Zuko.
It was more foreshadowing of Welcome Back Kotter than it
was him as Danny. He was a great dancer and a great singer. We
could see he would be big.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is playing at
the
Carnival Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 1-6. Performances
are Tuesday through Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.
and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $26 to $68.,
and are available at
carnivalcenter.org or 305-949-6722.
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letters@miamisunpost.com. |
