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Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by John Doyle
Produced by Broadway In Chicago
At the Cadillac Palace Theatre
151 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Call 312-902-1400, tickets $25 - $75
Thursday, April 24 at 2 & 7:30 pm
Friday, April 25 at 8 pm
Saturday, April 26 at 2 & 8 pm
Sunday, April 27 at 2 & 7:30 pm
Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, April 30 at 2 & 7:30 pm
Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 pm
Friday, May 2 at 8 pm
Saturday, May 3 at 2 & 8 pm
Sunday, May 4 at 2 pm
Running time is 2 hours, 20 minutes with intermission
Through May 4, 2008
Exciting scaled down Sweeney Todd a slice of fine entertainment
When John Doyle decided to mount Sweeney Todd in London in 2005 in a small theatre and with a meager budget—he came up with a cast of ten performers and a 10 member orchestra—all of which had to be the same. Yes, the actors are the musicians, each playing one or more instruments and are on stage throughout. Doyle also had one set—a dingy mental ward in 1840’s London. Casting necessitates that each of the ten must be able to sing and act—and—be excellent musicians. Auditions must have been gruesome.
Doyle’s vision became a hit in London as Sweeney Todd seems to work better in a smaller scale since Sondheim’s haunting melodies with his biting lyrics stand out with a ten person cast. The Broadway production won a Tony Award.The national tour, now at the Cadillac Palace Theatre for a two week run, is a strong production with fine vocals and excellent music. I now believe one can be a singer/actor/musical—all in the same production. Little musicality is lost here.
Sweeney Todd is the story of a London barber wrongly sent to prison in Australia by a corrupt judge forcing him from his wife and daughter. Upon his return to London, 15 years later and using the name, Sweeney Todd, the barber plots revenge. He is helped by the wacky Mrs. Lovett. We see Todd cut throats and Mrs. Lovett make meat pies out of them. This dark operetta contains bleak humor, haunting music, and witty lyrics.
Judy Kaye, as Mrs. Lovett is a hoot mixing humor with her strong voice. David Hess, as Sweeney Todd, has the emotional intensity and large stage presence to make a powerful Todd. He manages his songs nicely. Edmund Bagnell, as Tobias, sings, plays the violin and clarinet while charming us as the slow-witted boy. Benjamin Magnuson’s Anthony and Lauren Molina’s Johanna worked nicely together. Keith Buterbaugh’s, Judge Turpin, and Benjamin Eakeley’s, The Beatle, effectively roared with their rich vocals.
The combination of having the actors also double as musicians served the production well. The action was intensified as we become pulled into the production as we see and hear the craft of these multi-talents. Somehow their manic energies engages us. The finest moment in this production came at the end of act one when Judy Kay and David Hess smartly sang “A Little Priest,” their homage to putting Todd’s victims in Lovett’s meat pies. The humor and wit of this wordplay song is immense.
Doyle’s less is more, with the cast doubling as musicians, is a workable concept worth using in other productions. Neither the singing nor the music suffered. This Sweeney Todd is worth a look.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2008
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