Attended the tale of Sweeney Todd

Wednesday night, I drove down to West Palm Beach to see the touring production of Sweeney Todd. I had never seen the 2005 revival, but I had read about it and, I must say, I was eagerly looking forward to this production, even though I truly enjoyed the original production on Broadway some 30 or so years ago. I also saw the semi-staged version by the San Francisco Symphony, which I have on VHS, and I really liked that one too, especially the casting.

That said, I was really taken into this production and impressed with the thought and work that went into it. All of the principles played various instruments and, though it made for a very thin orchestral sound, the effect was quite chilling.

Judy Kaye was excellent as Mrs. Lovett and David Hess was okay as Sweeney. Hess had a very thin top and actually broke a couple of times.

The show was stolen, however, by Edmund Bagnell, as Tobias, and Diana DiMarzio as the Beggar Woman.

My only complaint was, with the sound system in a 2500 seat theater, I could only understand about half of what was being sung.

Still, very enjoyable and, I guess, hard to sell since the movie came out. Prices were so low, I was able to sit in the first row of the loge. Excellent seats where I generally only sit when I want to treat myself. Even so, the house was half empty.

Shame. It was a good show. I love Sweeney Todd and only regret that I never had the opportunity to play Sweeney. If ever there was a character right up my alley, it’s the demon barber of Fleet Street.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.

Ciao,
Heldentenor