Audiences recognize Sweeney Todd for raising his razors to the throats of his scruffy victims, but in the touring production of the Tony Award-winning 2005 Broadway revival of Sondheim’s macabre musical, “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” Todd also raises his trumpet, bells and glockenspiel.
With the 10-person cast simultaneously playing the roles of instrumentalists and actors, the revival is a theatrical experience that showcases musical theater talent at its finest.
“Sweeney Todd” tells the story of a murderous barber (David Hess), seeking revenge against London’s Judge Turpin (Keith Buterbaugh) who, 15 years earlier, sent Todd into exile and separated him from his beloved wife and daughter.
Back in London to find his wife and daughter, Todd goes mad upon learning from Mrs. Lovett (Judy Kaye) that his wife is dead and that his daughter, Johanna (Lauren Molina), is locked in Judge Turpin’s home. Todd decides to inflict his anger against the world with his barbershop business, where customers die with “the closest shave” they’ve ever had.
Audience members familiar with Tim Burton’s recent film adaptation will find themselves surprised by the minimalist stage interpretation of the production. Light peeks through wooden slats and the only major set pieces are a tall shelf and a large, black coffin.
The actors wear black-and-white costumes and stay onstage throughout the entire production, sitting at the sides of the stage to provide the musical accompaniment when not performing.
With the minimal settings and costumes, “Sweeney Todd” is a production aware of its theatricality. The opening number, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” makes the musical feel more like a Greek tragedy than a show-stopping musical.
Though it claims to be a “musical thriller,” the chills come not from the violence, but rather from the ways in which the actors move seamlessly in and out of their roles as characters and instrumentalists.
Hess is an effortless Sweeney with his booming baritone voice embodying the barber’s brooding, dark attitude.
Kaye provides a bubbly ““ if not a little over-the-top and exaggerated ““ contrast as the bright comic relief in Mrs. Lovett.
Her interpretation recalls Angela Lansbury, the Mrs. Lovett of the original 1985 “Sweeney Todd” stage production, with her plucky, boisterous style.
Even the instruments Kaye wields, including the tuba and various percussion instruments, embody Mrs. Lovett’s character.
However, it is really the romantic duo of the show, Johanna and Anthony (Benjamin Magnuson), that captures the most attention. With the two actors playing cellos, they exhibit tangible chemistry.
Molina and Magnuson also reflect an innocence necessary for their roles, exuding youthful, vibrant energy that adds lightness to a show otherwise characterized by its dark themes.
“Sweeney Todd” may not be elaborate, but its music and atmosphere create an engrossing and absorbing theater experience.
““ Jenae Cohn
E-mail Cohn at jcohn@media.ucla.edu.