Perseverance Theatre to Stage Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD

Perseverance Theatre (PT) presents Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Benjamin Barker returns to London bent on revenge after serving time for a crime he did not commit. Armed with a sharp, straight razor, he sets up shop as one of the finest barbers in the city, and calls himself Sweeney Todd. When he meets Mrs. Lovett, a local pie maker who will do anything for him, Todd's plan for vengeance becomes a savory pie filling, and the blood starts flowing. With a brilliant score and unforgettable characters, this Tony Award-winning musical is one tasty piece of theatre.

Sweeney Todd features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Sweeney Todd runs on the Perseverance Theatre Mainstage in Douglas from November 6 - December 6, 2015. Tickets are available through both Hearth Side Books locations, the JACC, online at PTalaska.org or by calling 907-463-TIXS (8497). There are three Pay-As-You-Can Previews on Sunday, November 1 at 4:00 pm, Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday November 5 at 7:30 pm. There are two Pay-As-You-Can Performances on Sunday, November 8 at 4:00 pm and Thursday, November 12 at 7:30 pm.

Perseverance regular Flordelino Lagundino, whose directing credits at Perseverance include Animals Out of Paper, Doubt, and Yellowman, directs Sweeney Todd. Flordelino is a recent graduate of the MFA directing program at Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company and he is the artistic director of Leviathan Lab (www.leviathanlab.com) and Generator Theater Company (www.generatortheater.org). At Generator, he has directed Flipzoids, True West, Shakespeare's R&J, the world premiere of The Reincarnation of Stories, and co-directed [title of show]. Other directing credits include the World Premieres of Cedar House and Brother by Ishmael Hope, Topdog/Underdog, and the world premiere of Voyage (Perseverance Theatre); Sweeney Todd (Juneau Symphony); Far Away (Yale Cabaret); a developmental reading of Indian School Stories (The Flashpoint's Mead Theatre Lab); The Sound of a Voice (Tsunami Theatre), Blood on the Moon (Worcester State University).

The creative team includes Musical Director Todd Hunt of Opera to Go, Set Designer Deb O and Choreograper Hali Duran making their debuts, Lighting Designer Art Rotch (The Odd Couple), Costume Designer Paul Spadone (Chicago).

The cast includes Alaskan actors Enrique Bravo, Perseverance Theatre company member, who starred in last year's production of Chicago as Billy Flynn. Leonid Grinberg, who was last here as Curly MacClain in Oklahoma, plays Anthony Hope and Christina Apathy who's extensive list of shows at Perseverance includes Oklahoma and The Importance of Being Earnest plays the Beggar Woman. Kelly Rossberg from Anchorage makes his PT debut as Beadle. Cast Members of last season's production of Chicago include guest artist Keith McCoy, Jessica Skiba, Zebadiah Bodine, Richard Carter and Salissa Thole. Local actors Stacy Katasse, Mike Gamble and Shadow Hotch complete the ensemble. Two guest artists new to PT join the Alaskan company: Victoria Bundonis makes her Perseverance debut as Mrs. Lovett, and Tommy Schoffler was last in Juneau as a part of Generator Theatre Company's [title of show].

Stephen Joshua Sondheim, born March 22, 1930, is an American composer and lyricist known for more than a half-century of contributions to musical theatre. Sondheim has received an Academy Award; eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer,[1] including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre); eight Grammy Awards; a Pulitzer Prize, and the Laurence Olivier Award. Described by Frank Rich of The New York Times as "now the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater."

 

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