The Time I Watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in the Theatre

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is a grisly thriller and musical production directed by Stuart Meltzer. Sweeney Todd is a well-known barber in London during the 19th century, who is preyed on by a judge, named Turpin. Turpin has a desire for Todd’s wife, Lucy, and constructs several charges against him, that leads to Todd being sent to Australia for 15 years. Upon his return to London, after being rescued by a young sailor named Anthony Hope, Todd seeks revenge on unsuspecting people for the painful abuse on his wife and daughter Johanna. With the help of Mrs. Lovett, the owner of a meat pie shop, they create a devilish plot and create a special ingredient to their meaty pies.

The Carnival Studio Theater was a small theater, with three small sections for seating, setting the mood for a personal and intimate play. Most of the guests that attended were dressed in casual outfits, jean or dress pants accompanied with a dressy top. As I sat down, I began to look around and began observing the stage. The lights were a dimmed yellow and gloomy, with different size wooden chairs hanging on the wall of the stage. In my opinion, the director chose those chairs as a symbol of Sweeney Todd, who kills his victims in a barber chair as they go into the shop for a face shave.

The performance started on time, which lasted two hours and forty-five minutes that was divided into two acts, with one small 15-minute intermission. In the first act, it began with the character, Tobias, coming on stage wearing a straitjacket after his consequences that take place at the end of the story. As he begins to sing, the rest of the characters followed the stage singing The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. In the second act, Tobias once again begins the show singing in a different scenery alongside Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd.

The lead performers of this story were Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, played by actors Aloysius Gigl and Jeni Hacker. Aloysius Gigl did an amazing job bringing the murderous rage of the character to life, while Jeni Hacker displays a twitchy and maternal role all in one. Mrs. Lovett was the most impressive role of the play. She convincingly personifies the difficulty of a role that mixtures a good-natured innocence, situational morals, and skeptical greed, with disastrous results. She delivered her many moments in the spotlight during the ballads and Broadway style performance.

The costume design team created costumes portraying every day attire in 19th century London. Mrs. Lovett wore floor sweeping dresses and fingerless lace gloves, and the men of the show wore trousers and top hats. The lighting of the show constantly changed from a dimmed yellow to red, depending on the scene at the time and the ballad that was sung. Every time Sweeney Todd killed one of the men who entered the shop, the lights on top of the stage would instantly change to a dark, bloody red with a loud high-pitched sound like in horror movies during a murder scene.

The end of the story finishes with an unexpected plot twist, leaving the audience in shock. The cast received a standing ovation and loud cheer at the end of the show, leaving everyone with contentment and excitement. This play was the first theater production I have ever attended, and I was captivated with the performance the actors delivered. I chose this production because it was something out of my comfort zone. I never tend to choose anything that is heart wrenching or gruesome, but I read marvelous reviews about this production that I was intrigued. As soon as I walked out of the theater, I was so excited to talk to my significant other about our favorite parts of the show and thrilled to watch the movie to associate both acts.