Lights, Songs and Action: Sweeney Todd Comes to Newtown High School [Update]

Sixty-four actors and singers, 30 “pit” musicians, about 30 crew members and almost as many parent volunteers: All the moving parts need to come together in perfect synch when Sweeney Todd opens on the Newtown High School stage Thursday night.

With a complex musical score by Stephen Sondheim and intricate choreography around a multi-level set, the bar has been set high. But students are up to the challenge, said director Janie Matson before Monday’s rehearsal.

“I chose Sweeney Todd because the score is so challenging and the students are ready for it,” she said. “It’s one of the most critically acclaimed shows in American musical theatre. The music is incredible. The set and how the actors move on it is amazing.”

This was clear during Monday’s run-through as student actors, Matson and the orchestra led by Kurt Eckhardt fine-tuned entrances and timing for the show, which is mostly sung.

This operatic style, along with the production’s dramatic lighting, seems about right for a plot that involves “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” killing his customers, and his friend downstairs baking the remains into her meat pies.

“I love this show because it has a dark story, but the way it’s delivered is lighthearted and fun,” said Alexandra Aug, a senior who plays the female lead, Mrs. Lovett. “He’s getting revenge for the judge of the town stealing his wife and daughter, and sending him away.”

But this is not the original 1979 Broadway production; it’s the toned-down version for schools.

“Stephen Sondheim worked with Music Theatre International to take out anything that was inappropriate, and designed it for school-age kids to do,” Matson said. “The story stays the same but there are some lyric changes. There is no blood, there is nothing gory in the show.”

The deaths are implied through light effects, she said. But, she added, parents of younger children may want to consider this in the category with PG-13 movies, and decide based on their child’s tolerance for loud noises and potentially scary effects.

For her students, though, she notes, “This is high school. I have a lot of students who are going to be performance majors, and it is incumbent on me to be sure they have an experience with the lighthearted, silly stuff but also with angst, anger and those themes.  It’s very important for me to make sure they are going to college prepared to portray a range of emotions, but also in serving the community, offering something you can bring the family to see.”

To that end, the high school plans a production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in its smaller Black Box theater the last weekend in April.

Senior Ben Stoller, who plays Sweeney Todd, aka Benjamin Barker, said the show has taken considerable effort, both for the ensemble and for him personally.

“It definitely took a while to get into it because I don’t see myself as a serial killer,” he said. “The music is very challenging for both the pit orchestra and the performers. We had to get all that down, and then apply it while moving onstage.”

Stage manager Sean Watkins, a junior, has responsibility for coordinating all aspects of the show with the cast, crew and construction head Nick Shannon, doing a better job than many professionals, said Matson.

Sweeney Todd performances at Newtown High School are: Thursday, March 15, at 7, Friday, March 16, at 7, Saturday, March 17, at 7, and Sunday, March 18, at 2. The dress rehearsal Wednesday at 6 is open free to senior citizens. Ticket are available by calling 203-364-4534 or e-mailing nhsmusicals@gmail.com. Prices are: $16 for reserved seats, $14 for general seating, and $12 for students and senior citizens.

The Cast:

Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker – Ben Stoller

Mrs. Nellie Lovett – Alexandra Aug

Johanna Barker – Kayla O’Leary

Anthony Hope – Donny Morrissey

Judge Turpin – Ishaar Gupta

Tobias Ragg – Taylor Varga

Beadle Bamford – Nick Madden

Adolfo Pirelli/Daniel O’Higgins – Luke Shearin

Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker – Maddie Dorso

Mr. Fogg – Josh Goldman 

Male Ensemble

Neil Davis

Joseph DeVellis

Michael Eisele

Jeff Haylon

Humza Hashmi

Austin Isola

C.J. Landgrebe

Kyle Mangold

John Mudgett

Aidan Petershack

Thomas Primavera

Kyle Simmons

David Swigart

Alexander Lee Taylor

Tristan Villamil

Kyle Watkins  

Female Ensemble

Claire Alexander

Emily Anderson

Madi Aug

Brianna Bauch

Claire Bassett

Portia Baudisch

Lexi Black

Bonnie Buchetto

Marissa Buongiorno

Samantha Chanko

Keri Chernoff

Meaghan Condon

Emily Crebbin

Melanie Curtis

Emma DeFlumeri

Alessandra Delia

Annika Fagerholm

Ayla Fiala

Caitlin Gibney

Laura Hunter

Michelle Isabella

Autumn Jones

Mattie Kelly

Alyssa Kneski

Olivia Koziol

Alison Kron

Kirstin Liniger

Victoria Madden

Nora Murphy

Claire Olson

Gabriela Palaia

Megan Primavera

Taylor Smith

Michelle Spanedda

Shaina Stamp

Lexi Tobin

Brittany Watson

Megan Watts

Morgan Winters

Katie Wolff

Michelle Zarifis

THE ORCHESTRA:

VIOLINS – Erin Bell, Rebecca Farin, Kai Hedin, Leah Pinckney, Jackie Winkler, Alex DaPra, Sarah Roman

VIOLAS – Anna Pinckney, Nicole DeFelice, Sarah Hasselberger, Keith Hedin

CELLOS – Marina Lleonart, Brenna Whitton, Stephen Rahr, Betsy Wellington

FLUTES – Danielle Capozziello, Sonya Stanczyk

OBOE/ENGLISH HORN – Katherine Stawiasz

CLARINETS – Jonah McKeown, Brett Linley

BASSOON – Melissa Brown

FRENCH HORN – Ashley Malia, Barbara Reineke

TRUMPET – Sean Sonntag, Brandon Hart, Jonathan Walton

TROMBONE – Andrew Jensen, Liam Reynolds

BASS – Dan Spillane

KEYBOARDS – Alex Lampel, Tom Morris

PERCUSSION – Corey Hilton, Nikita Srivastava

NOTE: This article has been updated to include the names of the members of the orchestra.