Review: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET at San Diego Musical Theatre

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is not just a bloody good time at the theatre but one of the best shows ever from San Diego Musical Theatre.  Playing through October 20th, do not miss this show about love, family, betrayal, revenge, and those delicious meat pies.

Taking inspiration from the popularity of London’s penny dreadfuls in the 1800s, Sweeney Todd (DeAndre Simmons) is the name of the main character—a barber who used to go by Benjamin Barker. Barker was unjustly convicted and sent to Australia by the corrupt Judge Turpin (Tanner Vydos), who wanted Barker’s young wife for himself.

Many years later, Barker, now going by Sweeney Todd, was rescued from a shipwreck by young sailor Anthony (Sam Castillo) and brought back to London.  Thanks to another new friend, Mrs. Lovett (Meghan O’Brien Lowerey), a widow who sells some of the “worst pies in London," Sweeney discovers that his wife poisoned herself, and his daughter Johanna (Salima Gangani), grew up as the ward for Judge Turpin.  In doing so, he sets a vengeful wheel in motion that cannot be stopped.

The music is one of Stephen Sondheim’s best scores, a true American opera that is multi-layered, complex, and deliberately highlights the harmony and the discordant. This perfectly parallels the plots of hope and love between the young lovers Johanna and Anthony, and the dark acts both Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett are so casually and pragmatically willing to do to keep living another day and achieve their goals.

Sweeney Todd is one of theatre’s great antiheroes—some could say villain, but that point is debatable. What is not up for debate is how gloriously dark, funny, vulnerable, and committed DeAndre Simmons is in this role. He has a beautiful and rich bass voice full of nusnace, and when Sweeney sings “You will learn” to Anthony, it is both a promise and a threat of the darkness yet to be experienced in London.

Lowery's Mrs. Lovett brings a pragmatic air to the character; she’s not just lived in this London but she has survived it by doing what needs to be done.  This allows for a nice contrast in the second act as she dreams of a seaside cottage where she can be a little bit softer.

Castillo, as the hopeful and smitten Anthony, has a wonderful voice and stage presence as a man determined to save the woman he loves. Gangani's Johanna has a sweet voice, and she hopes to be rescued from this gilded cage she is trapped in before it is too late.

Standouts include Matthew Javier as Tobias, the sweet and naive barker who starts luring customers to another barber (though not murderous, that we know of) before selling pies for Mrs. Lovett.  Joseph Grieneberger was Judge Turpin for the performance I saw. He was very good as a weak man who shamelessly uses his power and position to get what he wants, regardless of the harm he causes.

 Ryan Burtanog is the slimy Beadle Bamford who works for the Judge, and he has a wonderfully funny parade of doomed men who visit Sweeney’s barbershop only to meet their demise.

It sounds bloodier than it is, with Jason Biltman's direction having much of the murder happening in discreet corners or via shadows behind curtains. Never fear; there are also moments of comedy and glimmers of hope.  Katie Banville's choreography uses the entire theatre, in the aisles, and has some characters interacting with the audience.

The entire stage length is used in this abandoned factory setting designed by Mathys Herbert, enhanced by Michelle Miles’ lighting design. Costumes by Chong Mi Land are modern but with wear and tear from the setting.

The music is performed by a live band led by conductor and keyboardist Richard Dueñez Morrison. The band includes Katrina Earl on clarinet and bass clarinet, Patricia Schenkelberg on flute and piccolo, Kiersten Smith on Violin, and Sharon Taylor on cello. Jordan Gray's sound design allows the voices and music to blend and be heard clearly throughout the theatre.

This, along with the plot, gives the audience the feeling that this dystopian, industrial setting doesn’t serve all the people but instead serves those in power. Everyone else who is defeated and soulless has been created as a product of this setting.  Sweeney Todd is both a warning and a folk hero in this world as he pursues his bloody sense of justice.

How To Get Tickets

“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” plays at San Diego Musical Theatre through October 20th.  For ticket and show times information, go to www.sdmt.org

Photo Credit: Karli Cadel

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