Review of 'Sweeney Todd' at TBTA

Dedicated to actress Priscilla Squires, who graciously served as my plus one in the front row; thank you for the pleasure of your company and insight

Brookfield, CT - My summer of Sweeney continued this weekend when I attended the opening night of SWEENEY TODD The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts. So to recap, the musical thriller is famous for its music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond. The TBTA production was directed by Craig David Rosen, produced by Nicole Veah and musical direction by Sarah Fay.

“There was a barber and his wife
and she was beautiful...
a foolish barber and his wife.
She was his reason for his life...
and she was beautiful, and she was virtuous.
And he was naive.”
― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

An infamously dark tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Mr. Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful owner of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett's luck sharply shifts when Todd's thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up...and the carnage has only just begun.

Marilyn Olsen tackles the role of Mrs. Lovett for the third time, but who is counting except for me? Ms. Olsen’s credits are many and I have seen many of them. At TBTA, she was a wonderful M’Lynn in STEEL MAGNOLIAS and The Witch in INTO THE WOODS and I will never forget her masterful performance as Maria Callas in MASTER CLASS at the Phoenix Stage Company. It was also at the PSC that I experienced one of her performances as Mrs. Lovett, a role that she calls “one of the most complicated and beloved female characters in musical theatre.” This turn as Mr. Todd’s accomplice was deliciously impressive; “A Little Priest” was her masterpiece.

Equity member Edmound Fitzpatrick was a very impressive Sweeney Todd; he employed his wonderful speaking voice for all of the classic Sweeney lines and his singing was top notch. Samantha LaMendola was the lovely blonde Johanna in her TBTA debut and one could not hope for more in the performance of Stephen Moores as Anthony Hope. Mr. Moores was memorable as Tony in WEST SIDE STORY at Musicals at Richter and appeared as Jason in BARE: A POP OPERA at TBTA.
Dominick Ventrella, a junior Musical Theatre student at WCSU who appeared as Smee in PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, was the young Tobias Ragg. He also appeared in ZOMBIE PROM in New Milford.

Ted Schwartz took on the creepy role of Judge Turpin. Mr. Schwartz, who is usually seen in far more comedic parts like Van Buren and Joe Boyd in DAMN YANKEES at TBTA, played the villainous judge well. By day Mr. Schwartz is a forensic scientist and an adjunct professor at WCSU. Denise Millmerstadt (FOOTLOOSE, 9 TO 5, SWEET CHARITY at MAR, RAGTIME at the Warner, Landmark’s MARY POPPINS) did very well as the creepy and mad Beggar Woman in her TBTA debut. It was the first time I have seen this character interact with an audience member and it would have scared me.

Marty Posner was Beadle Bamford in his TBTA debut; this veteran actor played the Beadle 15 years ago. Rob Pawlikowski was the overconfident Adolpho Pirelli in his TBTA debut. Roger Grace came out in the second act to cover the role of asylum owner Mr. Fogg. I have enjoyed Mr. Grace’s appearances as Wilbur in Landmark’s HAIRSPRAY, the Warner’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE and most recently, the hysterical wedding planner in IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU in Goshen. It was great to see him on a new stage in his TBTA debut.

The frightening members of the ensemble included Kylie Block, Brigid Callahan of Naugatuck, Pamela DeHuff, Melanie Fay, Community Theatre of Woodbury veteran Lisa Goldberg, Andre Luis Grigorio, Phair Haldin, Matthew MacGregor, middle school Language Arts teacher Alison Michalek, Tatem Perlman, the wonderful tenor Leland Schick, and Rigby Wilkins.

The members of the band that sat stage left behind a curtain included Ms. Fay on keyboards, Berklee College of Music student Sarah Katz on reed 1, Stephanie Meyer on reed 3, Andi Chakraborty on upright bass, and Quinn Blumenfeld on percussion.

Bob Lane worked with director Craig David Rosen on the fitting set design. The black sheer curtain for backlit scenes was a nice touch. I can’t recall an ensemble that was armed with razors as props. I am certain that the special thanks in the printed program to the Phoenix Stage Company was for the use of the Sweeney chair built by Lori Poulin’s husband for their production. Nothing works as well as this chair does.

Demons'll charm you with a smile, for a while,
But in time...Nothing's gonna harm you
Not while I'm around...” ― Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The ensemble and some of the principal players performed in the aisles on both sides of the house as well as the center aisle; they were well-lit and it helped to make the audience feel as if the action was encircling them. This staging was a little hard for those of us in the front to experience it as well as those behind us, but overall it was very effective. The director of SWEENEY TODD is producing the upcoming AN ACT OF GOD at TheatreWorks New Milford and Ms. Veach’s TBTA credits include BARE, FROST/NIXON and BENT.

Congrats to costumer Elizabeth Varda on a job well done. Ms. Varda’s Immaculate HS credits include GREASE (costumes and Ms. Lynch) and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (ensemble.) The period costumes, especially the long capes, fit the time and horror genre and wigs finished the job. Vermilion Novak and the director also worked on the costumes. The lighting of Stephen Cihanek...just wow! Sound design by Lou Okell worked well.

Tickets can be found at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3170712