Ever snce the passing of Musical Theatre legend Stephen Sondheim, societies all over have clamoured to perform one of his shows. This, in itself, cannot be a bad thing, since many of his shows are indeed superb. However, when you consider that as either lyricist or composer he is responsible for 19 shows, and only four of these seem to be chosen with any regularity, reviewers become extremely familiar with these pieces, and so often can be more critical with their thinking.
Of course, Sweeney Todd is one of those four, and this particuoar reviewer has seen this show both professionally and on the amateur stage many times over the years. In fact, I was chatting in the interval to a fellow reviewer about my being the proud owner of a video and cassette of Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury on the New York stage!
Sale And Altrincham Musical Theatre's production however was just about as far removed from that original Broadway show as it is possible to get, and yet it was not the most avant-garde or original production I have seen either. On entering the auditorium this evening one was confronted with an open set of bare rostra / scaffolding. Two walkways leading nowhere on a higher level with a central square dias slighly raised from the floor but not connected to either of the two side pieces. Dimly lit with a hint of haze and the band, positioned to the rear, were playing ominous funereal chords. I recall this society's production of Jekyll And Hyde a few years' ago, and remarked on how completely similar the two sets and ideas were. These high walkways were underused throughout, and indeed had little or no connection with the set, whilst the central base, again omnipresent, sometimes inhibited the flow of the show, meaning chorus numbers or important scenes wers played out in the shadows of either side of tbe stage.
Bare rostra is not a new idea, and, in a rather subjective opinion, rarely works, although I do understand why they might be used and the style of theatre they are representative of. However it does mean that those charged with performing the piece have to be exceptional in order for us to "buy in" to the minimalism and lack of realism.
The show started strongly with a young male chorus singer atop the scaffolding, although sadly he was not fully lit. This was a problem throughout. The lighting design seemed to have scant regard for where the director had placed his cast, and so some faces were lit, but not all the time, and some sang in complete darkness. I hesitate to think this was deliberate.
A further problem this show encountered was the sound. Microphones were an issue the whole evening with voices fluctuating from inaudible to just right, whilst the band did, in the main, overpower the singing, especially the rather obtrusive sythensized sounds of the electric keyboard.
The cast, therefore, did well to overcome all of this and continue as if nothing were wrong. It was opening night, and so, a certain latitude can be given. What was abundantly apparent was that the entire cast were totally committed to the show and their roles within it, and they were giving 100% at all times. It was also a tightly knit ensemble show too, with cast tasked with moving smaller set items in and out as required. This worked well mostly, but the rather cumbersome chest did slow the scene changes down a little, and this evening's show did not finish until 10:35pm which was a little late.
Richard Ross headed the cast as an imposing and very moody Todd, hell bent on bloody revenge from the start, his characterisation was singular and unswerving, which made it very difficult for us to emote with him in any way, since he offered himself as only evil from the start. Sadly, his singing voice this evening did not present itself as being up to the challenge this role required, preferring instead to use the technique of sprechgesang in many places.
Steph Niland was a likeable and competent Mrs. Lovett who improved upon her every entrance; whilst both Connor Ryan as Anthony and Myles Ryan as Tobias both had lovely characterisations and voices once they allowed them to shine. ('Not While I'm Around' was for me the absolute stand-out song of the show.) Perhaps first night nerves got the better of them a little this evening.
The strong, capable and enthusiastic cast completed with Sarah Carrillo (coping well with the many high soprano notes as Johanna); Adam Garnett (Beadle Bamford); Jon Gardner (Judge Turpin); and Steve Sheppard enjoying his comedy role as Adolfo Pirelli. However, for this reviewer, the show was stolen by Emma Johnson's excellent portrayal of Lucy / Beggarwoman.
With a chorus of 16, I would have liked to have heard a more powerful and fuller choral sound, but that sadly, never matetialised. Perhaps again, due to the mics.
This was a stark, minimalist, contemporary production which, despite an attempt at period costuming, did not quite hit the spot sadly. Sweeney Todd is a very difficult and challenging musical, darkly horrific and comedic, operatic and "bouffe" at all and one of the same time, and despite the company's cumulative best efforts, this evening 's production did not quite hit the mark unfortunately.
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