Foothill Music Theatre's "Sweeney Todd"


My favorite show ever in an intimate setting

Routine Disclaimer: My company Worker Bees has done paid marketing work for FMT, although not on this show. I continue to post occasionally in their official blog. In addition I have many friends in the cast, in parts large and small.

Sweeney Todd is my all-time favorite musical. There is more than one reason for this, and part of the reason is the impact it had on me seeing the original Broadway production as a 16 year old. I had probably never seen something so grand, so emotionally resonant and so powerful on stage.

Since that original production I have seen the show at least half a dozen more times...basically every time I had the opportunity. And I continue to walk away stunned by Stephen Sondheim's musical and lyrical genius.

Foothill's production is of the more intimate flavor originally attempted at the Circle in the Square in NY in the late 80s. That was the famous Teeny Sweeney, starring Bob Gunton, and yes, I saw it.

What gets lost in an intimate setting is only the original theme of the hierarchal and oppressive nature of an increasingly industrialized society. Yes, you hear me right. That was one of the themes hammered home by the original Broadway production, with its massive factory setting...where the individual cast members were nearly dwarfed by their surroundings. You lose the sense of the characters beings cogs in a machine that will slowly grind them up, just like Mrs. Lovett's meat grinder. But you gain a certain immediacy...you're not just an objective observer of this morality play, you're a witness, an accessory to the crime, a potential next victim.

FMT's production of Sweeney is anchored by a strong performance from James Iglehart as Sweeney...some may tease James about being too nice a guy to play Sweeney, but he certainly achieved the evil gleam quotient I require in a Sweeney. And his rich baritone does arias like "Epiphany" and "My Friends" proud.

Of course, Sweeney's journey from tortured, vengeful but somewhat sympathetic anti-hero to completely evil psycho is in many ways not as intriguing as the other principal character, Mrs. Lovett's character shadings. In the hands of Diana Torres-Koss Mrs. Lovett is a most fascinating, amusing and repellant creature. Amoral, rather than immoral, a true denizen of the hard-knock life who might have turned out to be a kindly shopkeep with maternal instincts, but instead becomes someone with the capacity to dream up evil schemes that even Sweeney cannot. Diana sounded a bit under the weather during her first number, and it is a testament to the strength of her portrayal that this momentary raggedness did not concern me one bit. I knew she could perform the entire role with but a quarter of her normal voice, and it would still hit all the right notes. Luckily, her voice sounded perfectly fine through the three-hour performance. And the layers and levels and nuance she brought to a character like Mrs. Lovett surely is an answer to any theatre snobs who think musical theatre performance is somehow not "acting."

The other principals were uniformly fine, with standouts such as Martin Rojas-Dietrich as the Beadle and Sean Patrick O'Connor as Tobias. To hear a cast that could pull off everything from the coloratura of Johanna (Keite Davis) to the falsetto of the Beadle was a joy. Every single ensemble member with a solo line sounded like a soloist too. But when they sang together...amazing. The ensembles at Foothill in their last three shows: Candide, Ragtime and now Sweeney, have sounded nothing short of amazing. As an example, the Act II Opener, "God That's Good" includes the chorus singing a background of "Yum"s behind the solo line. I know those Yums are there. I've heard them before. But never have I heard the harmonies so clean, the dynamics so, well, dynamic. It was a marvel, when that section is more often a throwaway.

So, all props to musical director Brandon Adams for creating sonic beauty with this entire ensemble. I will say, though, that I thought many of the tempos seemed a bit slow to me, particularly in the first act.

In any case, the show is highly recommended. Yes, if you haven't seen it or are unfamiliar with it, it may strike you as a little twisted for musical theatre. But it is a masterpiece with some of the grandest melodies and most stirring harmonies you are going to hear.


Posted: Sun - March 6, 2005 at 03:22 PM       EmailFeedback

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