Marquette Theatre Stages Sondheim’s Delicious Musical Nightmare

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Marquette University explores appealingly dark territory this month with Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. The dark tale of murder and revenge skulks across the stage with style and poise that has been cleverly directed by Jamie Cheatham. A shadowy, brooding Michael R. Mingus strikes a powerfully devilish appearance as the demon barber of Fleet Street. Alex Merkel is intricately witty as Mrs. Lovett—the scrappy woman downstairs from the barber who cooks his victims into delicious meat pies.

Kynkade McLachlan plays sharp contrast to the two leads in the role of Johanna—Todd’s beautiful daughter sequestered into a life of isolation by the judge who exiled her father long before she had a chance to know him. Ethan Jacoby-Henrickson makes one of the most strikingly tragic transformations in the cast as Tobias Ragg—a young boy who is taken-in by Todd and Lovett. He works the shop quite innocently, but soon finds himself caught-up in a looming shadow of murder and revenge.

Scenic designer Stephen Hudson-Mairet makes deft and clever use of the space onstage which is moodily amplified by the work of lighting designer Colin Gawronski. The script plays it very tightly between horror and comedy. The overall production does a very good job of articulating between both dynamics. There’s an overwhelming intensity in the tragedy of the course of events that feels remarkably well brought to the stage. It’s a powerful vortex of events which gradually escalate in a thoroughly satisfying and often electrifying musical nightmare for the stage.

Marquette University Theatre’s production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street runs through April 14 at the Helfaer Theatre, 1131 W. Wisconsin Ave. For ticket reservations and more, visit marquette.edu/communication/theatre-arts-2023-2024-season.php. 

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