BWW Reviews: SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET is a Force to Be Reckoned with at The Villages Players of Birmingham!

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an exceptional piece of Michigan theatre filled with everything creepy, dark, and sinister that the show supposed to have. The Village Players of Birmingham have an extremely talented group of performers with intriguing costumes and a set under great direction that brought the show to life. It is definitely a show not to be missed!

Michael A. Gravame beautifully directs this fantastic version of one of Stephen Sodheim's darker shows and it is an aesthetically pleasing vision from beginning to end. No detail is left undone throughout the entire production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - from the exceptional set to the gorgeous costumes to the perfect lighting - each one enhances the production. Gravame's use of the ensemble in the production throughout the show was also another interesting aspect because it almost made the stage into a living being, yet it never drew the audience's focus away from the main action, it only enhanced the sinister and creepy feeling of the show.

The fantastic direction could be equally compared to wonderful performing by the entire cast of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street that is hard to discuss a few since as a whole they are absolutely beautiful in a cryptic and dark way, which exactly how this show should be. Richard Knapp is phenomenal as Sweeney Todd with his powerful voice and the ability to make the audience feel for him throughout the show. Knapp commands the stage when he is on it such as when he brilliantly sings "Epiphany," but he also works really well with the rest of the cast and has some amazing duets such as "Pretty Women" with Andy Clements and "A Little Priest" with Suzette Shuller Ho. Mrs. Lovett is played by Ho who is brilliant in the crazy woman role by making her lovable, laughable, and downright insane. She is an absolute joy to watch on stage. Hayley Boggs is magnificent as Johanna. Every time she sings it is completely breathtaking; she has one of the most beautiful theatre voices around. Anthony is played by Joshua Coates who does marvelous job in the role. He is completely endearing, but it is his voice that is the showstopper - so pure and full of force and depth. When Boggs and Coates sing alone it is wonderful, but when the two sing together, it is amazing. Their duets are just phenomenal, especially "Kiss Me," filled with emotion and so much power coming from those two voices. A stand out note needs to be made of the song, "Not While I'm Around," performed by Kevin Kaminski. Beautifully written by Sodheim, Kaminski did the song justice and sings it magnificently.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by Clements as Judge Turpin, Allison McClelland as Beggar Woman, Joel Mapes as Beadle Bamford, and Mitchell Bradley as Adolfo Pirelli. The ensemble is made up of Josiah C. Baker, Jeanne Bourget, Michael Day, Rachel Keown, Andrew Lawrence, Samuel Meade, Pamela Plewa, Alison Ristovski, Audrey Sharp, Tania L. Velinsky, and James Wolbrink.

The Village Players of Birmingham have put on an exceptional production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It has every element that a fan of the Sodheim show would hope it would have or new theatergoer would love to experience for the first time. It is definitely a Michigan theatre show that should not be missed!

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is currently playing through November 8th at The Village Players of Birmingham. For more information or tickets, visit www.birminghamvillageplayers.com.

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