Sweeney Todd
The Little Theatre of Fall River's current show is Stephen
Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" which opened on Broadway on March 1, 1979 and went
on to win 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The show is a macabre
tragicomedy based on the legend of a half-mad 19th Century English barber
who is driven to crime when his wife and child are taken from him by an evil
judge. Unjustly imprisoned, Todd eventually escapes and vows to bring
justice not only to the judge who destroyed his life, but to all the people
of London. He forms a partnership with Mrs. Lovett, an enterprising bar
mistress whose previously worst pies in London soon become the tastiest with
Todd's victims as the secret ingredient in them. This tale of murder and
vengeance is given an excellent presentation by a very talented cast with
fantastic voices and a score of over 300 pages.
The directors Kathy Castro and Robbie Burke as well as musical director
Steve Hemingway bring out the best in their cast, making this a must see
show of this season.
The main set piece is a revolving two story barber shop/ pie shop
complete with a trap door which gets the dead bodies downstairs to be put in
Mrs. Lovett's huge oven. The gorgeous London backdrop is well lit especially
in the City on Fire scene with red engulfing the whole stage. This talented
cast is lead by two outstanding performers, David Jones and Vanessa Raposa.
David plays the mad barber perfectly and possesses a tremendous baritone
voice which fills the whole theatre. From his "No Place Like London" to
"Pretty Women" to the "Letter", he captivates you with his wonderful stage
presence. Todd's counterpart, Mrs. Lovett is excellently played by Vanessa.
She uses a Cockney accent and shows off her astounding voice in "Worst Pies
in London" which is a hoot as is ''By the Sea", and "Poor Thing". Vanessa
who stepped into this role a week or so before opening, brings a lot of
humor to the show with her madcap antics. Her duets with David, "Epiphany"
and "Little Priest" when they finally realize what they need to do with the
dead bodies, are hilarious. Kudos to both of them in these demanding roles.
The magnificent sound of the chorus is one of the highlights of this
show. They handle several demanding numbers including the continuous "Ballad
of Sweeney Todd" which is based on the "Dies Irae" the Roman Catholic mass
for the dead, the splendid and frightening, "City on Fire" and the
rollicking, "God, That's Good" which is like Om Pah Pah number from
"Oliver". The supporting cast is topnotch in their roles, too. Bobby Sylvia
and Abigail Smith play the young lovers, Anthony and Johanna who is Todd's
kidnapped daughter. Bobby is fantastic as this young heroic sailor by saving
the damsel in distress from the clutches of the evil judge by rescuing her
from an insane asylum. He has a fabulous tenor voice which soars off the
charts in the soaring ballad "Johanna" and the pretty duet "Kiss Me" with
Abigail. She plays the young girl with a high soprano voice in her solo,
"Green Finch and Linnet Bird" and the duet, "Kiss Me". The mysterious beggar
woman is played by Sue Couitt who displays her comic timing as this insane
creature who grabs Anthony's family jewels in one scene and gets to show off
her lovely singing voice in "Alms" and "City on Fire". Another comic
performer is Alex DeValles as Toby. He first appears as the
barber, Pirelli's assistant but soon becomes Mrs. Lovett's employee. Alex
shows off his strong voice in "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir", ""God, That's God"
and when he wants to protect Mrs. Lovett from the dangers of the shop, in
the poignant, "Not While I'm Around" my favorite song in the show.
The evil, horrible judge is well played by Brian Mulvey. The judge
lusts after the much younger, Johanna and wants to marry her. Brian gets to
sing "Johanna" and "Pretty Women" duet with David. His sidekick in the show
is Beadle Bamford, played by Paul Allard who shows his reprehensible side
when he crushes a bird to death. He shows off his strong singing voice in
"Ladies in their Sensitivities". The third suspicious character is played
for laughs with Eric Pereira as the Italian barber, Pirelli, complete with
the accent and a handlebar moustache. He uses his high tenor voice in the
contest song where he sings operatically as he shaves his customer slower
than Sweeney and also when he pulls Toby's tooth out slower than Todd does.
Later when he tries to blackmail, Sweeney, he becomes the first murder
victim of the night. So for a fabulous rendition of this show, be sure to
catch "Sweeney Todd" before time runs out. Tell them Tony sent you.
SWEENEY TODD ( 17 - 20 May)
Little Theatre of Fall River, BBC, Margaret Jackson Theatre,
Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA
