Sweeney Todd!
Sweeney Todd
Neptune Theatre, Halifax
Friday, September 21, 2012
Neptune Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s
musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opened September
11thand runs until October 7th.
Sweeney Todd is rife with dark
themes of romantic adversity, bitter vengeance, and cruel irony. The score is
challenging. The strong ensemble delivers Sondheim’s terse melodies with
confidence, vocal dexterity, and cutting precision. The characters are dark,
and the bleak light at the end of the tunnel is a “City on fire!” In the same
way that Shakespeare uses comedy, cheek by jowl, with tragedy to release and
reset the tension of the plot, Sondheim has written moments into this
relentlessly bleak storyline and score that are bitingly funny . . .potentially.
The beggar woman, played by Laura Caswell, breathes
her depraved humanity into Sondheim’s wickedly funny lyrics. Her desperate
pleas are a frail and pitiful rouse, followed by the uproarious cries of a
desperate strumpet, rewarded by a wave of laughter.
Like Caswell, Mark Allan’s young hapless Toby shuffles
across that sympathetic tightrope as he chases the “nice big tot of gin” with
which Mrs. Lovett tempts him. His delighted innocence is a dramatic irony that
makes us chuckle and furrows our brow.
Shelley Simester’s portrayal of the darkly romantic
and absurdly pragmatic Mrs. Lovett is central to the success of this
production. Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pie Shop anchors the versatile set design at
centre stage, just as Simester anchors the action with her moment-by-moment
exploration of Lovett’s distorted humanity.
When Mrs. Lovett reunites Sweeney Todd with his silver
razors, the barber serenades his “old friends” with menace, “At last, my arm is
complete again!” Sondheim’s symbolism is clear, and Shane Carty’s Sweeney Todd
is convincing callous. Throughout the production, however, I waited to feel the
intense malevolence of those personified razors in Sweeney Todd’s dehumanized
hand . . . and I waited.
Carty’s interpretation of the lead role sandwiched the
emotional range of the character into a dark and narrow alley. There are
wickedly funny and heightened moments in the score that were sidelined
physically and emotionally and there are greater depths to be plumbed by
contrast. Vocally, however, nothing fell flat in Carty’s powerful basso. And
perhaps, singing Sondheim powerfully while managing to hit all your cues and
marks on a shifting set is a workout and music enough.
This is a show worth seeing. If you’re going, get your
tickets soon. ~ Tina Capalbo
Sweeney
Todd until October 7 at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax
www.neptunetheatre.com
