The Next Door Theatre Company in Winchester thinks SWEENEY
TODD ought to have his head examined so they’ve referred the whole production
(playing through Nov. 16th) to a mental hospital. Director Brian Milauskas’
concept confines the whole cast there. Now I prefer my SWEENEY straight, not
straight jacketed but I have an open mind. If the concept works, I’ll happily
go along.
If Cervantes’ fellow prisoners can act out
the MAN OF LA MANCHA, then maybe the inmates at Next Door’s psych ward can
tackle Sondheim. The cast certainly can sing. With Dan Rodriguez music
directing, SWEENEY sounds just fine. Peter S. Adams as the demon barber
and Jackie Coco as Mrs. Lovett dovetail beautifully. Their duets are heaven
sent. Brandon Grimes is a strong Anthony to Erin Anderson’s sweet Joanna. Paul
Soper as the Judge and Jared Walsh as Tobias add to the solid leads but the
inconsistencies in the concept will have you pulling out your hair.
You can’t give a minor character a knife and
not give Sweeney a blade. (When he raises his arm to say it’s at last
“complete,” a flask just doesn’t cut it, as it were.) AND you can’t have
Sweeney’s victims slump, then walk off stage without a scratch like they’re
coming back soon. (A couple seated near me had no idea anyone had been killed.)
I’ve seen death easily dramatized by
unfurling a red scarf at one’s throat…or by placing a sheet over the departed.
Even a sign that said “dead” would have helped out. If you didn’t know the
story, you wouldn’t have a clue and the absence of a barber’s chair didn’t
help. Making Sweeney thrust that flask at his intended quarry merely made you
think he was an alcoholic, proffering them a drink.
I really, really wanted it to work for the
sake of the singers but alas, it did not.
