RENEGADE/ALLEY JOIN TO DELIVER "SOLID" PRODUCTION OF SWEENEY TODD
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| Herschel Zahnd III as the title character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber in Fleet Street Photo courtesy of Renegade Productions/Alley Theatre |
Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Book by Hugh Wheeler, From an Adaptation by Christopher Bond.
Directed by Sharon Murray Harrah.
Reviewed by Craig Nolan Highley.
Entire contents copyright © 2010 Craig Nolan Highley. All rights reserved.
My introduction to Sweeney Todd was back in 1982. I was fourteen years old, and my mother made me and my siblings watch the broadcast of the original touring production on television. Her intention was for us to get some culture, but she had no idea what the show was about and attempted to turn it off about halfway through. By then I was hooked. Up until then I had never been one for musicals; in fact I hated anything where characters would break into spontaneous musical numbers. I did, however, enjoy a good scary story, and had never realized how compelling a musical could be.
Since then I have seen many incarnations of the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler musical, and my love for the show has never diminished. I am happy to say that this current production from Renegade Art Productions and the Alley Theater did not disappoint.
The legend of Sweeney Todd has been told for well over two hundred years. There is even some debate as to whether or not he was a real person (short answer: most scholars think not). From the story’s origins in the Penny Dreadfuls of Victorian England through its early adaptations in Grand Guignol theaters, the main thread of the story has remained: Sweeney Todd was a barber who murdered his customers and gave the bodies to his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett, who disposed of them by baking them into meat pies.
In the early 1970’s, playwright Christopher Bond added some Shakespearian tragedy and a dash of The Count of Monte Cristo to give the characters some emotional depth. It was this version that attracted Sondheim’s attention, and he has stated that he embarked on the musical as an experiment to see if the elements of a thriller would work in the context of an almost sung-through musical. The result is what many consider to be Sondheim’s masterpiece.
In this version, Sweeney was once a law-abiding citizen of London named Benjamin Barker, a barber with a lovely wife and daughter. Many years before the show begins, Barker was framed for a crime and sent off to an Australian prison, all so the evil Judge Turpin could steal his wife and child. Now, in his new persona of Sweeney Todd, he has returned to take revenge on the Judge in particular and all of London in general. He is aided in his crimes by his neighbor, Mrs. Lovett. Her meat pie business has all but ground to a halt until she gets the bright idea of using the bodies of Sweeney’s victims as the main ingredient in her pies.
RAC’s production succeeds for the most part. Herschel Zahnd III is a bit young, but still very convincing in the main role. His Sweeney is a creature of pure anguish and he manages to make you sympathize with the monster he has become. Kathryn Furrow-Zacharski is not quite as successful as Mrs. Lovett. She is very good at acting the role, but her singing voice seems strangely hesitant, especially in her introductory “Worst Pies in London” number.
Supporting roles are especially strong. Ed Lewis looks almost identical to Edmund Lyndeck, the original Judge Turpin on Broadway, but definitely makes the part his own. Kudos to the production for keeping the Judge’s “Johanna” number. Most theater groups tend to cut it, and Lewis really sells the creepy pedophiliac undertones of the song and the role.
The tragic role of Sweeney and Lovett’s serving boy Tobias is deftly played by JC Nixon. He does seem a little old for the role, but he is in fine voice and definitely earns our sympathy. Wesley Thomas turns in a suitably unctuous performance as the Judge’s main henchman Beadle Bamford. Brad Lambert is completely creepy as the sinister madhouse doctor Jonas Fogg, and Jess White is the picture of tragedy as the Beggar Woman. As rival barber Pirelli, Corey Vaughn acts and sings the hell out of the role, and his slight frame works well with the wiry traits of the character.
One of the most ironic aspects of the musical for me has always been the insertion of two Disney-style fairy tale characters into the otherwise horror movie histrionics: Sweeney’s waif of a daughter Johanna and her handsome suitor Anthony. Audrey Belle Adams and Dustin Rayburn provide probably the two best voices in the production in these roles.
Sharon Murray Harrah’s direction keeps things moving nicely and she has elicited some very strong performances here. My biggest regret would be her decision to cut the pantomime from the “Poor Thing” song. This number, sung by Lovett to Sweeney and explaining what has become of his wife and daughter, is intended to be accompanied by a pantomime by the rest of the cast acting out the story; this serves as the introduction to the Judge and Beadle characters. Harrah’s decision to cut it robs the story of some of its cohesion. When we are introduced later to the Judge and the Beadle there just isn’t the same character recognition and it robs the story of some of its impact.
Rebekkah Meixner’s scenic design is probably this production’s strongest asset, evoking the mechanical/industrial style of the original without completely imitating it. The costumes by Harrah with Margaret Fenske, Cathy Ryan, and Butch Seger are convincing and serviceable for the most part, despite a couple of missteps like Lambert’s poorly-attached fake beard, and the terrible wig on Vaughn that does nothing but call attention to itself.
But really, any criticisms I can give this show are nitpicking. This is overall a solid production of a legendary piece of the American stage and another success for the Alley Theater. Get out and see it before it’s gone; you won’t want to miss it!
Featuring Audrey Belle Adams, Carol Dines, Kathryn Furrow-Zacharski, Stephen Harrah, Brad Lambert, Ed Lewis, Lauren McCombs, JC Nixon, Tymika Prince, Dustin Rayburn, John Ryan, Dan Smith, Wesley Thomas, Corey Vaughn, Jess White, and Herschel Zahnd III.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
October 8-31, 8:00 pmRenegade Art Productions, LLC in Association with
The Alley Theater/Art Sanctuary
1205 E. Washington St.
Louisville, Kentucky 40206
502-713-6178
alyscott@juno.com
thealleytheater.org