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“Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd…” Ocala Civic Theatre’s 73rd season opens with an innovative reimagining of the chilling classic musical SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, live on stage September 7-24. After 15 years in prison, Benjamin Barker – now going by the alias of Sweeney Todd (Jeremy E. Scarbrough) – escapes from exile. He returns to his former home on Fleet Street in 1970s London, vowing to get his revenge on those who wronged him – namely, the wicked Judge Turpin (Greg Doss) who framed him and parted Sweeney from his wife and young child.
The vengeful barber revisits his former shop, where he meets Mrs. Lovett (Jessica Mongerio). The shop is now where she makes and sells “the worst pies in London,” lamenting her lack of both customers and meat for her pathetic pies. When she realizes who Sweeney really is, she returns his barber tools to him which she has saved all these years.
Mrs. Lovett also gives Sweeney the horrifying news that his wife is dead and his daughter, Johanna (Adrienne Hebert), is the judge’s ward. Beadle Bamford (Daniel Roscoe) was also involved in the corrupt scheme to get rid of Sweeney, which just adds to the barber’s hit list.
Sweeney’s vendetta and his alliance with Mrs. Lovett prove extremely fortunate for them both when confronted with the problem of how to dispose of Sweeney’s first victim, the boastful Pirelli (Roe Agnese). Sweeney’s beef with the world neatly, if gruesomely, solves the problem of a beef shortage for Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies. Revenge is a dish best served cold, but there’s nothing like a nice hot pie fresh from the oven… Soon, her business is booming as Sweeney grows ever more bloodthirsty. In time, his grudge against the judge expands to meet demand.
Meanwhile, when young sailor Anthony Hope (Caleb Spivey) first spies the beautiful Johanna at her window, it’s love at first sight. His mission becomes the same as Sweeney’s: to free her from her gilded cage of existence in the judge’s mansion.
All the while, a crazed and pitiful beggar woman (Caylinn Mosblech) is lurking about Fleet Street – does she know more than she lets on, or is she merely mad?
Madness is all around in this dark corner of London. First there’s Mrs. Lovett’s young assistant, the not-quite-all-there Tobias Ragg (Christian Gonzales), whose lamblike innocence blinds him – for a while – to what’s really going on in the shop. Then there’s the ghastly lunatic asylum run by Jonas Fogg (Tom Ferreira), who joins the judge and the beadle in yet another dastardly scheme.
But most of all, it’s the madness that fuels Sweeney like a city on fire as his feud builds toward a horrifying conclusion.
The large ensemble (Janik Buranosky, Estella Cavalier, Patricia Cohen, Elizabeth “Liz” Cook, Wayne T. Dilts, Valynn Flaherty, Ashlyn Gibbs, Rick Haney, Hunter Leary, Aaron Lowe, Caleb Maclaren Lowe, Alexis Medina, Josiah Santiago, Ilia Laboy Serrano, Kevin Sheehan, Esteban Andres Suarez, Alexis Trimboli, Caleb Vang, Maggee Wellman, Collin Williams) plays all the other characters who inhabit the forbidding world of Fleet Street. This extraordinary cast masterfully provides the rich vocals demanded by Sondheim’s tricky yet soaring score of intricate songs.
Sweeney Todd is an indisputable masterpiece by the legendary Stephen Sondheim, one of America’s greatest Broadway composers and lyricists. The winner of eight Tony Awards, this heart-pounding thriller has been shocking and delighting audiences since its 1979 debut. By turns grisly and gleeful, darkly beautiful and diabolically funny, it’s a challenging classic that never fails to provoke gasps of both horror and humor.
So pull up a chair for one close shave with the demon barber of Fleet Street and his ride-or-die as they make a killing in this deliciously macabre musical. This fresh new way to slice a classic is a cut above – and a bloody good show!
SWEENEY TODD is directed by Greg Thompson. Music director is Jason Bartosic. Guest scenic and projection designer is Tyler Stentiford. Costume designer is Amanda Jones. Guest lighting designer is Yannick Godts. Sound designer is Jazmine Whipple. Props designer is Gina England. Stage manager is Ginny Riley.
SWEENEY TODD is live on stage September 7-24 at Ocala Civic Theatre. There will be 15 performances: Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for ages 18 and younger. This PG-13 show is recommended for high school students and older.
Buy tickets over the phone at (352) 236-2274 or in person at the box office Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. To buy online at any time, visit www.ocalacivictheatre.com.
Better look sharp and don’t cut it too close – get your tickets now to join us in the shadows of Fleet Street – if you dare…
COMMUNITY PARTNER: GO52
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (A MUSICAL THRILLER)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler • From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince • Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Originally produced on Broadway by Richard Barr, Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer,
Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards, in association with Dean and Judy Manos
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Ocala Civic Theatre, Ocala, United States
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