Review: Imagine's SWEENEY TODD a Perfect Pre-Halloween Musical

The history of the world, my sweet ...

Is who gets eaten and who gets to eat

"A Little Priest,"

SWEENEY TODD

If there were ever a show that was never destined for dinner theatre, it might be SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET.

Imagine Productions presents Stephen Sondheim's dark, ghastly musical about a series of murders and fine dining in Victorian England on Oct. 2-4 and 8-11 at the Wall Street Night Club (144 N. Wall Street in downtown Columbus). Patrons who can get past the gruesome premise of the show will enjoy director Ryan Scarlata's take on the Tony Award-winning musical.

The story begins with the former Benjamin Barker (the delightfully sinister Keith Robinson) returning to London as Sweeney Todd to take revenge on corrupt Judge Turpin (Kent Stuckey), who sentenced the barber to jail in Australia on trumped up charges and then ravished Barker's wife when he was gone. Upon his return, Todd is told by former neighbor Nellie Lovett (the delightful Jesika Lehner) his wife drank poison and his daughter Johanna is a ward of the judge.

Todd plans to lure the judge and his henchman Beadle Bamford (Ryan Kopycinsky) to his barber's chair and slit their throats. However things rarely go the way someone plans when he is blindly following a trail of revenge. Soon, Todd has an ever growing body count. In the nefariously comedic song "A Little Priest," Lovett, who owns restaurant that serves the "worst meat pies in London," proposes an excellent way to get the bodies to disappear without a trace: "Seems a waste, I mean with the price of meat."

At first, no one seems to notice the correlation between the increased popularity of Lovett's meat pies and the disappearance of many of the Fleet Street elite but every grisly tale seems to have an equally untidy ending and SWEENEY TODD is not an exception.

With foreboding bass and a wry smile, Robinson is the perfect antihero for this two-act musical. Robinson and Lehner, who adds a subtle comedic touch to her performance, have a sinister chemistry. In one of the gracefully understated features of the show, whenever Robinson dispatches a victim, the spirit of his wife Lucy (Candice Kight) appears besides him, gives him a knowing nod and then blows a sprinkling of red confetti to signify the victim has been killed.

Justin King, who plays smitten sailor Anthony Hope, and Elizabeth Zimmerman, who plays Todd's daughter Johanna, provide a sense of innocence to the seedy underbelly of London. Brian Horne (Adolfo Pirelli), Tobias Ragg (Johnny Robison), Michelle Weiser (Old Beggar Woman) and Bill Hafner (Mr. Fogg) lead a strong set of supporting actors of very solid production.

Tyler Rogols conducts an exceptional orchestra of Jim Kucera (keyboards), Rosemary Cipriani (violin), Joy Norris (clarinet), Katherine Baldwin (bassoon), Tiffany Damicone (horn), Devin Gossett (horn), Jeremy Mak (bass) and Joseph Spurlock (percussion). Scarlata also has Brandon Boring, Melissa Hall, Jordan Shear and Abby Zeszotek appear as on-stage instrumentalists throughout the show.

There's just one word of warning about the performance. Make sure you eat before watching it.

Imagine Productions presents SWEENEY TODD 7:30 p.m. Oct 2-4 and 8-11 at Wall Street (144 N. Wall Street in downtown Columbus). For information, call 614-398-1110.