L.A. cooks up delectable ‘Todd’

Remember the old slogan “Nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven?” Live Arts Director John Gibson says it best with a whole lotta love in this dark, comedic masterpiece and serves up a “Sweeney Todd” that is succulent and fresh. That’s saying a mouthful considering that the crux of this story was hatched as a 19th century penny dreadful, developed in the silent movies, matured as a musical with Stephen Sondheim, and has flourished anew with the talents of Johnny Depp.
 
When a theatre— particularly a small, intimate theatre — chooses to put on “Sweeney Todd,” one hopes for something even more, shall we say, cutting edge. But that’s what’s on the menu at Live Arts through Jan. 10.

OK, so maybe the barber does slice up his customers and serve them in meat pies; does that make him a demon? Let’s reserve judgment, shall we? Let’s hear his side of the story.

The modern version of this old urban legend has given the barber of Fleet Street a reason for what he does. It may not satisfy the court if he’s caught, but it satisfies our need for psychological justification.

In the oft-visited theme of cruel power inflicting its will on the innocent weak, we find that the haggard man with the haunted eyes, just returned from an Australian penal colony, was once a young barber with a beautiful wife and child. Thanks to the merciless lusts of one Judge Turpin, the barber was banished on trumped up charges, the wife was raped and eventually committed suicide, and the daughter taken to be a ward and future mate. Now do you understand why he murders innocent customers and has them served up at the corner pie shop? When I say that there’s something uniquely British about the humor in “Sweeney Todd,” I mean it as a compliment.

With muscular urgency, Doug Schneider embraces the titular role as a victim of perverted justice without a victim mentality. Around him, Gibson has arranged an ensemble of hollow-eyed performers who morph from ordinary street folk to lunatics to carriage horses, all the while powerful commentators in song. The opening “Ballad of Sweeney Todd” sets the pace, and the finely tuned tension between story and song never abates.

The first ingredient of this chef’s masterpiece is its uniformly superior cast. Lydia Underwood Horan creates a multi-dimensional Mrs. Lovett: one side affectionate old auntie the pie-maker, the other side, conscience-less accomplice with Todd. Her defining songs “The Worst Pies in London” and the riotous victory ballad “A Little Priest” show off her considerable singing skill and stage authority.

Chris Celella delivers a swashbuckling Perelli, aspiring blackmailer, though some of the lyrics in “The Contest” were difficult to understand. Young Tobias, (Dylan McAuley) while charming, could also use some tutelage in speaking clearly.

Balancing the bawdy, dark side of the story is the lovely Johanna, (Emma Duncan) kept like a bird in a cage. Her exquisite vocals are showcased in the solo “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” but the duet “Kiss Me” with her lover, Anthony, (Gary White) is a heart-stopper. The beautiful solo “Johanna” should be enjoyed with caution, for it might make you fall in love with the next thing you see. And that might be Judge Turpin.

Dan Stern masterfully blurs the lines between hard-shelled corruption and doubtful tenderness toward Johanna. Selfishness wins out, of course, and he is dependably depraved to the end. The visual metaphor of his being caught in a cat’s cradle like a spider in its own web is a stroke of brilliance.

Technical elements are just as strong. Benoit Beauchamp and Dale Marshall designed a light scheme that drips bloody red where appropriate and complements the ashy complexions of all those haunting street people. Tricia Emlet’s costumes bring home the gritty reality of an early 19th century London far from court life with dusty purples and greens that vividly suggest poverty, danger and psychosis. The scene design by Lian LaRussa and Michael Wenrich makes economical use of the Live Arts thrust stage with moving set pieces and a permanent, skeletal scaffold for the barbershop.

While movies have a tendency to overshadow, whether or not they improve, a successful stage play, even Johnny Depp can’t deliver the immediacy of the experience that is available here. Falling in love with this vibrant new arrangement is as easy as, well, pie.

Margaret Lawrence is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. She teaches drama and English at CCHS.

Want to go?
What: “Sweeney Todd”
Where: Live Arts,Charlottesville
Call: (434) 977-4177 or visit livearts.org
Playing through Jan. 10