Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street kicks off 2010 for Musical Theatre West in Long Beach, serving up murder, revenge and a wonderful night at the theatre. Sweeney Todd opened on Broadway in 1979 and has been the crowning jewel of Stephen Sondheim cannon ever since. The story follows Todd as he returns to London a changed man after being wrongfully sent to prison, seeking only revenge on the upper crust with a bit of help from his crafty and doting neighbor, Mrs. Lovett.
This is the first time in its 57 seasons that Musical Theatre West has produced this masterpiece and it has been well worth the wait. Norman Large, who was last seen with MTW in Meet Me in St. Louis, takes on the deranged role of Todd with such ease. Large brings humanity to Todd, so much so that the audience is cheering along with him in every villainous act of revenge he commits. He voice is stellar, handling the ever challenging Sondheim score with ease and his sense of the timing in the humor of the piece is spot on.
No moment is missed, and he has a wonderful partner in crime with Debbie Prutsman as Ms. Lovett. The two of them play off each other with such simple joy and ease. Prutsman has a wonderful touch of desperation in her affection to Mr. Todd and her need to be loved in return by him. The two songs that simply steal the show are "A Little Priest" and "By The Sea". The comic timing of Todd and Lovett is so perfect; the audience was eating out of their hands in "A Little Priest". And "By The Sea" had such a great lightness as well as an underlying sadness, which was contributed to by Large's complete lack of engagement to anything in the song - the unbreakable focus on his singular goal. This intensity was never lost, not for a moment, bringing the audience with him on every step of the painful and rewarding journey of revenge.
Simply the best of Sondheim's work, MTW does their best work to date with this production. The only crime committed on this night of theatre would be to miss this epic and beautiful production. Sell your first born if you must, Mr. Todd would approve, but find a way to see this production.
Sweeney Todd is now playing at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach till February 14th. For tickets and more information go to www.musical.org or call 562.856.1999