The demon barber of Fleet Street is back in all his glorious darkness, tragedy and murderous intent.
Arizona Repertory Theatre’s “Sweeney Todd,” one of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpieces, inaugurated the rehabbed Marroney Theatre on the University of Arizona campus when the musical opened Feb. 29.
This production underscores the calamity of the UA’s dismissal of the musical theater program. Almost all of the more than 20 cast members are musical theater majors, a program the UA is phasing out because it is not economically feasible.
And what a committed, talented and brave cast this is. They all embraced the difficult music, the disturbing story about a barber who exacts revenge by slitting throats, and the complex characters.
Leading the cast are James Kelley Carroll as Sweeney, that demon barber, and Grace Gebara as the pie-making, ever-scheming Mrs. Lovett.
Carroll, a junior in the program, carried the role of the broken and vengeful man with a sophistication and depth that belies his youth.
He wrapped his luscious voice around the challenging and witty lyrics with ease. And while he is clearly young, he gave the character the needed weight and ache.
Gebara, who graduates from the program this year, infused her Mrs. Lovett with some much-needed levity. She is a wonderful physical actor (just watch her legs and feet as she tries to seduce Sweeney). But most of all, she has a voice that pulls you in and keeps you there.
Clayton Lukens was perfect as the slimy Beadle, who makes sure the evil Judge Turpin’s orders are carried out. Lukens was Jesus in Arizona Repertory’s production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” late last year, and the Beadle could not have been more opposite. Lukens got lost in both characters; his versatility is quite impressive.
Other stand-out performances include Gemma Pedersen as Tobias, a lost kid taken under Mrs. Lovett’s wing; Lydia Schmidt, who played the beggar woman with heartbreaking conviction, and John Henry Stamper, the innocent sailor who falls in love with Johanna, played by Lily Grubert. Both of the actors have astounding voices and their duets together, which provided some of the softness this story needs, were mesmerizing.
The commitment by the whole cast made this production as impressive as it should be. Danny Gurwin directed with an obvious love for the musical and the skill to bring a massive cast together and pull performances from them that make us bemoan the fact that, in a few years, we no longer will be able to see such amazing musical theater talent on the UA stage.
Arizona Repertory Theatre’s production of “Sweeney Todd” continues through March 17 at the Marroney Theatre in the University of Arizona Fine Arts Complex, on the southeast corner of East Speedway and North Park Avenue.
Tickets are $35, with discounts available, at theatre.arizona.edu/shows/sweeney-todd or 520-621-3341. The show runs close to three hours, with one intermission.
