Theater Review : ‘Sweeney Todd’: A Cut Above

“Sweeney Todd,” Stephen Sondheim’s dark and dangerous 1979 musical now at Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista, presents a complex challenge to any company.

This musical, based on Christopher Bond’s 1973 play, which was in turn inspired by an incident more than a century old, tells the tale of an English barber who murders customers whom his landlady then grinds up and bakes into her increasingly popular meat pies.

While it won eight out of the nine Tony Awards it was nominated for, including best musical, best score, best book and best direction, it puzzled many, dazzled some and outraged others. It earned back only 59% of its investment on Broadway and failed on the road.

Sondheim’s music and lyrics were acknowledged as sumptuous, intricate, clever and operatic--but to what end?

Is “Sweeney” a tale of obsession, rage or class struggle? Yes, yes and yes, but after listening to it again and again with increasing awe, this critic humbly submits that it also is a play about love--or rather the mayhem that can ensue when all healthy avenues of love are blocked from a passionate heart.

Sweeney, a poor barber, loses his wife when the wealthy and privileged Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford fancy her. They contrive to send him to prison for life on a trumped-up charge. He escapes 15 years later only to be told that his wife (who, as Sondheim’s lyric goes, “was his reason and his life”) is dead and his daughter, Joanna, is a ward of that same evil judge.

Moonlight, a plucky community theater now concluding its outdoor season in bucolic Brengle Terrace Park, puts a charged and angry piece of 1840s London on the stage, conveying the squalor, the desperation and the rage of those times.

Under the inspired direction of Ray Limon, who also choreographed, the thematic and musical elements meld into a disturbing, vibrant whole. Rich-voiced Joshua Fischel finds the secret to Todd’s dark heart, conveys the anguish of the man’s loss and shows how it filled him with a monumental rage and thirst for revenge.

*

Such darkness cries out for relief, and the production gets it from the perfect comic timing of Cathy Gene Greenwood’s cheerful, amoral Mrs. Lovett, whose thrift inspires the idea of transforming Sweeney’s victims into meat pies.

You just can’t resist her delivery of “A Little Priest,” a song about the people she plans to bake, particularly “the Politician so oily, it’s served on a doily.”

George Huttenbrauck brings a rich baritone to the evil Judge and Matthew Alexander sweet falsetto tones to the insufferable Beadle Bamford. Dawn Veree and John Bisom charm in the roles of the innocent, then desperate young lovers, Joanna and Anthony.

Jeffrey Stephens touches the heart as Tobias, the simple boy devoted to Mrs. Lovett and only gradually aware of the evil swirling around him. Jim Goodrich captures the slithering opportunism of Pirelli, the rival barber.

The musical interweavings match the emotional mazes for complexity. Conductor Ken Gammie and musical director Elan McMahan work wonders with principals and ensemble, keeping the lyrics and notes crystalline.

The main revolving set by Walter Huntoon and Proscenery Theatrical Design does the job, although less would have been more with the additional set pieces. Costume coordinators Carlotta Malone and Debe Eddo get the rags right; Ron Vodicka’s lighting and Stephen Smith’s sound are appropriately harsh.

“Sweeney Todd” is a rare treat that may shock those who attended Moonlight’s more typical, family-oriented efforts earlier this summer: “Me and My Girl,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

Advice? Come prepared to enjoy the salty difference.

* “Sweeney Todd,” Moonlight Amphitheatre, Brengle Terrace Park, 1200 Vale Terrace Drive, Vista. Wednesday-Sunday, 8 p.m. Ends Sunday. $8-$11. (619) 724-2110. Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes. Joshua Fischel: Sweeney Todd

Cathy Gene Greenwood: Mrs. Lovett

George Huttenbrauck: Judge Turpin

Dawn Veree: Joanna

John Bisom: Anthony Hope

Ellen Lawson: Beggar Woman

Jeffrey Stephens: Tobias Ragg

Jim Goodrich: Pirelli

Matthew Alexander: Beadle Bamford

Danny Campbell: Jonas Fogg

Kenn Kanniard: Bird Seller

A Moonlight Amphitheatre production. Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Hugh Wheeler. Directed and choreographed by Ray Limon. Musical director: Elan McMahan. Conductor: Ken Gammie. Sets: Walter Huntoon and Proscenery Theatrical Design. Lights: Ron Vodicka. Costume coordinators: Carlotta Malone and Debe Eddo. Sound: Stephen Smith. Stage manager: Stanley D. Cohen.