Shave and a Haircut

I caught a matinée performance yesterday of Sweeney Todd over at the Carpenter Center. Recently, the national tour made its way to the Ahmanson, but Caesar and I were both reluctant to see it. Mostly due to the staging, with the actors playing their own instruments. I'd always wanted to see the show, and I'm sure the touring production was wonderful, but I wanted to see the show as it was originally created, what I remember from the PBS special with George Hearn as Sweeney Todd and Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. So we passed on the tour.

When Musical Theatre West added Sweeney Todd to their 2009-2010 schedule, I emailed and asked which version they would be producing. When the theatre wrote back that it was to be the original, I bought myself a ticket. (I know, I know...just one ticket. Caesar had plans to visit his folks, and mine had a two-week cruise to Hawai'i booked, so I needed to do something besides sit in the apartment, watching another episode of some cake baking competition.) And I'm so glad I did.

This production was much more than I bargained for, very Broadway-quality with creative set design reminiscent of the PBS special, fantastic acting all across the board, great storytelling, and, of course, blood-spurting razor blades. The sets kept to a bare minimum -- from the single, rotating block that served as Todd's barbershop on top and all aspects of Mrs. Lovett's Pie Shop (dining room, back parlor, and the oven/meat grinding room) to the bridges and stairs that floated down from the ceiling and in from the sides to create the walkways of London to the diabolical barber chair. It seemed almost difficult to believe that this was a regional theater production. All the actors did a wonderful job, working their way through tricky and fast-paced lyrics without the slightest hesitation. Norman Large as Sweeney Todd and Debbie Prutsman as Mrs. Lovett, worked well together, bringing a both a human and a monstrous quality to each of their characters. Dan Callaway as the sailor Anthony Hope, Sarah Bermudez as Todd's estranged daughter Johanna, and Michelle Duffy as the Beggar Woman also stood out and gave wonderful performances. Then, of course, the bloody razors. I don't think the audience expected that the first time as loud gasps filled the theater when Todd dragged his razor across Pirelli's throat, and the red stuff almost flew into the audience.

A magnificent production from start to finish. Musical Theatre West certainly knows how to put on a bloody, fantastic show.

Image from Fotopedia.