Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street remains quite haunting years after its original staging back in 1979. The story of a man returning from 15 years in exile to exact revenge on one who has wronged him is also the tale of a barber who murders people who are then served in meat pies in a shop downstairs. And it’s a musical. One of my favorites and the only one I really love from Sondheim. Nice to see UW-Whitewater presenting a production of the classic musical.
As precise as the story and music for the show are, I’ve seen it done in a variety of different ways over the years, including a particularly intimate one in a studio theatre. Director Jim Butchart talks of his specific inspiration for the show in a recent press release:
“After the movie came out, I wanted to direct [Sweeney Todd] even more,” said Butchart. “the movie was too campy. I’ve viewed many different versions, and my opinion is not to change anything dramatic with it; it is one of the best-composed musicals ever written. I’m trying to do it the way it was written, it demands to be done that way. The important thing here is that this is not like the movie, it’s emotionally involving, interesting, and comic enough to keep you going; it’s about telling a ghost story.”
UW-Whitewater’s staging of Sweeney Todd runs Feb. 23 - 27 at the Barnett Theatre on 950 W. Main St. in Whitewater. For ticket reservations, visit UW-Whitewater online.
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