Stage incarnations of the grisly tale of Sweeney Todd, the vengeful and murderous London barber, date back to the mid-19th century, though the British folk fable goes back even further. In 1979, songwriter Stephen Sondheim, librettist Hugh Wheeler, and visionary director Harold Prince transformed Christopher Bond's 1973 play Sweeney Todd into a Grand Guignol musical thriller with an operatic flair. After observing how director Tim Burton brilliantly incorporated the down-and-dirty effects of slasher potboilers into a classy movie-musical adaptation of the Broadway show, it's invigorating to experience yet another inspired take on Sondheim's classic. The touring edition of director-designer John Doyle's minimalist version brings ingeniously fresh nuances to this masterwork. It's Marat/Sade meets Victorian melodrama, artfully melded with Sondheim's wondrous score.
Doyle's determinedly abstract concept -- in which actors talk away from one another rather than to one another and the dense plot and multiple settings are almost taken for granted -- might cause confusion for viewers unfamiliar with this musical. Yet Doyle's sacrifice of some elements, such as costumes and set pieces depicting the gritty London underbelly, serve his profound conceit, which imagines the story as a bizarre nightmare set in an insane asylum. And what sounded like a hard-to-fathom concept -- actors playing instruments during and between their scenes -- works beautifully. Doyle's vision puts renewed emphasis on Sondheim's music and lyrics, in smashing new arrangements by Sarah Travis, gorgeously sung and played by the accomplished cast.
David Hess' compelling interpretation of the title character forgoes the up-front fury of previous portrayals, gradually building in intensity. His baritone voice is rich and resplendent. Judy Kaye gives a hilarious and shrewdly nuanced performance as Sweeney's ruthless accomplice, the love-starved baker Mrs. Lovett. Kaye is light-years away from Angela Lansbury's unforgettable cuckoo cockney in the 1979 original and Helena Bonham Carter's sad-eyed anti-heroine in the Burton film, yet she's magnificent in her own right. Diana DiMarzio is deliciously demented as the mysterious Beggar Woman. As the young lovers, Lauren Molina and Benjamin Magnuson offer fine comic relief and sublime musicianship. There's also exemplary work from Edmund Bagnell as the ungainly yet admirable lad Tobias. Benjamin Eakeley's stoic take on the slimy henchman, the Beadle, disappoints; he's far less interesting than the chilling blackguard of previous versions. While Doyle's illuminating transformation of this timeless work isn't superior to Prince's original, it's an inventive and melodic theatrical adventure that reinforces the piece as Sondheim's crowning achievement.
Presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre,
135 N. Grand Ave.,
L.A. Tue.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 1 & 6:30 p.m. Mar. 12-Apr. 6.
(213) 628-2772. www.centertheatregroup.org.