By snoadmin
“Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” playing at the Carpenter Center this month and presented by Musical Theatre West, is a morbid, yet comical play and a killer show.
The play stars Norman Large as Sweeney Todd and Debbie Prutsman as Mrs. Lovett. “Sweeney Todd” is an eight-time Tony Award-winning musical about a barber and his pursuit for vengeance after he learns that the love of his life, Lucy, has been cruelly abducted by the dreadful Judge Turpin. His devoted accomplice and pie shop owner, Mrs. Lovett, acts as a sort of comical relief to this dark thriller set in Victorian England.
He may not be the Johnny Depp that we’ve recently seen in the movie version of “Sweeney Todd,” but he still blows the audience away with his phenomenal vocals and stage presence.
Sarah Bermudez plays the role of Johanna, the innocent love interest of both the young sailor, Anthony, and the frightful Judge Turpin. Bermudez left the crowd in awe as she sang, “Green Finch and Linnet Bird,” in her first scene of the show.
The performance is more of an opera than anything, as the musical is mostly singing with little dialogue.
Musical Director John Glaudini and the orchestra must also be recognized for their contribution to the success of this show, making this musical truly come to life through the well-known compositions of “Sweeney Todd.” The melodies were incredible considering the small size of the orchestra positioned beneath the stage. They delivered every crucial sound effect so flawlessly that it allowed the audience to feel as if they too were a part of the production.
And of course, what “Sweeney Todd” production would be complete without a little blood and gore? It was enough to make you squirm, as blood squirted across the stage with each slice Sweeney made across the throats of his victims in his barber chair.
This show has the unique talent of making cannibalism down-right funny. The crowd laughed in utter horror and amusement with every bite the town’s people took pleasure in Mrs. Lovett’s “freshly made” meat pies made special from the bodies of Sweeney’s victims.
The theatre sets also made the ‘slaying’ scenes well worth the wait, as the audience began to wonder how the malicious characters were going to make getting rid of the bodies look realistic on stage. The barber shop sits atop Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop where there sits the infamous barber’s chair. Each slaughter sent Todd’s victims sliding down the chair through a trapped door and into the furnace that sits inside the basement of Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop. A job well done and a spectacle to watch!
Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” keeps the audience laughing and on the edge of their seats right on through until the closing scene. If you haven’t seen it yet, take a walk on the dark side and sing along to the “Ballad of Sweeney Todd” and other celebrated songs. The production runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14.
