Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
(135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012)
A musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond.
A musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond.
Date of reviewed performance: March 22, 2008
Cast
Sweeney Todd – David Hess
Mrs. Lovett – Judy Kaye
Tobias - Edmund Bagnell
Judge Turpin - Keith Buterbaugh
Beggar Woman - Diana DiMarzio
Johanna - Lauren Molina
Anthony - Benjamin Magnuson
Beadle Bamford – Benjamin Eakely
Jonas Fogg - Steve McIntyre
Pirelli - Katrina Yaukey
Wow, where do I begin? First, I had high hopes because this has always been one of my all time favorite musicals. I can listen to the soundtrack over and over. Of course, with the recent release of the film version starring everyone's favorite quirky leading man, Johnny Depp, it was back in the forefront of my mind (along with everyone else's) and I had been so looking forward to this production.
Anytime a Broadway production begins to tour, certain sacrifices are made. Production values are cut, set pieces are comprimised - and sometimes actual numbers or pieces of dialogue are shortened/tightened for time. We expect these things and we accept them. The revival staging of Broadway's Sweeney Todd is a bit chaotic - even in its "A-Version." The entire production takes place on one set and all of the characters are present on the stage all of the time. They even serve as the orchestra. A large, black casket serves the function of dinner table, bar at Mrs. Lovetts, the barbershop and Johanna's window perch. A small white casket appears to primarily serve as the infamous chair itself (a cast-off approach to what is normally a riveting set piece) and occasionally as other props - but keeping with what it's supposed to represent at all times is more complex than it ought to be.
If a patron is not already quite familiar with the characters, locales and plot of this musical, this staging will leave them hopelessly lost. There is no way for a person seeing this show for the first time to know that Sweeney and Anthony are sailors coming into London's harbor, when the actors are merely standing on chairs and making zero eye contact with each other. In fact, the entire cast performs entirely facing the audience - concert style, with no touching, eye contact or any other acknowledgement that these characters have anything to do with each other. The only time it even begins to look like a piece of theater is during the Anthony/Johanna number "Married on Sunday". Normally, this is just a filler song as far as my tastes are concerned, but given that the actors actually interacted with each other for a large percentage of this song, it was suddenly my favorite. Also, the decision was made for this revival to stage the telling of the story through the eyes of Tobias as he is locked in an insane asylum. I'm sure someone thought putting this bit in would add a new twist to the tale... but really, "Sweeney Todd" is twisted enough already. This new Tobias bit just comes off as cheesy and cheap.
An interesting bit of casting that is unique to this production is the casting of Katrina Yaukey as Pirelli. I was a bit distracted at first at what is so obviously a woman in this role, but Katrina played the part with such gusto that this oddity was soon forgotten. Unfortunately for Katrina, what could not be overlooked was the ridiculous hat they made her wear.
I mentioned above the fact that the cast was also the orchestra. This was massively obnoxious. Particularly the tuba-playing Mrs. Lovett. The only thing that was kept from the original Broadway show was the smoke-stack whistle accompanying every murder (of course they kept the only grating part of the original show). In fact, the murders were even absurd as they were badly MIMED WITH NO RAZOR IN HAND under the glow of a bright red light. The recently deceased then go and put on a white smock with some red paint dripped down the collar and then resume their instrument playing.
David Hess does the role of Sweeney no favors. He plays him flat, without any emotion or characterization whatsoever. Judy Kaye is likewise disappointing as Mrs. Lovett. She has the vocal chops for the role, but she walks through the part as though she had rather be somewhere else. It's sad to say that the audience feels the exact same way.
Sweeney Todd:
