Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Broadway Black
Broadway BlackBroadway Black

A Must See

Sweeney Todd is Charming in Atlanta Production

Doing theater is all about imagination. There is a fictive leap the audience must take. This is true especially with musical theater. I doubt most of us sit at a bar with friends retelling our day through song. Well, I guess that depends on how much whiskey you drank at said bar.

That same leap is imperative when going from Broadway to regional productions. When taking on a big show like Stephen Sondheim and High Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in a smaller venue, the key is imagination. It all about paring down to emotional moments and not trying to recreate the monstrous sets you see in a huge 1,900 seat stage.

This is where the Actor’s Express gets it right.  Their take on Todd is all about mood and atmosphere not costly set designs. Before the lights even go out there are a few gothic lamps placed near the ceiling. Fog blankets the room. Even the temperature in the space is chilled to give the feel of London in the late 1800’s.

Director Freddie Ashley understands that shadow and wood are his friends. The set has a few chairs and two small wooden platforms on either side of the stage.

That’s it you say?

That is enough.

The sparse design help  produce the industrialized version of London. And then the rest is up to the music and cast. And, thankfully, they deliver.

The ensemble is surprisingly present and intregal to this production.  They provide a  youthful spirit and energy to the show. This is vital because Todd is so dark. They add a lift during the heavy parts.

The show centers on Sweeney Todd, who used to be Benjamin Barker, a barber whose life, wife and child, were seized by a local Judge. He returns for revenge and strikes a deal with local pie maker Mrs. Lovett to provide his victims to her for meat in the delicious pies she sells.

The anchor of the show is Kevin Harry in the title role of Todd. His acting and voice both act as an anchor to the show. Harry’s bass resonates long after he has left a scene or the stage. It lingers in the air like the fog above. It adds to the menace of the show. You know somewhere Todd is lurking with his custom blades ready to give you the closest shave of your life.

Because of his booming bass, there was a fear that it might overpower the performance. But Harry has control, hiding in the pocket of the notes. He lets the emotion seep through, not just the bravado of the role.

In one of the opening scenes Todd is talking to Anthony, a sailor who gives him a ride to London,  and Todd reveals a not so sane side,  Harry is almost whispering his lines. It is way more terrifying in the smallish stage when in theory Todd might reach out and swipe you with the blade.

Harry does the heavy lifting of evoking fear early on in the show, so then he is allowed to stretch artistically during the rest of the performance.

This is evident when he and Mrs. Lovett, played by the mesmorizing Deborah Bowman, are on stage together. The role of Mrs. Lovett usually gets a harder edge which can be overpowering. But Bowman is a shade softer which allows the love of Lovett and Todd to take center stage.

Another thing Harry and Bowman are adept at is comedy. They allow it to mask some of the more macabe moments of the musical. For instance when they sing about which type of meat pie they would like, lawyer or sailor, you are laughing though the undertone of death is just below.

Other noteworthy performances include Jesscia DeMaria as the “beggar woman”, who carries the pain of the city in the lilt of her voice. Also Stuart Schleuse gives the stereotypical Pirelli some depth and style.

The only misstep to me is toward the end of the second act when Mrs. Lovett and Todd have their final scene there is a BIG moment when from my vantage point from the stage I could not see anything.

Wait.

Strike that.

I thought about it, I think the idea of not seeing such a horrific scene and only hearing it added to the fright of the production. I did wonder if the experience for the audience on the other side of the stage was different.

The show takes a very dark piece and adds charm and nuance to something that could have been too big, or frankly, to scary to handle. The show plays until Feb 28. Get your tickets now.

Written By

www.broadwayblack.com

Comments

You May Also Like

Concert Night

BREAKING– We were very excited about a future concert we were made aware of, and we made our readers aware of. Chuck Cooper and Lillias...

A Must See

UPDATE 5.14.15 : This production will no longer feature Chuck Cooper. Find out more info as to why HERE! This summer, The New American...