Review: SWEENEY TODD at Musical Theatre Southwest

Most of us are familiar with one version or another of Stephen Sondheim’s dark masterpiece, Sweeney Todd. Full disclosure: in my youth I used to watch the Angela Lansbury/George Hearn proshot on loop and I will go to just about any stage production out there but I do approach community productions with a bit of trepidation.

I can happily report that Musical Theatre Southwest did a fantastic job with all aspects of this very challenging piece of theater. The vocals, acting, lighting, staging and effects were all top notch. The actors, direction/musical direction team and technicians have all created a dark gem of a show.

The success of any production of Sweeney Todd hinges on the performances of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett. At MST, these very large shoes were filled successfully by Mark Pino and Emily Carvey. Pino fully conveys Sweeney’s horrific past, when he was known as barber Benjamin Barker, a man who was set up and sent to Botany Bay so that a man of means, Judge Turpin (Drew Groves) could steal Barker’s wife and child. The play begins when Barker comes back to London as Sweeney, many years and trauma behind him. He thanks Anthony (Ryan Pennington) for saving him from his capsized craft (we assume he escaped Australia on some kind of raft or small vessel). He tells Anthony to look for him around Fleet Street, his old digs.

The first person to recognize him is Mrs. Lovett, a put-upon pie shop operator selling the self-proclaimed “Worst Pies in London.” Emily Carvey has a vocal quality very reminiscent of Angela Lansbury but looks more like the gothy Helena Bonham Carter Lovett from Tim Burton’s 2007 film.  She gives Todd a place to stay and reunites him with his barber knives, which he vows to use on Turpin after he learns the fate of his long-lost wife and baby daughter, Johanna (Morgan Geddes), who is now grown and living as Turpin’s ward. Turpin has much less than savory plans for Johanna, and Todd enlists Anthony to help him rescue her. 

As it happens in many musical theater plots, Anthony has already gazed at Johanna, singing at her window, and he is very much in love. Turpin threatens to put an end to Anthony and forbids Johanna from seeing him, boarding up her windows and locking her in her room. Geddes’ vocals are both strong and lyrical as Johanna; often this role is difficult to cast, as it requires a legitimate high lyrical soprano voice, which Ms. Geddes definitely possesses. The chemistry between Johanna and Anthony is conveyed beautifully, and adds to the tension when they are kept apart.

Todd sets to work as a barber, but is soon recognized by an old colleague, now known as Pirelli (Jesse Miller), who threatens to reveal his past and send him back to captivity. He tries to extort earnings from Todd and soon succumbs to the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Pirelli’s ward Tobias (Jonathan Cordova) is left behind as Todd and Lovett grapple with how to dispose of Pirelli’s remains.

And thus the plot thickens. If one cannot get meat for meat pies easily, and business is bad, why not try a new flavor or two, and give Todd a means to release his years of pent-up anger and frustrations? Customers soon become consumables, and the body count increases. MTS did a fantastic job with the blood effects, as well as the moving bodies from a second floor barbershop to a basement oven, all in their very modest black box space. The lighting design was instrumental in all of the murder scenes.

Without giving away more of the plot, suffice it to say there are very few happy endings when the play is about cooking and eating people. However, Sondheim wrote some of his most compelling, heartbreaking and wonderful songs to accompany the darkness and violence of the show. In addition to Carvey, Geddes and Pino’s strong vocals, standout performances from Cordova as Tobias and Pennington as Anthony help bring Sondheim’s timeless songs to life.

The only misstep musically was the inclusion of the Judge Turpin’s Mea Culpa/Johanna in which he self-flagellates and lusts after his young ward. It has been cut from most productions at this point, and, through no fault of Mr. Groves, who made the most of this grisly scene, it was pretty intense in that small space. Judge Turpin is pretty vile without including this scene; it seemed heavy-handed here.

The ensemble was very strong and vocally excellent throughout, especially on the incredibly complex “God, That’s Good,” a song that has been the low point for several other productions of this show. The balance of voices was consistent, their diction crisp and clear. There were a few times in the show where the backing track threatened to overpower the performers, perhaps a more thorough sound check from multiple angles of the house could help with this technicality.

Finally, one more technical suggestion – the makeup varied wildly in this production, with some in very heavy character makeup (Beggar Woman and Todd, specifically) and some with very little. A more consistent palette would be effective in this small, intimate space.

Musical Theatre Southwest is a great asset to Albuquerque; their productions are diverse and appeal to a wide range of theater fans.  It’s exciting to see them continue to grow and challenge themselves as a company.

Sweeney Todd runs June 2 – 24. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.mtsabq.org/box-office/  - as with many shows, tickets become scarce the longer into the run, so get yours soon.

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