Sweeney Todd

Many people - fans of Stephen Sondheim or not - are likely to answer; ‘Sweeney Todd’ as being their preferred Sondheim show (not including either of his collaborations, of course) - it is certainly one of his most commercial ventures being based on a man we’ve all at least  seen various play or film adaptations, read books or heard tales about him and Mrs Lovett’s habits.
PADOS have had quite a running theme of dark thriller topic musicals with Jekyll, Phantom (youth) and now Sweeney - but the squeamish could have been rest assured, as there was not a single drop of blood in sight within this production!

This show is certainly proving a popular choice amongst the local amateur circuit and has likewise pulled in a few new faces to the PADOS throng.  The demon barber himself was played by Dave Hurst, his height and physique created a good sense of power though I felt he lacked the depth required for this wronged man. He did deliver ‘These Are My Friends’ with the perfect glimpse to suggest  that he is more than just angry at the world and that he is a little disturbed making us slightly uneasy which set the tone of what’s to come. Of course performers have all needed someone to take a chance on them but this role is quite a gamble for a Director to take such a chance on – should you do so, you have to be prepared to work them to an intense measure, I detected a level of inexperience in Dave as a performer as there were times he wasn’t wholly attached to the piece, more punches of intensity and fury would have improved.   

Peter Rigney gave us the unworldly Tobias, the simplest and most uncomplicated melody I think Sondheim has ever composed; ‘Not While I'm Around’ (which is entirely fitting) was perfectly naïve. I liked Peter’s switch between Tobias/Narrator – a very obvious physical transformation, really nice!

Undoubtedly, this show belonged to Maria Gooch; “Mrs. Lovett: the amoral pie baker of Fleet Street!” This role cleverly lightens the doom and gloom. Maria brought the sass and humour to a character you somehow can't help but like, even as she does the unthinkable. Lovett is the focal character in this production which (unfortunately for him) pushed Sweeney into a backseat, Maria certainly gave the most memorable performance of the night and for all the right reasons!   

Jack Whittle was on fine form as Anthony, he looked the part and although he sang ‘Johanna’ beautifully – I wasn’t convinced that he and Johanna (Kirsty Hatton) felt for each other the way they say they do in ‘Kiss Me’.  Johanna is, in all, a lovely role but it’s unfortunate that she has the two least favorable numbers in the show, ‘Green Finch’ / ‘Kiss Me’ are this shows most tedious points for me, Kirsty does have a beautiful tone to her voice however Sondheim’s fast and wordy numbers are not particularly suited to her.

The set worked well, the drop from the chair to bake house was appropriately brutal.  
The lighting design didn’t compliment the piece - the opening number was very bright and not at all reminiscent of a gloomy Victorian London street. 

Fraudster ‘Pirelli’ was played by Tony Rostron who didn’t expose much of the humour within this role and would have benefited having more of the flamboyant persona.

Music Director, Scott Stait and his hidden orchestra handle Sondheim’s complex score with skill though the trouble with condensing this large orchestrated piece is working out how to cover the missing instruments, this was not always compensated which left some parts sounding a little odd.  However, given the circumstances with Scott stepping in at the last minute, I appreciate that some things had to take priority over others. On the flip side, the small ensemble impressively handles Sondheim's complex music with the notorious and magnificent harmonies of the psychotic Sweeney mantra!

Sweeney certainly translates well to a smaller and more intimate stage, in fact – I prefer it this way.  Sondhem’s music has the clever ability of touching the soul whilst challenging the intellect, which makes for an inspiring and rewarding musical theatre experience.

This show is the strongest musical I've seen presented by PADOS (not including the youth group) in my third year as NODA rep so congratulations to Nick, Scott and everyone involved.

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