Review: SWEENEY TODD at Hackmatack Playhouse

Hackmatack Playhouse is an experience before the curtain even goes up. The old barn, the working farm and the sense that generations of families have been coming here all contribute to something you don't get at most theaters.

Then there is Mike Guptill, who has been associated with Hackmatack for 55 years. His curtain speech is something I wish more theaters would adopt. It is about seven minutes, low-key and folksy. He welcomes the audience, asks how many are seeing a Hackmatack show for the first time, thanks the major sponsors, acknowledges the band and even takes an informal poll about what audiences might like to see next summer. Then the show starts. It makes you feel like a guest rather than simply someone who bought a ticket.

This time, the guest is headed to Fleet Street. Hackmatack has taken on Stephen Sondheim's “Sweeney Todd,” a dark musical about revenge, murder, meat pies and a barber with an unusual way of dealing with his customers. It is not a show you see often on the summer theater circuit, which makes the choice all the more interesting.

In the story, Sweeney Todd (Kevin Mahaney) returns to London after years in exile, determined to avenge the loss of his wife, Lucy, and daughter, Johanna (Shanna Smith). He reopens his old barber shop and begins taking revenge on the people he believes destroyed his life. His neighbor, Mrs. Lovett (Emily Zentis), becomes his accomplice, turning the grisly results of his work into the filling for her increasingly popular meat pies. It is a tale of obsession and revenge, with plenty of Sondheim's trademark dark humor along the way.

It is also a demanding show. Sondheim's score is complicated, the story moves quickly between comedy and horror, and there are few easy places for a cast to hide. On opening night, the production took a little time to find its rhythm. The beginning was slow, but the cast settled in as the first act progressed. By the second act, the performances had more confidence and the show finished strongly.

Kevin Mahaney is a powerhouse as Todd. He gives Sweeney the anger and intensity the role requires without reducing him to a madman with a razor. There is a damaged man underneath the revenge, and Mahaney lets us see him. He is particularly strong in “My Friends” and “Epiphany,” where the emotional demands are as important as the music.

Emily Zentis takes a little longer to find her Mrs. Lovett, but once she does, she creates a perfect character. “The Worst Pies in London” gives her room to show her comedic flair, while “A Little Priest” brings her fully to life. Her chemistry with Mahaney holds the show together.

Mikey Mousaw, as Anthony, knows how to capture an audience with his stage presence and his ability to sell a song. He soars in “Johanna.” Smith brings a strong voice to Johanna, beginning with “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” and meeting the demands of a score that stretches any soprano.

Mousaw and Smith are joined by Marcus Provost as Judge Turpin and his dutiful sidekick, Kyle Sidders as Beadle Bamford, in “Kiss Me,” one of those unmistakably Sondheim numbers where the music and characters seem to be working on several levels at once. The four are brilliant together.

Provost, whom I have seen in plenty of comic roles, gets to explore a much darker side as Turpin and handles it nicely. His voice blends beautifully with Mahaney's in “Pretty Women.” Sidders has the appropriate tenor voice for Beadle, while Paul Newcomb is strong as Adolfo Pirelli. There is a little irony in Newcomb's appearance: Pirelli is a barber and purveyor of hair tonics, but he looks like he hasn't had a haircut in quite some time.

Caden Ari Adair plays Tobias. “Pirelli's Miracle Elixir” isn't his strongest vocal moment, but he finds his stride with “Not While I'm Around,” giving the song the vulnerability it needs. Sierra Cummings tackles the mysterious Beggar Woman with the subtlety the character deserves.

And then there is the ensemble. There is nothing like a show ensemble that energizes a performance with strong vocals, spirited dancing and expressive work in every scene. This ensemble does just that, giving the production much of its vitality. 

Much of that movement comes from choreographer Wanda Strukus, whose work gives the ensemble plenty to do without overwhelming the story. The choreography fits naturally into the production, particularly when the full company is onstage.

Director, Tom Alsip and Steven Bergman, the production's music director, have done a formidable job with one of Sondheim's most demanding scores. Alsip, particularly, takes the show to the dark side but infuses fun in nice doses.

The set is as good as could be done in the small confines of the barn turned into theater, and Tayva Young's lighting design creates some memorable moments.

The costumes are an interesting mix, with some doing a better job than others of establishing the period. (Wouldn't the men of late 1800s London town have hats of sorts?)

And then there is the barber chair.

Anyone familiar with Sweeney Todd knows the chair is almost a character unto itself. It is where the story's grisly business takes place and one of the visual images most associated with the show. Here, the chair was a disappointment. It did not look or feel like the imposing barber chair one expects to see in this story, and that took away some of the impact of those scenes. It is a small piece of the production, but an important one.

The staging of the victims' fate is also understated; from my seat, any blood in the throat-slitting scenes wasn't visible. Todd's own demise, however, produces some visual gore.

The bigger achievement here is that Hackmatack has mounted a challenging musical that smaller summer theaters don't often attempt.  While it is an ambitious choice, the Hackmatack team deserves the standing ovation that it received from an opening night audience that embraced the enormity of the effort.

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