Mar 21

Onstage

SWEENEY TODD SLASHES ITS WAY TO THE AHMANSON THEATRE
By Richard Kaplan

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the new revival of Stephen Sondheim's 1979 masochistic musical of bloody revenge slashes its way to the Los Angeles stage at the Ahmanson Theater.

Unlike the original directed on Broadway with a lavish 27 piece orchestra by Harold Prince. John Doyle's version features only ten musicians and ten actors on only one set. And, by the way, the ten actors are also the ten musicians. Doyle's concept was to have the actors themselves play the musical instruments on the set while performing the dialogue and songs. It's all very stylized and artistic, not to mention extremely daring. However, Doyle's theatrical risk did pay off winning him the Tony Award in 2006 with Sweeney when it opened on Broadway. Doyle is widely respected in the U.K. where he has been the artistic director of four prestigious regional theaters including the famous Liverpool Everyman.

The set, which is a dreary wooden box of a room, opens as a psych ward during this Victorian aged story of a gruesome and gory revenge as told by a madman. The scene opens with an anemic looking young man in a straightjacket surrounded by people in institutional white coats. He sings the opening words. "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd." And with that, we are drawn in to the tormented tale as it all unfolds on the claustrophobic little set. Which in a way adds to the intensity of the acting and also has the audience holding onto every note, which is played on everything from the cello, clarinet, bass, flute, orchestra bells, keyboard, saxophone, violin, accordion, trumpet, and even the tuba. And, remember there are only ten actors/musicians. The instruments are also used for the sound effects and the actors move and re-configure the props on the set in a choreographed way, which is integrated into the show.

On the one hand, Doyle who comes from a mostly regional theater background has saved thousands upon thousands of dollars of production expenses through his devise. So, in that regard, those who are looking for a rich, full, and lavish musical production with all the trimmings and accoutrements might be disappointed to that end with Doyle's approach. However, Tony Award winner Judy Kaye as (Mrs. Lovett) and Broadway and off- Broadway star David Hess as (Sweeney Todd) elevate the acting to a superb level which easily helps you forget about everything else but watching the story unfold as told by a solid and credible group of actors. Kaye who appeared in Doyle's Broadway run of Sweeney has played her role opposite of Len Cariou, George Hearn, and David Cryer. She has definitely nailed down her interpretation the character and she is a pure joy to watch.

With Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp still fresh on our mind with Oscar nominations and a win. It makes the story much more accessible and familiar to a mass audience many of which were not even born, or certainly too young to have remembered the original Harold Prince version. I think that this should help give the Ahmanson run a push for a crossover demographic, which the Broadway opening did not have. That being said, overall this offbeat musical thriller is skillfully executed and well crafted enough to appeal to a broad range of theatre enthusiasts.

Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street runs at the Center Theatre Group Ahmanson Theatre March 11 - April 6th www.centertheatregroup.org for ticket purchase information contact 213 628-2772